The story focuses on Frédéric. He is at a party for a photographer and notices a castle in one of the photos. He flashes back to a time when he was 12 and was lost. He found this castle and a girl, Jennifer, helped him. He complains to his mother that he can't remember anything from his childhood since his father died.
He seeks out the photographer (ie more excuses for Rollin to film young women nude. Mind you, I approve) and she says she can't tell him the castle, but if he comes to the aquarium she will tell him.
Meanwhile four mostly naked female vampires are roving about town and killing people.
Frédéric goes at the Aquarium, which turns out to be a movie theater; (bad translation maybe?) We do get a nice little 1975 version of the Easter Egg.
He sees what he thinks is Jennifer but he doesn't catch her. Later he finds out she isn't Jennifer, only pretending to be (she is later killed by the vampires). He is then chased by a man with a gun (whom the vampire girls kill), he finds the dead photographer and is even put into a psych ward by his own mother. The Castel Twins (Vampires, nach) kill the psychiatrist and Frédéric gets away. During all this time he sees visions of the real Jennifer.
We find out that Jennifer is a vampire and the other four are her vampire minions. Frédéric's mother and father tried to kill them but only managed to seal them up. Fred's father is killed by Jennifer.
For what ever reason the villagers are now not afraid of the vampires and hunt down and kill the four girls. Frédéric is the one that must kill Jennifer. They throw the bodies in a fire and Frédéric tosses in Jennifer's head. We soon discover the the head was from a statue and Jennifer is still in her coffin. Many scenes of Jennifer telling Frédéric that they belong to each other now which I guess must be done while both of them are standing on a beach naked.
They climb into Jennifer's coffin and let the tide take them out to sea where they will live on an island and feed on rich sailors.
I thought the bit where Jennifer was trapped but projecting her astral self out to lead Fred to her was kind of cool.
Special shout out to Fascination: The Jean Rollin Experience for providing me a list of "must see" for this year.
Tally: Watched 22, New 18
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I love the early Jean Rollin vampire movies. I suppose they're widely considered schlock but for me they create the most marvelous atmosphere that I haven't found anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteThe element of common nudity seems not salacious at all to me... it heightens the dream-like nature of the vampires, who seem only vaguely related to the other bloodsuckers of cinema.