La morte vivante

(This Film Rates a B+ ) A dead girl comes back to life and requires blood to stay alive, zombie/vampire like. She reunites with her childhood "girlfriend" who truly loves her and will do anything to understand and help them be together. While one believes she is alive, the other believes she is dead. This film is pretty crude at times with more of a 1970's feel than 1982. There some laughable moments throughout; Are French people really bad kissers or is it just horrible acting? How about the girl getting a blood squirt to the face at the 29:45 minute mark or her dramatic death down the stairs. There are plenty of good gore effects plus a creepy yet soothing and psychopathic emotional element to the film/story line. The script is decent and often times poetic. Predictable, over dramatized but savoy. The set/scenery are foreign and fantastic plus the cinematography has some brilliant artistic moments. T&A are present. And that ending!

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.

OK, a trawl through my past user comments will reveal that I am really interested in this genre of movies for purely purient interest. Having said that, I do know a good film when I see one. While Holywood rarely produces these, neither does Jean Rollin.

I simply cannot understand how some people can give films such as these high marks. Different strokes obviously. To be fair, this is the best produced Rollin film (out of three) that I have seen, but the others were pretty bad, so that is no commendation. Can bad acting, sloppy plotting and woeful gore effects really be that easily ignored?

The story revolves around a girl brought back from the dead who needs blood to sustain herself, her childhood friend's efforts to meet her need, and a French-American's efforts to expose what is going on. The story is threadbare and doesn't go anywhere. Everyone but the vampire girl bleed profusely by the film's end, but to no effect. Little horror, only litres of fake blood and latex gore.

Worst of all, there is little nudity or sex action to compensate. The opportunity of a lesbian relationship (de rigueur I would have thought!) between the vampire and her girlfriend is not realised, and there is only one sex scene. Isn't this the reason thats these films are made?!? I can think of no other. The other Rollin films I have seen (earlier than this one) are worse overall, but manage to compensate by some spirited flesh action.

And have I mentioned the screaming that occurs throughout the film? It's a wonder my neighbours haven't called the police.

So to those who rate this film highly, purporting it to be some kind of arty French tour de force: I have seen films which are the real thing, and it is an insult to competant French directors to make any comparison with Rollin.

This Jean Rollin feature is an erotic horror about a woman who returns from the dead due to an accident involving an earthquake and toxic chemicals. She is The Living Dead Girl and she has a vampire like taste for blood. She is drawn back to her 'blood sister' Helene, who in turn finds victims for her.

This is another melancholic and downbeat effort from Rollin. Once again his vampire is a tragic one. She did not choose her fate. She feels guilt at her subsequent actions and is repulsed by them. We feel sorry for her. The film is also about friendship and loyalty. The bond between the two girls is effectively a pact that goes beyond the grave. One of the defining features of The Living Dead Girl is its goriness. It is very bloody by Rollin's standards, so in this respect it may be a little more accessible to a wider horror audience. But then again, aside from this, it's strictly business as usual. There are the usual selection of paper thin characters, weak dialogue and low production values; while the story emphasises things that are atypical for a standard horror film, such as a melancholic 'monster' and some poetic imagery. Examples of the latter would include scenes of the girl wandering through fields in a white night dress and the night time river scene. As usual Rollin does ensure the film looks interesting. There are some nice French countryside locations and a picturesque villa. While the atmosphere is moody throughout, with some delicate musical accompaniment on the soundtrack. It is a little odd though having an American couple in the movie. This, no doubt was a way of trying to sell the film easier overseas. But like all other Rollin films these characters are uninteresting, Rollin seems to be only interested in his female vampires/villains. It isn't without faults; it does drag in places but like others from the director would probably improve on re-watches. The film does, however, wrap up in one of the most effectively haunting endings Rollin ever conceived.

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.