Made during the cultural tumultuous era known as la Transición – the era of Spain’s transition from fascism to democracy, 1975-1982 – Bigas Luna’s film playsas both a grotesque, black comedy as well as a scathing mockery and indictment of the depravity and obsessive decadence of the bourgeoisie under fascist rule of Francisco Franco.

A mix of Grey Gardens and Saló, Caniche shows us how the upper class can do nothing except wait for unearned money to fall into their lap as everything around them crumbles due to neglect and indifference. This Swiftian satire about a brother and sister, who are both a little too obsessed with dogs and each other in their own ways, perfectly straddles the line between the arthouse and the grindhouse, giving us undeniable exploitation and shock via undeniably beautiful visuals and deft storytelling. It’s a sick depiction of a sick society left in ruin by nearly 40 years of moral corruption.

Best known internationally for his discovery of Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, and a cult favorite in the US due to his meta-horror film Anguish (1987), Bigas Luna stands as one of the most controversial and acerbic directors to emerge during the years after Franco’s death, with his films being as key to understanding the socio-political climate of that era as his contemporaries Pedro Almodovar, Ivan Zuleta, and Eloy de la Iglesia.