Soledad Miranda's Stunning Screen Presence Lives on in Severin Films' 4K Blu-ray Release of Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy

Before exploitation film legend Jesús Franco Manera – usually known as Jess Franco – met arguably his most memorable muse and eventual wife, Lina Romay, he made six films in 1970 with an actress that would surely have appeared in many more if fate hadn’t intervened. Shortly after completing Franco’s The Devil Came from Akasava, Soledad Rendón Bueno – known professionally as Soledad Miranda or Susann (Susan) Korda (Korday) – died in a car accident at the age of 27 (her husband, who was driving, was injured but survived). Franco was devastated, but then he met Romay, and the rest is history. As for Miranda, several of those 1970 productions were released from 1971-1973 and became cult classics that are also regarded as high points in Franco’s oeuvre. Now, Severin Films has released stunning 4K transfers of two of them: Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy. Before we take a look at each of these movies individually, let’s look at how both films reflect Franco’s unique voice, and how they preserve Soledad Miranda’s incredible presence for posterity. Franco is what you might call an acquired taste. I’ve often found him to be closely linked with fellow filmmaker Jean Rollin (they di