Jess Franco Double Bill Volume 2: Devil's Island Lovers and Night Of The Assassins

Considering their age and the circumstances within which they were made – fast and cheap, if not quite out of control – the presentations of Night Of The Assassins and Devil's Island Lovers on this Region 2 two-disc set from Tartan are nothing short of remarkable.

Both films are presented in Spanish with optional English subtitles and in their original 2.35:1 aspect ratios. Barring the odd scratch here and there, they look as though they could have been shot yesterday, with the lighting effects in Night especially striking.

Some idea of what Tartan have accomplished – and of what the dedicated Franco fan frequently has to content with – is given by the main extra feature, nearly 30 minutes of alternate – and generally more exploitative – footage, culled from a VHS of the French version of Devil's Island Lovers.

It goes without saying that fans of the director need this disc. While neither film is perhaps enough to convert the unbeliever and convince them they have to track down every single version of Vampyros Lesbos, they may also find Night of the Assassins and Devil's Island Lovers considerably better and more pleasurable than expected.