Jesús "Jess" Franco was a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic The Awful Dr. Orloff, which received wide distribution in the United States and England. Though he had some American box office success with Necronomicon, his first women-in-prison film Ninety-Nine Women, and his two Christopher Lee films, The Bloody Judge and Count Dracula, he never achieved wide commercial success. Franco moved from Spain to France in 1970 so that he could make more violent and sexual films, and it was at this point that his career began to go downhill commercially, as he turned to low-budget filmmaking with a heavier accent on adult-oriented films. Although he produced a few well-received, low budget horror films in the early 70's, many people in the industry considered him a porn director due to the huge number of X-rated adult films he began churning out. Franco returned to low-budget horror in a brief comeback period from 1980-1983, but after 1983, his career took a second downturn. With the exception of Faceless and Killer Barbies, his films after 1984 are quite disliked and obscure due to their incredibly low budgets. Franco has nevertheless retained a large cult following through the years with his sexually-charged horror films, some of which are regarded as masterpieces by his avid followers.

Jesús Franco Manera, también conocido como Jess Franco, fue un director de cine, actor, productor, guionista, compositor, montador y director de fotografía español.

Se le considera uno de los directores más prolíficos​ del género de exploitation europeo​ y una destacada figura, junto a Paul Naschy, Narciso Ibáñez Serrador o Amando de Ossorio, del cine de terror español de los años 70.​ Su personaje del Doctor Orloff​ ha sido considerado como «uno de los mitos del fantaterror ibérico».​

Como director​ llegó a filmar alrededor de 200 películas​ en las que abundan las sencuencias lésbicas, eróticas o pornográficas​ y los géneros de cine fantástico, ciencia ficción y terror.​ Su labor como director de películas de temática vampírica,​ con títulos como El conde Drácula (1970),​ Las Vampiras (1971),​ Killer Barbys (1996)​ o Killer Barbys vs. Dracula (2002)​ le granjearon gran popularidad.

Franco trabajó en países como Francia, Alemania, Suiza, Portugal, Italia o Estados Unidos realizando coproducciones o rodando para los productores que lo contrataban.​ Para adaptarse a los gustos locales sus películas incluían escenas sexuales, de diversa índole, en función de estas preferencias regionales.​ También firmaba sus trabajos con pseudónimos para no saturar el mercado con su producción.