The Curious Dr. Humpp (1969)

This movie is about a doctor who kidnaps people, couples who are having sex. He takes them to his mansion where they are being kept as prisoners. He injects his subjects with a substance to 'enhance' their sexual abilities. The curious doctor then forces the abducted people to have sex. While they are making love he drains a fluid from them. He needs this to prevent himself from being transformed into a monster. He gets his instructions from a talking brain.

 If you're not into bizarre cinema, you're best off staying away from this cult film; but if you are into cult cinema...you might find something here. The adjective in the title is extremely apt for this film, as it features a plethora of odd and mostly illogical ideas; all of which are at least somewhat 'curious'. This helps the film in a way as there's always enough going on to keep it ticking over; but on the other hand, sometimes there's just too many things going on at the same time, and since not a great deal of it makes sense; the film can be somewhat annoying. That being said, the plot focuses on sex, deformity and very mad science and so it's entertaining throughout, at least. The plot centres on a scientist researching sex. He kidnaps people and feeds them aphrodisiacs so that they'll have sex. He needs them to do so that he can drain some fluid from them, as Dr Humpp is actually a monster and he needs this fluid to stop himself being transformed. You might wonder how all this stuff ended up coming together, but there's a simple explanation for all of it; the doctor is being directed by a talking disembodied brain in a jar!

Despite being silly and not making a lot of sense, the film is very technically competent and the cinematography looks great. The film was obviously shot on a low budget, but the crystal clear black and white picture helps to mask this; which is a very good thing. The set design is good, if a little bare in places; but that's not all that important. There is a lot of sex in the film, which is sure to please anyone with a mind to see a film like this; and the script is fantastic at providing a lot of memorable quotes such as "Sex dominates the world!". The 'monster' that the doctor becomes looks rather silly, but the film ensures that you can just about buy into it as everything is so completely mesmerising. The atmosphere is surreal throughout, and director Emilio Vieyra ensures that it always benefits the tone of the movie. The film doesn't flow too well, as once the basic plot is laid out; we don't get much elaboration on it, but you can't expect too much from a film like this, and for what it is; The Curious Dr Humpp is sure to delight fans of cult cinema that don't mind too many inconsistencies in their films.