La morte vivante

I hate to admit it, but I like the idea of Jean Rollin more than the reality of sitting through one of his films. It's not that I don't appreciate what he's doing. I do. He has a unique world view and holds a special place in the world of "fantastique" cinema that is indisputable.

Still, I find his films a little boring.

Case in point THE LIVING DEAD GIRL springs from a simple and fascinating concept of a dead woman, who must drink blood to survive, returning to a château to be with an old friend.

As fascinating as the concept is, Rollin doesn't do a whole lot with it. He serves up plenty of atmosphere, imbues his material with a subtle eroticism and draws a superb performance from the beautiful Francoise Blanchard. What else do you want? you may ask. I'm not sure. I wanted more to happen, I guess. I wanted Rollin to jettison the boring bits and replace them with his signature set pieces.

It's been described as "savage", an adjective I wouldn't use myself. It's also been described as "dreamy". For the most part that's true. My frustration is with the film's uneven tone. Why couldn't it remain "dreamy" right through? You do need patience and a little forgiveness to enjoy Rollin.

I still wouldn't miss anything he's done. He's one of us.

I expect that Rollin, when he made this film, was just trying to make a few bucks off teenage boys with a plain old breast-and-blood flick. And really, that's all this is. Certainly every cast member gets naked at one time or another, and certainly there's plenty of blood, though the gore is never really overwhelming. Also, the script is pretty poorly written. I mean, it's inaccurate to say that the story is full of plot holes…the story itself is basically one big plot hole, starting with the first scene and continuing the length of the picture. I spent a lot of the time staring at the screen saying, "What? But, but…what?" What sets this film apart, though, what makes it worth watching, is the interesting transition taking place in the relationship between the main characters, which intimates a depth of story that Rollin probably didn't intend. The story is that Catherine (the Living Dead Girl in question) has to kill and feed on her victims, and with each victim she grows more nearly alive. But the interesting thing is that, as Catherine becomes more nearly human, she becomes more and more horrified with what she's become and what she's compelled to do. Meanwhile, her friend and protector Helene, at first revolted by the change in her friend, becomes more and more inured to the horror she and Catherine are perpetrating. It's interesting that, as Catherine becomes more and more human, Helene becomes more and more monstrous. To me, the dynamic between the two main characters is an idea that deserves a better exploration than this movie is able (or willing) to give. I would love to see someone like David Cronenberg rewrite and remake this movie; I believe it could be a horror classic with the right people behind it.

This is an interesting film on several levels. It is not full of top notch acting, but it is different and I like that.

First, some sleaze-bags are dumping chemical waste in an underground burial vault that dates from the 12th century. A tremor releases gases and awakens our living dead girl (Françoise Blanchard). She wanders into the castle above, which happens to have been her home when she died two years ago.

Now, the realtor (Dominique Treillou) brings her boyfriend for a weekend of fun. Surprise! Our living dead girl needs some blood to survive. Now, is she a zombie or a vampire? She doesn't bite, but tears the flesh apart, but she doesn't eat the flesh either; she drinks them dry. Topic for discussion.

What I like about European films is that they have no problems with full frontal. They also use very healthy actresses, not some skinny starlet. Gorgeous bodies are on display in this film.

There isn't much story here. The film has constant flashbacks to the childhood of the zombie and her friend Hélène (Marina Pierro). Hélène comes to the castle after a phone call to see if her friend is alive. At first she doesn't understand, but is soon getting her fresh meat to drink dry.

The living dead girl just wants to die, but Hélène wants to keep her alive. One is never sure if there is more to this relationship than childhood friendship, but there is only one possible ending to it.

Really should be seen by all zombie lovers for a different take on the subject.

I thought that this was a good vampire film. When they were children, Catherine and Hélène swore blood oaths that they would always love each other and, whomever died first, the other would follow. It was Catherine who was first to go. She was laid to rest in the Valmont crypt underneath the family castle. Two years later, however, some men reawaken Catherine while illegally dumping toxic waste in the Valmont vault. Catherine now needs the blood of the living to survive. Just returned from a trip, Hélène telephones the Valmont castle which, unknown to her, is up for sale. Catherine, who is a virtual zombie, picks up the receiver while playing a music box that she and Hélène shared. Not knowing who answered the phone, Hélène pays the castle a visit, and she finds find Catherine and the dead bodies. Concerned for Catherine, Hélène cleans up the mess, thinking that Catherine is sick and that her death was faked. When Hélène realises that Catherine needs human blood, she begins to bring young women to the castle to provide it, while trying harder and harder to bring Catherine out of her catatonia. I felt that this was a good vampire film.

Living Dead Girl, The (1982)

*** (out of 4)

French horror film from director Jean Rollin, which mixes tons of sex and nudity with plenty of the red stuff. After some toxic waste falls on her grave, a young woman returns with a hunger for blood. This is probably the best place for a newbie to Rollin to start as this perfectly captures the atmosphere of his best movies but also throws in plenty of over the top gore scenes, which will probably make a casual viewer sick. As with other Rollin films, there's plenty of beautiful women getting naked but the film does move at a snail's pace, which will probably put some to sleep.