1970's Filipino made horror is an acquired taste, and I must admit not getting it. THE DEATHHEAD VIRGIN is about on par with DAUGHTERS OF Satan, low budget potboilers set in the Philipines for the cynical reason that it was cheaper to make the movie there than anywhere else. The story idea is not without merit: Damned soul of a virgin girl sunk with a galleon comes back to haunt the beaches and resort communities leased by the film company for their off-season shoot. She walks around wearing a mask and not much else, thought strategic hair placement keeps whatever nudity there was from sullying our eyes.
The problem is that not much happens, and other than some interesting slow speed filming and some interesting underwater photography the movie exists without the thrill factor needed to make something like this work. I bailed out at like the 70 minute point when like another commenter I realized that the director had reached his conclusion at about 62 minutes but exposed a bunch of other footage & felt compelled to use it, probably because he had to. Just ask The Beatles; Those Filipino entertainment unions can be murder.
One curious footnote about the movie is the opening titles. At roughly thirteen minutes into the feature the words DIRECTED BY NORMAN FOSTER flash onto the screen, producing the film's only genuine laugh. My guess is that Mr. Foster had just seen ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, who's titles go on for about three quarters of an hour. The difference of course is that they were not arbitrarily inserted by an editor who probably never saw the finished result. I don't blame him.
The problem is that not much happens, and other than some interesting slow speed filming and some interesting underwater photography the movie exists without the thrill factor needed to make something like this work. I bailed out at like the 70 minute point when like another commenter I realized that the director had reached his conclusion at about 62 minutes but exposed a bunch of other footage & felt compelled to use it, probably because he had to. Just ask The Beatles; Those Filipino entertainment unions can be murder.
One curious footnote about the movie is the opening titles. At roughly thirteen minutes into the feature the words DIRECTED BY NORMAN FOSTER flash onto the screen, producing the film's only genuine laugh. My guess is that Mr. Foster had just seen ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, who's titles go on for about three quarters of an hour. The difference of course is that they were not arbitrarily inserted by an editor who probably never saw the finished result. I don't blame him.