Ganja & Hess
(Ganja & Hess)

Ganja & Hess was produced to take advantage of a small niche : the horrific blaxploitation genre launched by William Crain’s fun-filled Blacula. A rich anthropologist, Dr. Hess lives in a colonial style mansion with his servant and chauffeur, who are both black. He secretly practices vampirism (never mentioned) following the curse of an African goddess that drives him to choose his prey among the ghetto’s black prostitutes. The vampirism does not denote African identity but rather what this identity becomes when denied: the integration of racist clichés that are destructive for the community’s most deprived classes. At times chaotic, obscure in its intentions and talkative, Ganja & Hess remains a fascinating film where raw documentary alternates with erotic psychedelism. Stéphane du Mesnildot