6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.8 |
Countess Irina of Karlstein resides quietly in a hotel on the island of Madeira, where she sustains her immortality by feeding on the life essence of men and women. When new victims are found fatally drained of potency, forensic scientist Dr. Roberts consults his colleague, Dr. Orloff, who confirms that a vampire is responsible. Meanwhile, Irina is confronted by a poet who believes he is destined to become her lover and join her among the immortals! Jess Franco's influential erotic horror film is presented here in its full-strength version, and for the first time in a widescreen format.
Starring: Lina Romay (II), Jack Taylor (II), Alice Arno, Monica Swinn, Jesús FrancoHorror | 100% |
Erotic | 49% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
French: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Ah, Jesús "Jess" Franco, the trashiest of the Euro-trash directors, the seamy eye behind nearly 200 limp and sordid films, most of them some combination of lazy horror and flesh-baring softcore sleaze. He might have a cult following, but he's gained it only by being prolific—prolifically bad. His breakthrough, if you can call it that, was 1961's The Awful Dr. Orloff, a gothic chiller in the Hammer Film Productions mold and Spain's first bonafide horror movie. Increasingly, though, he moved away from this relative reputability—coinciding with his move to the more sexually liberal France in 1970—and started churning out slow-paced, low-to-no-budget grindhouse snoozers effluent with writhing naked ladies, S&M imagery, psuedo-poetical dialogue, and a withering aptitude for good filmmaking technique. Don't get me wrong, I understand all of the reasons why some people "like" Franco's films—the ironic, so-bad-it's-passably-entertaining enjoyment, the kitsch factor, the copious nudity, maybe even the fact that Quentin Tarantino is a noted admirer—but I don't think any fan can claim with a straight face that Jess Franco is a competent director, let alone a good one. Then again, I suppose "good" here is entirely beside the point.
The Bare-Breasted Countess
Kino Lorber and Redemption Films have acquired a print of Female Vampire that's in watchable but far from perfect shape, and the resultant 1080p/AVC-encoded Blu-ray transfer is true to source, with no clean-up work but no unnecessary digital tinkering either. Although the 2-perf 35mm image is exceptionally grainy and usually soft, it has a naturally filmic look, untouched by digital noise reduction and edge enhancement. Specks, flecks, and instances of small debris are in abundance, and there are several scenes that are gouged by harsh vertical scratches. Elsewhere, you'll spot mild brightness fluctuations and frame jittering. It's all noticeable, and slightly distracting at times, but if you watch a lot of low-budget 1970s horror, you're already used to seeing dinged-up, worn-out prints. The level of clarity does get a significant boost from prior standard definition editions, however. Even though Franco clearly has no real regard for accurate focusing, when the picture is dialed in correctly, there's at least some fine detail visible. And while the color in the print can look a bit faded at times, this is better than being artificially pumped up and oversaturated. Given that it's extremely unlikely that Franco's films will ever be given thorough, frame-by-frame restorations, this is probably the best that Female Vampire will look for some time to come.
Female Vampire goes down on Blu-ray with two audio options—lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo tracks in either French or English. Both are functional and listenable, but obviously constrained by the film's age and low-budget sound design. The dubbing, for instance, is blatantly noticeable —if I had to stick with one, though, I'd definitely choose the French mix—and you'll hear a few hisses, pops, and crackles, along with a slight brittleness in the high end. The piano theme music sounds decent enough, as does the weirdly unsexy vocal number that plays over most of the protracted sex scenes. Voices occasionally peak, but the dialogue is at least balanced and comprehensible. The disc also includes optional English subtitles.
There's no accounting for taste when it comes to horror or erotica, so I don't begrudge anyone their Jess Franco film fetish, even if I don't share it. (I think he's tedious and mysteriously over-hyped.) The director's cult will certainly appreciate this new Blu-ray edition of Female Vampire, which— considering the type of film we're talking about—I'll admit at least has a novel premise. If you're completely new to the Euro-sleaze master's seedy oeuvre, however, I'd advise checking out some trailers or footage from the film on YouTube before stumbling into a blind-buy scenario. Recommended only for a niche audience of low-budget 1970s Euro-horror fans.
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