Living Dead Girl 82' La Morte Vivante

Jean Rollin, French Horror Sexploitation Auteur hits hard with a Zombie-Lesbo love tale about a ressurected woman, Catherine Valmont (Fransoise Blanchard) and her long time girl friend Helene (Marie Pierro) and their exploits of lust-filled murder, kidnapping and the consequences that follow.

Foolish Grave Robbing Thieves, who also dump toxic waste meet their eye-gouging demise with the beautiful Living Dead Girl after a small tremor awakens her from her coffin. After Catherine racks up a 3 man body count, she wanders the beautiful French country side barefoot and only wearing a white gown and is photographed by a tourist and her husband. The tourist woman becomes obsessed that this Living Dead Girl is the young Catherine only back from the dead and confronts her. After a few more naked dead people pile up, Helene unscuccessfully attempts to feed Catherine with a dead bird, then kidnaps a random woman and gives her to Catherine who then tears the victim apart.

Most fans of Rollin expect his films to be loaded with French styled gore and nudity and also are aware of the slow pacing in between scenes. Such is the staple for Euro Sleaze.

The films last 10 minutes kick in to high gear and to honest, it is pretty damn grueling to the degree of saying out loud "what other horror film can offer such goodies"?

(Spoliers)

Catherine then frees her next stripped bare victim and sets her loose, self-realizing that she is evil and is hating what she is becoming. Then Helene sets a tourist on fire who flees screaming and jumps off of a bridge and chops another tourists head with a midieval axe. Moved by guilt and self loathing. Catherine attempts to drown herself in a lake but is rescued by Helene. In Catherine's fury she rips her to shreds and devours her with a slow backwards moving camera shot, leaving the blood-soaked Catherine alone in the dark.

8/10

Grapes of Death 79' by Jean Rollin

My favorite Jean Rollin Film, rough and typical start for this French gorefest but the story picks up quick. Two young college girls travel by train to a lush country side, a mindless attacker, covered in sores, staggers into their train car, kills on of the girls and Elizabeth (the beautiful and late Marie Georges Pascal) barley escapes the train alive and runs to safety at a secluded farm house. She stumbles upon a farmer and his disfigured and dead wife and then he turns to attack her as well. The story precedes with an infected country side, due to pesticides in the vineyards, with tragic results to whomever drinks the wine from that area, becomes a savage undead killer. Good social commentary that we should ponder today about chemicals in our own foods today.

Decent cinematography mixed, fantastic gore and atmosphere and the sterotypical Euro-trash nudity make this Rollin film stand out from the rest of his catalog. Their is an unforgettable graphic scene of a woman being nailed to a door, then decapitated while screaming, that will surely stick with you. Very bleak and ambiguous ending. If you have seen Dawn, Day, Night and Zombi 2, you will really enjoy this.8 out of 10

Top 10 Horror

Too many to mention, I'll just pick 10 that have been a part of my soul for a while.


1. Horror of Dracula (58)

 This Hammer Horror film is gorgeous and intimidating. Featuring the fearsome Christopher Lee as the Count and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing.

2. Carnival of Souls (62)

 Haunting low-budget early 60's ghost story horror, shot Bergman-esque, full of thick mood and atmosphere.

3. Rabid  (77)

David Cronenberg's second feature, Marilyn Chambers is a carrier of an accidental experiment. She infects her victims with an under arm piercing tentacle. The military moves as a threat and attempts to contain the murdering and madness in this masterful 70's body horror mind-fuckery.

4. George Romero's Martin (77)

George Romero's Vampire/Anti-Vampire Story in old town Pennsylvania, possibly Romero's best work.

5. Spider Baby aka The Maddest Story Ever Told (68)

 Bizarre Cannibal family also part black-comedy starring an old Lon Cheney and a young Sid Haig.

6. Dead and Buried (81)

 Early 80's big budget gore masterpiece created by the crew who did Alien, atmospheric sleeper that gained cult status.

7. Tourist Trap (79)

 Early David Schmoeller (Puppet Master), sick drive-In Horror finally on DVD. Killer psychic-villain, unlike anything in horror cinema before.


8. Alice Sweet Alice aka The Communion (76)

 70's Gothic Horror, shot in New Jersey, a beautiful rare gem in 70's irreligious horror. Director Alfred Sole executes this complex slasher exceptionally well and unconventionally reveals the killer's identity 3/4 of the way in the film. A must see for slasher fans.

9. Psycho (60)

 There is nothing more, one can say about the awesomeness of this film. It is fearsome and perfect, Psycho is like a fine-jeweled king walking amongst peasants when concerning other slashers.

10. American Werewolf in London (81)

 Before CGI bullshit, there was a day when make up artists won Academy Awards. American Werewolf in London has blood for blood, bone for bone-cracking bone the single best Werewolf transformation scene in  cinema. Thank God for Rick Baker.