La nuit des étoiles filantes

Take a dash of Franco and layer in a generous helping of Rollin and, viola!, you have A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD.

This is a work of atmosphere and subtle eroticism. Although it is not a zombie film, death -- and those who wear its cloak -- is its central theme.

Christina von Blanc, an achingly beautiful creature, plays Englishwoman "Christine" who journeys to the rambling estate of her late father (Franco regular Paul Muller) for the reading of his will. Her stay is a nightmarish one as she is harassed by several socially challenged relatives (Howard Vernon being one), a muttering Igor (Franco himself) and local miscreants.

Not as technically accomplished as Franco work such as THE AWFUL DR. ORLOFF or even DR. ORLOFF'S MONSTER, this piece is, nevertheless, dream-like and filled with mood and unease. Bruno Nocolai's score is quietly evocative and Jose Climent's photography is low rent but brimming with inspiration. The rural locations are gorgeous, too.

Typically, the dramatic revelations are hackneyed and not everything makes much sense, but that is Franco's way, and if you can't accept that, steer clear of his fascinating, uneven oeuvre.

Ms. von Blanc makes every one of her screen moments sparkle and comes closest to possessing the magical aura of the late, great Soledad Miranda, Franco's most exquisite leading lady and muse.

And does that EVER apply here! I have a really soft spot for this crapper. Long, long ago, I saw it under the title "A Virgin Among the Living Dead". It made no sense! Then, years later, in my pursuit of obtaining bad films, I found an almost-uncut version. There are so many different edits of this film, it's hard to find the definitive cut. The one I currently have makes much more sense than the usual rental version.

To clear things up, zombies were not part of the original film (titled "Christine, Princess of Eroticism"). The zombie footage was taken mostly - if not entirely - from "Zombie Lake" (1980), which means they were spliced in well after "Virgin" was released (1971). Anyway, "Virgin" is about a girl named Christine, who journeys to her uncle's chateau for the reading of his will. What she finds is both revolting (to the squeamish) and humorous. Jess Franco does his job of playing the disheveled freak rather well. He just looks like a sleazebag. He also does an adequate directing job. The movie is very stylish as is typical with Franco's work, but also rather visually stunning, with the shots of the lush forest surrounding the chateau. There is even some strong atmosphere, particularly when, in one scene, Christine's uncle is drawn back into the shadows after speaking to her.

The film culminates in a sexual ritual that is severely--not to mention ridiculously, at least with the "Zombie 4" version--edited on any of the American prints. In fact, many of the scenes that help make the film more cohesive are also excised from American prints. The (as close as possible to) uncut version is really good if given a chance. Though not necessary, outside. . .influences can only help the viewer (and no doubt were used during the making of this trash classic). "Virgin" + melatonin + dank fun dreamy state.

Unfortunately, as so many others have mentioned, you won't see Christine nude unless you can find a completely unedited tape. She sure is hot! Shame she was only in three films (at least according to the IMDb). So that's it. I like it, but most don't. It's worth seeing just because it's better than any given American slasher flick.

"A Virgin Among the Living Dead" is an unjustly overlooked gem from Franco's mid-period, wherein he fully embraced erotica and dreamlike narratives.

I forget who it was - maybe Truffaut, Maybe Godard - who said that the best way to criticise a movie is to make another movie. "Virgin" functions like a critique of Franco's more famous "Vampyros Lesbos". That one too had a more than average dollop of eroticism and dreaminess. However, in that movie, the eroticism failed to do anything, and the dreamlike nature of the story seemed employed to mask the fact that the script didn't make any sense.

I hazard a guess that the huge, overwhelming majority of movies given the "dreamlike" tag are such pictures. "Dreamlike" is just a polite way of saying "nonsensical". "Virgin Among the Living Dead" is a rare example of a movie that achieves its dreamlike atmosphere, and its eroticism. In so doing it is like a living rebuke to "Vampyros Lesbos". The only thing that movie had over this was the presence of Soledad Miranda. The main actress in "Virgin" is beautiful but doesn't have the hypnotic quality Miranda effortlessly possessed.

