Le frisson des vampires

Perhaps it's a matter of personal taste, or the lack thereof; I love Jean Rollin movies, and this Rollin film in particular I've seen several times. Of all the European erotic horror of the sixties and seventies, Rollin's movies most effectively maintain a certain morbid psychedelic vibe, a genuinely Gothic atmosphere, which most of his peers' work only captures fitfully, at best. "Shiver of the Vampires" was the movie that firmly established my fondness for this entire genre; and if it sounds interesting to you, do yourself a favor and seek it out, especially the Redemption DVD, which is gorgeously mastered from (according to the liner notes) the director's own print.

"Les Frissons des Vampires" can't be considered, in the strict sense, a horror film, because there are no suspense and/or scares waiting for the viewer. What the film has to offer is atmosphere, plenty of atmosphere. The plot is thin: a couple arrives in a castle, in order to pay the fiancée's two cousins, a visit (they were once brave vampire hunters, but one night they fell in battle, and became afterwards enthusiastic vampires). These cousins, together with their team (two beautiful servant maids and a solemn vampire girl that emerges out of the most unexpected places), prowl around the innocent guests. This stuff could lead to a really suspenseful film, but I guess that was not Jean Rollin's intention.

The lighting effects create beautiful night colors. Every new night, bathed in a different color - the castle - a visual leitmotif. The conversations are frequently literary (especially the two philosopher vampire cousins) and a self-parody - not to be taken seriously. Delicate camera movements, strange angle shots, various colored lights flooding landscape, castle and graveyard.... the idyllic prog rock of Acanthus..... the fog grows and spreads in wonderland.

We should relearn to watch films. "Les Frissons des Vampires" is slow-paced - maybe if you just relax and don't hang too much on the story, you may experience the film - enjoy its gorgeous colors effects, its poetic-humoristic dialogues (spoken in French, a very sweet language) and its bizarre atmosphere.

Welcome to the fantasy world of Jean Rollin. Give free reins to your senses and imagination. Dive in.

Jean Rollin's early films are an acquired taste with their accent on mood and atmosphere over linear plot structure. This film is the best of his early output, right up there with LES RAISINS DE LA MORT. It's got a prog-rock music score, long-haired hippie vampires, old cemeteries and castles lit in bright shades of red, blue and green. Rollin's first feature was like a pretentious student film. His second feature added a little science fiction to the vampire mythos. But it's here that all the ingredients came together in just the right way. I still find myself falling asleep during the nonsensical dialog scenes or long takes but am always riveted back to the screen by the next striking scene to come.

Another Jean Rollin vampire flick. The formula for these seems to be; paper-thin plot, beautiful cinematography, and lots of gratuitous, female nudity. The cast are pretty poor (one of the girls does bear a resemblance to Sharon Tate, whilst one of the guys is a dead ringer for Tate's husband Roman Polanski, who appeared with her in his Dance of the Vampires (aka The Fearless Vampire Killers) four years earlier). The music, by French group Acanthus (who also recorded under the name Unity (22); other than that I can't find anything on them) has a prog rock feel; it's okay, but it jars with the heavily gothic imagery. On top of that, this was pretty poorly dubbed into English; I'd sooner have had subtitles. There are some spectacular visuals - especially in and around a chateau and a graveyard - but that's it. Nice to look at, but not a lot else. 5/10.

A wonderful, weird, vampire movie about temptation and confusion. I am very much a fan of 1970s European vampire movies and Jean Rollin was the best of them. And Shiver is one of my favorites. It has very weird dialogue and the plot is very confusing, which is why it is great! If you are looking for the best of this genre, this is one of the films to watch.