This is Rollin at his best; visual delights, sensual lesbian lovemaking, and the beautiful Brigitte Lahaie as a scythe-wielding avenger, and a group of castle dwelling bourgeois women blood-drinkers. Two women chosen by the group must find a man that they must slaughter and communally consume in a cannibalistic vampire feast. Read more
| Starring | Franka Mai, Brigitte Lahaie, Jean-Marie Lemaire, Fanny Magier |
|---|---|
| Director | Jean Rollin |
| Genres | Gay/Lesbian, Horror, World Cinema |
loading...
This is Rollin at his best; visual delights, sensual lesbian lovemaking, and the beautiful Brigitte Lahaie as a scythe-wielding avenger, and a group of castle dwelling bourgeois women blood-drinkers. Two women chosen by the group must find a man that they must slaughter and communally consume in a cannibalistic vampire feast.
| Starring | Franka Mai, Brigitte Lahaie, Jean-Marie Lemaire, Fanny Magier |
|---|---|
| Director | Jean Rollin |
| Studio | REDEMPTION FILMS |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 20 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Gay/Lesbian, Horror, World Cinema |
| Language | French |
| Subtitles | English |
| Released | DVD: 26 Jul 2004 |
| Format | DVD |
More nonsensical soft-core horror trash from French hack director Jean Rollin. It's a turn-of-the-century fairy tale combining ritual slaughter, cannibal orgies and exploitation gore. A hunky thief comes between two lesbian vampires. It's better than some of Rollin's yawn-inducing efforts like SEX AND THE VAMPIRE or REQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE, thanks to halfway-decent acting from a cast including top European hard-core star Brigitte Lahaie. However, it's still a slow-moving bore thanks to Rollin's camera dwelling on the visual properties of naked bodies, fabrics and furnishings above the thin plot.
And the fascination is... blood. Well, blood and naked ladies, obviously.
The local gentry visit an abattoir to drink ox blood as it's the fashionable cure for anaemia. Among the younger members a sorority has been formed. These young women now want to drink the blood of men.
Meanwhile, a thief has parted company with his gang and while he is on the run, he seeks refuge in a chateau where two members of the blood cult are preparing for their next reunion with the sisterhood.
This is one of Jean Rollin's finest films. Set, for the most part, in one location, the story unfolds nicely. As ever, Rollin is a master of visual imagery and the film is very atmospheric.
On the down side, the horror quotient is low and the bloodier scenes are not terribly convincing. Having said that, there is enough class and quality here to make up for the lack of horror. This is continental arthouse blood and sex at its best, but it may not appeal to everyone. It's obviously a low-budget affair and if you're looking for a scary film, this will disappoint.
If, on the other hand, you've seen some of Rollin's other stuff and enjoyed it, this film should hit the spot. Also worth seeing along the same lines are: Jess Franco's exploitation classic 'Female Vampire', the superb British horror film 'Vampyres' and also Donald Farmer's low budget sex romp 'An Erotic Vampire In Paris' which has Rollin's influence stamped throughout.
Let's say you like Brigitte Lahaie, or perhaps horror flics, or maybe Eurotrash, as I do. This is still no reason to get this absolutely dreadful film, which really should be avoided. I have never seen another movie that looked so much like it was made by following a guide book. Utterly imbecilic waste of time, even for fans of the genre.