The plot is sparse and rather typical of Eurohorror. A young girl comes to stay with her estranged family in a small rural community after the suicide of her family. Yes, she spends the night in a hotel first, where she mentions where she is going and gets a predictable reaction - it really seems like practically all Eurohorror movies begin this way. However, in this case the effect is different as the hotel isn't crowded with people who shut up as soon as she mentions where she is headed - rather, the hotel is empty save for the hostess. This subtle difference foreshadows Franco's off-kilter approach to his familiar material.

Any fans of Eurohorror know that the gods of the genre - Fulci, Argento, Franco, even Joe D'amato - had a hidden reserve of talent they used to breathtaking effect early in their careers, before moving on to bargain basement slop for the lion's share of their working lives. "A Virgin Among the Living Dead" is like a call back to the early days of the '60s, where Franco was a promising director, even in the minds of mainstream critics. It is extremely well shot, and subtly effective - absent is the violence the director would become known for.

It is a must see for Franco, and Eurohorror, fans.

Many of the comments here are written about the hacked up version of 'A Virgin Among The Living Dead' so ignore them. This is actually a very watchable movie, not the best Jess Franco I have seen, but still above average. More an erotic fantasy than a horror movie per se, it will appeal to fans of 60s/70s Euroschlock like 'Nude For Satan' and Franco's classic 'Vampyros Lesbos'.

The stunningly beautiful Christina von Blanc plays the lovely innocent Christina Benson, who is summoned from boarding school in England to the reading of her father's will in a spooky castle. She never really knew her father, or had previously met her bizarre relatives who live in the castle, which according to the locals is deserted. It doesn't take much to work out her family's "secret", the title tells all. Christina however, is a bit slow to catch on. She spends most of her time wandering around in a daze, often naked (great news for us viewers!), and increasingly unable to tell dream from reality.

There's not much action in this movie, and very little horror, but it has an almost Argento-like nightmarish feel to it, and like most of Franco's output, is very stylish despite the obviously low budget. The sight of the gorgeous Ms. Blanc is more than enough for me to recommend this movie. One look at her and any failings 'A Virgin Among The Living Dead' has will quickly be forgotten! An enjoyable fun movie.

I'm not implying that watching this drunk would be a great idea, I meant it in a "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" kind of way, if that makes no sense. nevermind. Back to the subject. We already have Night of the Living Dead, Erotic Nights of the Living Dead, we even got a Hell of the Living Dead, so why the hell not A Virgin Among the Living Dead? They could probably use one. Although, that's not the original title, and has absolutely nothing to do with what goes on, I'm not entirely sure what to think of this one, yet, that's probably why I dig it so much. What almost seems more like some kind of shroom-dream... make that shroom-nightmare, A Virgin Among the Living Dead is director, Jess Franco's exploration into the grey area between life and death, or at least that's what they say. As of this moment, all traditional B-horror rules have now been thrown out the window.

We begin with a young woman, Christina, traveling to an out of the way, castle, in Spain. There, stay the relatives of her estranged father, who has recently committed suicide, soon, there will be a reading of the will. Once Christina arrives in town, she's looked at like shes crazy after asking for directions, she's told no one lives there. The next day, with the guidance of a mute, Christina arrives at Monserat, to find that all her relatives are somewhere between eccentric, and insane. Monserat is filled with some kind of evil/confusion/ insanity, it's just very incoherent. Although her peculiar relatives seem kind of harmless, Christina suspects that something is a little off, when her step-mother warns her to leave, seconds before her death, not to mention bizarre occurrences such as, waking up one morning to find a big, black dildo on the floor, and a blind girl sitting in the corner, walking in on blood sucking sessions, finding dead bats on her bed, just, confusion, after confusion. and not even being allowed to have friends over, also seems a bit suspicious. Besides all the random confusion, it really seems like death is hovering over everything. With this film coming off as a dream, and being about death, then, isn't this just one big nightmare? Possibly, but I think it's deeper than that.

It is said that Jess Franco made this film as a way to cope with the death of Soledad Miranda, hence, the emphasis on death. For a horror film to come off as a genuine nightmare will always be a job well done, regardless of the intended message. Whatever message Franco intended, was intended for Franco, we're just lucky that he shared it with us, because witnessing such surreal magnificence really is a rare experience. The vibe of this film is simply indescribable. For more dream on film, check out Messiah of Evil, and Death Bed, although, You really won't find anything quite like this one anywhere, not even from Franco. Above all else, A Virgin Among The Living Dead is bold, independent film-making in its purest form. 9/10