Fascination

Sooner or later anyone doing the rounds of horror is confronted with Rollin; the sensually paced, purely ephemeral wanderings around mansions or cemeteries, at least in his better films, pale naked skin dripping with blood, almost always. It is relatively easy to deal with them, with none of the hard anchors in story or characters one either concedes to dream with him or not.

So yes, largely nonsense in conventional terms, here about a man who is stranded in a secluded château with a host of beautiful women who are waiting for midnight to perform a mysterious ritual, but attached to a poetry of images.

The frequent comparison is to Jess Franco; but whereas Franco at his best intuited feverish images that always seemed to zoom at the verge of cacophony, Rollin exhibits painterly control over his. His gaze is methodical, attuned with the aural qualities of film; notice here for example how the winds howling outside the mansion stop and start every time someone opens a door.

It's simple really, the ritual a tone poem about the unveiling of naked beauty. The twist, if it can be called that, is that what we expect to be vampires imbued with some supernatural capacity are only women lusting for blood. The man - our surrogate viewer in the midst of beauty - is lusting himself and so concedes to be part of the dream.

I'm an admirer of Jean Rollins work, and this film is the one which to me best represents his style. It succeeds in blending the sexual predator images of the more successful Hammer vampire movies, with the doomed romanticism of French cinema. The production values are low, presumably they operated on a very small budget, but as I was starting to experiment with my own super8 films, I was inspired by how much it achieves in spite of its limitations. The film is driven by a series of powerful images, notably the semi-naked girl wielding a scythe, and the odd bit of lesbian love action. As with all of Rollins best films, you get the feeling of getting a glimpse of, and being allowed to share, a very personal obsession.

'Fascination' is a very apt title for this spellbinding movie! A typically dreamlike and stylish work from the remarkable Jean Rollin. Yup, it's another lesbian vampire movie (from a decade that produced quite a few!) but Rollin, like Jess Franco, puts his own original touches to it which make it truly unforgettable. Like most of Franco's (and Dario Argento's) output, atmosphere and aesthetics are more important than plot, and the performances of the actors involved are variable. Rollin doesn't seem to be too concerned with creating believable characters, he uses his (beautiful) actresses as striking images moving across a background. His movies are often closer to paintings than your standard Hammer horror. That's why 'Fascination' is so unlike most vampire movies you'll ever see. Inspired and original. Don't miss this one!

I've seen only a handful of Jean Rollin films and I have to say that this one is the best yet. Though still hampered with low budget set-up and stiff acting and stilted dialogue, FASCINATION remains watchable from beginning to end. The concept is excellent and the film never gets off track from its interesting story.

This idea is so good, the film should be remade with a suitable budget and a capable cast of real actors. The whole thing would be quite spectacular. The lesbian sex scene would probably be dropped, which would disappoint Rollin fans but I wouldn't mind seeing a classy version of this film if it meant a few changes from the original.

But in the meantime, make sure to check this film out. It's worth it if you like slightly odd and out-of-character bloody dramas.

Fascination (1979)

*** (out of 4)

Marc (Jean-Marie Lemaire) is a thief on the run from the people he stole from. He ends up taking shelter in a castle where he soon meets Eva (Brigitte Lahaie) and Elisabeth (Franca Mai). The two women come off as incredibly strange but they keep referring to a party later that evening that Marc can't see.

Jean Rollin's FASCINATION is without question one of the director's better films, although the final act does take a bit too long to get where it's going. If you're not a fan of Rollin's work then I'd probably recommend that you start with THE LIVING DEAD GIRL or one of his vampire films but once you're used to his work this film will have so many of the director's touches.

As you'd expect, there's all sorts of sexuality between both the two women as well as their seduction scenes with Marc. It's really amazing how the likes of Rollin and Jess Franco could milk any scene for all the sexuality that it's worth and it happens here as well. One of the highlights is a sequence where Lahaie goes after one of the men trying to kill Marc. This entire sequence is perfectly directed and contains both the sexuality and violence that you've come to expect from Rollin.

Speaking of Lahaie, she easily steals the film with her raging beauty that just leaps off the screen. I've seen several of her movies but the way she looks here is just terrific and I'd argue she's never looked better in any other movie. Both Mai and Lemaire are also good in their roles. FASCINATION has a terrific visual quality and there's no doubt that the locations are put to good use. Fans of Rollin will certainly enjoy this one.