The Shiver of the Vampires

Because I've always been a fan of vampire stories and I like to experiment with different genres, I bought three Jean Rollin films. Even though this is - in my opinion - the best out of the three, I really don't get their appeal.

For an erotic/porn film, the nudity is too scarce and tame. For a horror/scare film, there is too little suspense. For a drama, there is too little dramatic development. etc. Add this to the lack of a decent story line or decent acting and you really start wondering what the hell some of these reviewers are so excited about...

They say Rollin is all about atmosphere, but I wonder what atmosphere they're talking about. I guess they're just talking about seeing naked women in a Gothic surrounding. If that's the case, they better find themselves a girlfriend/wife who's into the whole Gothic thing (like I did). It's far more worth it ;-)

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.

Unforgettable Rollin extravaganza, daring to go for effects other directors would dismiss as cheesy, and pulling them off. On one level, it seems pure exploitation, with its somnolent virgins and lesbian vampires; but it is the prospective male viewer that the film targets - his representative on screen is reduced to an impotent observer, finally breaking down into helpless madness. Rollin's style is as delirious as ever, fantastic French Gothic sets, seeping red filter, dreamlike pace, bewilderingly inventive soundtrack, resonant set-pieces and unmissably pretentious dialogue. It's easier to follow than THE RAPE OF THE VAMPIRE.

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.