| The Shiver of the Vampires (1970) 96 min |
| aka Le Frisson des Vampires Strange Things Happen at Night Sex and the Vampire The Terror of the Vampires Thrill of the Vampires Vampire Thrills |
| The Shiver of the Vampires may not be Rollins best movie, but it certainly has everything that makes a Rollin movie great. I'm sure a lot of cynical audiences would have a good laugh at this one, considering it 'so bad it it's funny' or some bullshit like that, but I see a lot to like in this movie. It's Rollin's third vampire fairy tale, and aside from a few distracting flaws it's quite a remarkable movie. |
| Like much of Rollin's best work, the story is delerious and often times incoherent. A young couple in full wedding gear arrive at the castle of the woman's cousins. They are told in the nearby town that the cousins have recently passed away, but once they get to the castle nothing is as it seems. To go into the story in further detail would really only serve to both confuse and spoil this wonderfull experience. The movie's main strengths don't lie in the events of the narrative, but more in the experience of watching them unfold. After seeing this movie, I couldn't give you a concrete answer on what happened in each scene. There are though, several workable theories that make this film well worth the time of those who enjoy open minded diaglogues after the credits roll. |
| What I think makes the film work so well, is the degree to which all the aesthetic elements come together. The costumes, locations, cinematography, music, direction, and of course the visual appeal of the cast are all vital in the overall feel. All of the above effectively compliment each other to make this more like a live action fairy tale than almost any film I can think of. The costumes, locations, and photography set the tone and course of action for the dream like narrative. Several scenes are rather ambiguous as to whether they're supposed to represent actual events or dreamlike visions. The characters wear a similar streak of ambiguity about them. Aside from the main characters, who we are given to identify with, the motives and desires of those involved are rather cloudy. I found the most interesting of these to be the two servant girls. They not only compliment each other visually (one with dark skin and hair, the other more fair) but throughout the narrative the seem to require each other as supplements. The seem to carry one desire and one objective, but seperated into two characters. Their loyalties and desires are left to speculation though. While I considered the servents to be the most enigmatic characters, others had a similar quality about them. A mysterious woman with a taste for ominous entrances (descending from chimineys, popping out of grandfather clocks, and more) attempts to manipulate control of all those around her. Unfortunately for her though, two somewhat misogynistic hippies have a different idea of control. What comes of this is open to interpritation, but I can't shake the feeling that everything comes full circle back to the servant girls. |
| I admittedly went into this film with the intentions of enjoying it in the context of Rollin's body of work, which I did. I don't think that's quite fair to a movie as good as this though, to limit it only to fans his entire body. Having never heard of Rollin before, I would hope that I'd still get a lot out of this movie. I know this isn't a movie for everybody, but I would think if you would let yourself get absorbed in it you'll find the experience rewarding. In the end, I think this is a tricky, trippy, and sometimes incoherent little gem. All elements of the film flow into and compliment each other, yet it is difficult to tell where the beginning and end are. |
| The final piece of the aesthetic puzzle for me, was the music. Provided by a young progressive rock group Acanthus, the score serves to be both fitting and jarring. It's not the most technically the most sound music, but it serves the film well to provide both a haunting mood and and off kilter beat to the gothic visuals. The young group hung it up for good shortly after, which is disappointing seeing I think their evalution would have been something interesting. Putting all these pieces together was a young Jean Rollin (about 21 or 22 at the time). He definitely had some inspired help on the crew. Cinematographer Jean-Jacques Renon was also responsible for the beautiful work in other Rollin films, The Nude Vampire and The Demoniacs. Monique Natan colaborated with Rollin on the delerious script, but she unfortunately passed away before their next planned project could get off the ground (the abandoned Docteur Vampire, which was also planned to feature Sandra Julien). It was Rollin though, that I see as the key ingredient. As always, he uses what he has to the fullest potential, but this film has his style dripping off of every frame. This may not be my favorite of his movies, but I definitely see it as one them. This is almost like a 'greatest hits' of his early career, everything I could want in one of his movies is in here and executed extremely well. |
| I give this one 4 shivering vampires out of 5 |
| reviewed by Joe Canistro 08/23/2002 |
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