Fernando Fernán Gómez’s El extraño viaje (US: Strange Voyage) perfectly symbolizes the final shift from authentic film noir to exaggerated, self-conscious crime films with black comedy elements (compare with the short-lived hagsploitation genre popular in the U.S. at this time). The film itself depicts yet another transition symbolized by the visiting musician (Carlos Larrañaga) and lascivious dancer Angelines (Sara Lezana) who embody the emergent post-Franco freedom and, of course, attract disapproving stares from the older generation and their wartime worldviews. It’s soon revealed that Fernando has a connection to the Vidal mansion, where soon-to-be-murdered spinster Ignacia (Tota Alba with a tight helmet of hair) lives with her mentally challenged younger siblings (whose shenanigans provide the handful of comedic turns). Gómez creates a dazzling Gothic atmosphere in the Vidal home, complete with creaky doors, candelabras, and thunderstorms, while nearly every shot could be its own work of art.