2. Jess Franco
Another contender for the title of 'The European Ed Wood', Jess Franco is a director who fiercely divides lovers of cult cinema - he is like Marmite - you either think his movies are total trash or overlooked exploitation gems. I stand somewhere between the two grounds. Franco produced a few gems, but 90% of his oeuvre was really crap. At his best, Franco directed mysterious, erotic and engaging pieces of cinema such as Female Vampire, Sadomania, Succubus and Count Dracula. At his worst he made confusing garbage with endless shots of women writhing naked in bed, zooming the camera on their pubic regions. Franco had some very good ideas and themes, and he was true to his own obsessions but he didn't half produce some rubbish - usually because he was a very prolific director who just wanted to get the film he was shooting over, so that he could start directing another slice of his fevered imagination. Poor budgets had a lot to do with it as well. I have watched a heck of a lot of Jess Franco movies, and I have about 10 of his films still in shrinkwrap. This sort of symbolises my attitude about him being like Marmite. I must say that any Franco film with Soledad Miranda or Lina Romay in it is worth watching for the sensuality of the two leading ladies. However, The vast bulk of Franco films are irredeemably badly made and thoroughly inept. I still love him though (I think...)