| Phantasmes (1975) 89 min |
| aka The Seduction of Amy Phantasme Pornographique Once Upon a Virgin |
| Jean Rollin's Phantasmes is an interesting film in the context of his career. Not to say that the film itself is completely without interest to genre fans in general; it's just that I doubt anyone without an interest in Rollin's career as a whole would seek this hard to find title out. Rollin has directed a ton of horror and a ton of porn (usually under psuedonym Michel Gentil) but has very rarely intertwined the two so tightly as he does here. The result is a mixed bag that runs the risk of alienating both audiences from the film. I wouldn't go as far as to say that but it's not as engrossing as most of the director's work. |
| I wouldn't go as far as to say that the movie is totally devoid of interest. The movie begins with a young girl trying to escape a would be rapist (Rollin himself, in a hilarious cameo!). She seeks refuge in a large castle and recieves help from a mysterious man. The moody castle gets pretty weird as we are carried through the story by a few sex scenes. The plot is a little incoherent (not that I'd expect anything different from those involved) as we realize that our young herione is not the first to be 'rescued' in this castle. Rollin relies more here on S&M than he does his more tried visual horror motifs. These scenes lie in between the two genres that seem to be fighting for control here. These scenes are interesting to watch from both standpoints but in the end it is damaging that neither side takes the slightest bit of supremecy over the other. Rollin deserves credit though, most who would attempt something like this would most likely come out with an extremely awkward product. Most likely a horror movie with mismatched porn scenes thrown in or vice versa. Rollin never fails to treat both aspects of the film with respect but in the end sacrifices some of the potential interest the film had. |
| After the story developes to this point things blow up into an orgy that is admittadly a sight to behold. The Castel twins (Catherine and Marie Pierre) being the highlight. Fans of Rollin will remember them from The Nude Vampire and Lips of Blood. While the look undeniably attractive here, I couldn't help feeling a little dirty at the sight of them. They really look young and innocent, to see them in this type of role is a little creepy. As for the orgy though, this is a well put together scene. Rollin works well to keep this from being a typical boring boinkfest. There isn't much of a revelation in the conclusion, making the final product a little short of satisfying. This is still an interesting watch. Though it probably won't have many fans on either side of the horror/porn fence singing its praises it is a treat to watch Rollin do his best to spice up a field that he wasn't generally thrilled to be working in. I feel that it is better than most efforts to make porn films 'real' - most notably, the recent Baise-Moi. |
| While this isn't a 'must have' for many, it is still a shame that it ha had such limited distribution. In the UK it was released in a butchered 49 (!?) minute version titled Once Upon a Virgin. The uncut version is available at Cinebizarre with decent print. It is probably the best version you're going to find but it has seen better days. Due to the hardcore nature of the film it probably won't be getting a rerelease via Redemption od Synapse anytime soon. I could be wrong though, there is a hardcore German disc of Erotikill (The Female Vampire) found on Luminous now, so perhaps there is hope. I really think that this is a film that all fans of Rollin's work should have a chance to see. Definitely an interesting conversation piece if nothing else. |
| I give this 3 creepy old sex houses out of 5 |
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| Review by Joe Canistro 03/23/2002 |