6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
This erotic horror film, set in 1905, tells the story of a thief who seeks refuge in a castle owned by two women, Eva and Elizabeth. The women are seductive and teasing, but turn out to be part of a vampiric cult of blood-drinking aristocrats.
Starring: Franca Mai, Brigitte Lahaie, Jean-Marie Lemaire, Muriel Montossé, Jacques MarbeufHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 73% |
Erotic | 31% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
There are hundreds of films about supernatural vampires--undead seducers and seductresses who feed on the living-- but comparatively few about mere mortals with sanguinary fetishes. That is, those who seek out sexual thrills, medical cures, or perceived physical empowerment through the ritual drinking of blood. One of the better examples is Fascination, directed by French gothic horror underdog Jean Rollin and inspired by "Un Verre de Sang," a short story by the 19th century dandy Jean Lorrain, a member of the Symbolist school of literature. The Symbolists, with their taboo-busting, decadent and death-obsessed fin de siècle (literally, "end of the century") outlook, were an enormous influence on Rollin, whose films became known for mixing gothic romanticism and dreamy surrealism to a darkly erotic effect. Of the five Jean Rollin titles that Kino Video is releasing this week--The Nude Vampire, Shiver of the Vampires, The Iron Rose, Lips of Blood, and Fascination--the last is my own personal favorite, a battle-of-the-sexes power play involving gold thieves, bisexual bloodsuckers, and a strange midnight ritual at a moat-surrounded chateaux.
Eva and Elizabeth
For a long time, Jean Rollin's films were only available in the U.S. by way of duped VHS tapes and then decent, but far from spectacular DVDs, so to see them in high definition is something of a revelation. The Blu-ray presentation is fairly consistent across all five films being released in this first batch of titles, so I'm basically reiterating what I've written in the previous reviews. Though the visual style is much in keeping with the earlier films--intentionally drab overall but punctuated by vivid color--Fascination is the most polished-looking of the five titles. Cinematographer Georgie Fromentin had only one previous credit, a film called Hard Penetration--but he actually does some decent lensing here, helping Rollin to create some of his most memorable images. On Blu-ray, the color has been reproduced wonderfully and the image is dense, with deep blacks--sometimes they crush a bit, but this is probably unavoidable--and good contrast. As with the other titles, Kino's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer is true-to-source, with no noise reduction, edge enhancement, or other unnecessary digital manipulations. That said, the print is also presented as-is, which means you'll sometimes notice white and black specks, occasional flickers, and some small scratches, hairs, and debris. Fascination is never exceptionally sharp, but the fine, high-definition detail apparent in the transfer makes this an instant improvement over the prior DVDs. Finally, there are no real compression issues to worry about. It bears repeating: If you've been following Kino's Blu-ray track record, you know exactly what to expect from the Cinema of Jean Rollins series--the best possible prints, presented with minimal digital intervention.
The Nude Vampire, Shiver of the Vampires, and The Iron Rose each included both the original French audio and an English dub, but for Fascination Kino has only supplied the French language mix, presented in uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0 mono. As with the picture quality, the audio sometimes exhibits evidence of the film's low- budget origins--dynamic tinniness, light hisses, audible pops, and crackles--but nothing you wouldn't expect and nothing outright distracting. What's important is that the dialogue, while never perfectly clean--there's some slight muffling or peaking at times--is at least always understandable and balanced in the mix. I was also somewhat surprised by the sound design here, which is better and more deliberate than in some of the early Rollin films. The creepy score, by Philippe d'Aram, sets a great mood too. The disc includes optional English subtitles.
Unheralded horror filmmaker Jean Rollins is finally getting his high definition due, with five of his early films being released on the 24th in wonderful Blu-ray editions by Kino-Lorber and Redemption Films. Fascination is my own personal favorite-- it's surprisingly elegant and features some of Rollin's most memorable imagery--but as I've said before, any self-respecting gothic horror fan is going to want to own all of these films. Kino has done a fantastic job with these titles. Recommended!
Limited Edition | Indicator Series
1979
Limited Edition | Indicator Series
1979
Le frisson des vampires / Strange Things Happen at Night | Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1971
La vampire nue | Limited Edition | Indicator Series
1970
La nuit des traquées | Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1980
La rose de fer
1973
Les deux orphelines vampires | Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1997
Lèvres de sang | Limited Edition | Indicator Series
1975
Les démoniaques | Limited Edition | Indicator Series
1974
Le viol du vampire | Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1968
Caged Virgins | Vierges et vampires | Limited Edition
1971-1973
Special 2-Disc Limited Edition
1971
La morte vivante
1982
幽霊屋敷の恐怖 血を吸う人形 / Chi o suu ningyô
1970
La novia ensangrentada
1972
La fille de Dracula
1972
The Mask of Satan / La maschera del demonio | The Mario Bava Collection
1960
AIP Cut | 60th Anniversary
1963
Daughters of Dracula
1974
El retorno del hombre lobo
1981
呪いの館 血を吸う眼 / Noroi no yakata: Chi o suu me
1971
La perversa caricia de Satán
1976