6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A gang of pirates rape the two sole survivors of a shipwreck. The violated girls are rescued by the strange inhabitants of a supposedly haunted island, where they are granted supernatural powers to strike revenge against the pirates.
Starring: Joëlle Coeur, John Rico, Willy Braque, Paul Bisciglia, Louise DhourHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 66% |
Erotic | 32% |
Surreal | 9% |
Supernatural | 5% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
French: LPCM 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
When you think of the cinema of the late Jean Rollin, you inevitably think of vampires—lesbian vampires, hippy vampires, vampire twins, but
always vampires. Like George A. Romero and zombies, vamps were Rollin's supernatural subject of choice, and he used the tropes associated
with them—the sadness of immortality, the perverse sexuality of bloodsucking, the corruption of innocence—to stake his own claim to a dreamy,
morbid territory on the outskirts of le fantastique.
He did make a few non-vampire films—besides the slew of bill-paying pornos he directed under the pseudonyms Robert Xavier and Michel Gentil—and of
these, 1974's The Demoniacs stands out as one of the most unusual, with a classic gothic horror premise involving guilt, revenge, and a deal
with the devil. It was also one of the few times that Rollin was afforded a budget large enough to pull off what we might call a "spectacle" sequence; in
this case, the burning of an oceanside graveyard for derelict ships. Still, though there's not a vampire in sight, there's no mistaking The
Demoniacs as anything but a Jean Rollin movie. The directorial trademarks are all here—the codependent female leads, the "poetic" pacing, and of
course, the borderline incomprehensible story and gratuitously rampant nudity.
If you've been following or collecting Kino and Redemption Film's other Rollin releases, you already know exactly what to expect from The Demoniacs—a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that's essentially presented "as is." There's been no real digital restoration work done here, and you'll notice frequent but minor print damage in the form of white flecks, vertical scratches, and slight color fluctuations. On the other hand, the fidelity of the picture hasn't been compromised by edge enhancement or texture-erasing noise reduction. That's a tradeoff I'm willing to make, although I'm curious to hypothetically see what a company like Criterion could do to clean up a film like this. In terms of clarity, The Demoniacs was probably never sharp to begin with, but this new high definition remaster is an unquestionable upgrade from previous home video editions, refining textures and preserving the picture's naturally filmic look. Colors seem faithfully reproduced too, with no overzealous boosting in contrast or saturation. I've noticed that Kino has started using dual-layer discs more often, suggesting a higher bit-rate, and subsequently, I didn't notice any compression-related quirks or artifacts here. Barring a time-intensive restoration in the future, this is probably as good as we can expect The Demoniacs to look.
Likewise, The Demoniacs washes up on Blu-ray with an uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0 track—in the original French—that sounds as good as can be expected from a low-budget 1970s horror film. You'll notice some top-heavy brashness to the mix, along with a few pops and crackles and some low hissing, but nothing out of the ordinary for a movie of this caliber. Most importantly, the dialogue is always listenable and nicely balanced, requiring no volume adjustments. Not much stands out here, audio-wise, but semi-frequent Rollin collaborator Pierre Raph does give the film a nice, mood- appropriate score, with minor-key pirate melodies and martial snare drum rhythms. The disc defaults to optional English subtitles, which appear in easy to read white lettering.
Like many of Jean Rollin's films, I find The Demoniacs disappointing simply because it's good in some respects—like the dreamy atmosphere—but could be so much better with a polished story and stronger actors. Still, the low-budget, z-grade Euro-sleaze quality is all part of the retrospective charm, and I can understand why Rollin has his cult supporters. If you're new to Rollin, The Demoniacs probably isn't the best title to start with—check out one of his vampire films first—but longtime fans will certainly be pleased by Kino's Blu-ray release, which features a new high definition transfer, lossless audio, and some decent special features.
Les démoniaques | Limited Edition | Indicator Series
1974
Les démoniaques | Limited Edition | Indicator Series
1974
Limited Edition | Indicator Series
1979
La vampire nue | Limited Edition | Indicator Series
1970
Les deux orphelines vampires | Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1997
Le viol du vampire | Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1968
La rose de fer
1973
Le frisson des vampires / Strange Things Happen at Night | Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1971
La novia ensangrentada
1972
Caged Virgins / Vierges et vampires / Requiem pour un vampire
1971-1973
AIP Cut | 60th Anniversary
1963
The Mask of Satan / La maschera del demonio | The Mario Bava Collection
1960
Lèvres de sang | Limited Edition | Indicator Series
1975
La morte vivante
1982
Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror | Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens | 2006 Restoration, Hans Erdmann/Heller compilation score
1922
La fille de Dracula
1972
Paura nella città dei morti viventi | Standard Edition
1980
Quella villa accanto al cimitero
1981
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht
1979
La noche del terror ciego | Standard Edition
1972
1980
Terrore nello spazio | 2K Restoration
1965