The Shiver of the Vampires

This is one of those films that is entirely plotless, but it doesn't matter. There's bucketfulls of atmosphere and the acting is pretty good. The directing is excellent. It's got one hell of a lot of nude women in, but they're presented in an arty sort of way rather than simple pornography. I reckon it must have had a budget of about 20 francs, though, but this gives it a kind of loveable quality.

Ultra low-budget outing from French sex director Rollin has even less plot and an even deadlier pace than his previous films, LE VIOL DU VAMPIRE (1967) and LA VAMPIRE NUE (1969). A newly-wed couple travel to a castle to meet the bride's cousins. It turns out they are vampires with a harem of bloodsuckers. Cheesy, pretentious with lots of nudity and almost no violence at all. Psychedelic rock score is ultra-bad. What you get is an attempt at creating atmosphere (fog, colorful lighting) and Rollin's trademark before-sunrise coast-finale. Stay away unless you are a die-hard fan.

I guess the infamous Jean Rolin has made way crazier movies. Movies that were more shocking. Still if you watch this, do not expect this to be without any bite (yes you'll get at least one pun with my reviews - I don't even charge for them).

For a 50 year old movie it is decently made. There is a lot of nudity and a fair amount of blood. That being said, do not expect this to be anything ultra in any direction. Blood and other things do look quite fake (though since this was the 70s, I assume there was no body enhancement with the females ... or males for that matter). Story is pretty simple, the french audio track is ok - not that I understood any of what they were saying (subtitles are a great gift).

Predictable sleaze, for fans of the "genre" or Rolling maybe worth a look ... otherwise this feels even more drained than it was back then (a pun a day ...)

"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.

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.