A Virgem e os Mortos

Christina, Princess of Eroticism (1971)

**** (out of 4)

A young woman named Christina (Christina von Blanc) goes to a small village where she's to meet some of her relatives as well as hear the reading of her father's will. Before long it dawns on her that something isn't quite right with the family when her uncle (Howard Vernon) slaps her for inviting an outsider to the house and when her dead father (Paul Muller) shows up to try and warn her.

This here is without question one of the best films in director Jess Franco's career as it's a perfect mixture of art, Gothic nightmare and just a cold look at death. There are countless experts out there who will give theories on how this movie was Franco's most personal and why it was a direct connection to his star Soledad Miranda being killed shortly before this was made. It's worth noting that a lot of people overlook this as some sort of cheap horror movie but I think that's selling the film quite short. Known under a variety of titles including A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD, this film certainly manages to build up an eerie atmosphere and some great performances.

Some might say the story makes no sense but I'd argue that many dreams or nightmares don't make sense. This film is somewhere in between a dream and a nightmare because there are so many moods going on here. The dream-like nature can be seen in moments like when Christina goes swimming not realizing that she's being spied on. Another great and peaceful sequence simply shows her sleeping in her bed not knowing the evil she's surrounded by. The nightmare aspect of the film is perfectly captured in the atmosphere including the entire final fifteen-minutes where this character that you've come to care for slowly loses everything.

Performances are something that don't often get talked about when it comes to any Franco movie, which is a shame because we've got some great stuff here. This includes von Blanc who perfectly makes you believe the innocence of the character. Britt Nichols is wonderful as the overly sexual member of the family and Vernon is always worth watching. Muller and Anne Libert are good in their roles as is Franco who plays a dimwit. Another item that often gets criticized is Franco's use of zooms but they actually work well here and help build up the atmosphere and coldness of the picture.

As with many Franco films, this one here is available in several versions. I've seen at least six different versions including one with hardcore footage and another that had Jean Rollin adding zombies to the film. The best version to watch is the one running in at 79-minutes. It's the shortest version out there but it's said to be the one closest to the director's preferred cut. As is, Christina, PRINCESS OF EROTICISM is without question proof that Franco could create an art film and a great one at that.

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.

The viewer that purchased the movie in a sale bin for 5 bucks, said it sucked!! Well with the entire movie on the cutting floor I can wonder why. I just finished the movie tonight, and saw the complete uncut version. It is the complete version with all the scenes. The FULL VERSION is great, spend some time to find the right copy, and then write your summary.

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.

It's a shame that most people here seem to have seen a cut version of this film, because the actual original is absolutely beautiful, and belies the criticism that Franco was a complete hack. It is a perfect example of what can be achieved in the horror genre with an almost zero budget in what was probably the director's busiest period. However most people seem to have seen the US release print, which also circulated on video in the UK in the 80's under the title of `The Invisible Dead'. This film was marketed as being a successor to Fulci's `Zombi', and basically was padded out with scenes from Jean Rollin's `Lake of Zombies' (shot almost 10 years after Franco's original film) and had all nudity removed.

There is another version which circulated with hardcore black mass footage featuring Franco regular Alice Arno and a host of stunt doubles for Vernon, Nichols and von Blanc.

The only video release of the original film at present is on Redemption, featuring a couple of nude mass scenes, some lesbian vampire sucking, a bizarre scene where Christina knocks over a giant phallus and an effectively hypnotic score from Bruno Nicolai. The UK version is missing the rather graphic rape scene present in the Benelux versions.

Christina von Blanc never unfortunately appeared in any other Franco films – in fact only appeared in a couple of others including the giallo `L'Etrusco uccide ancora'. The delightful pairing of Britt Nichols and Anne Libert occurs again in his bizarre `Erotic Rites of Frankenstein' and `Les Demons', amongst other films of the period. If you are interested in Franco, this is one of his best of the period, very atmospheric and deserves to be seen in its original version.