Leonor

This is probably one of the most underrated, if not, THE most underrated horror film of all time. It has a 4.8 rating on IMDb, yet it deserves at least a 7.8. Never released in theaters in the US, the film eventually showed up on VHS, marketed as a cash-in on The Exorcist, under the title "Mistress of the Devil", and it was a huge disappointment, mainly because the two films have absolutely nothing in common. The story here, which recalls the works of Poe, follows a man who makes a pact with the Devil to have his dead wife, played by Liv Ullmann, back from the grave. She does come back, but as vampire who preys on young children. Stylishly directed by Luis Bunuel's son - Juan Bunuel, the film is a slow-burn, but never really boring, and it is actually pretty scary at times, while being romantic and touching as well, including some of the most heartbreaking scenes in horror cinema. The beautiful cinematography, courtesy of Suspiria's Luciano Tovoli, and the gorgeous locations at the Spanish countryside, add to the film's brooding Gothic atmosphere. Ullman gives an amazing performance as usual, and is one of the most gorgeous vampires out there IMO. Ennio Morricone's fantastic score perfectly captures the gloominess and foreboding atmosphere of this tragic love story. Overall, 10/10 for me.

This film is a fairly faithful adaptation of the Gothic short story "Wake Not The Dead" by Ernst Raupach (which is misattributed to Ludwig Tieck in many sources, including the opening credits of this film). Definitely read the source material before you watch the film, and your enjoyment of the film will be much greater. Of course, as is often the case, the short story is better, and the few ways in which this film diverges from the original story are detrimental to the film. Nevertheless, it is overall very faithful to the tone and message of Raupach. It has a lovely Medieval setting and Gothic tone.

The combination of "slow," "arthouse," "surreal" and "horror" is very appealing to me, so it was disappointing upon finally seeing this mid-70s flop to find out that it does actually deserve its rep as something of a lifeless slog. The problem isn't the lack of overt "horror" content (at least that's not a problem for me), though if you're expecting more, it will no doubt be disappointing that Ullmann's quasi-vampiric slayings of children are no more explicit than her enfolding them in her cloak. But the film simply lacks style and atmosphere, as well as verve, so the human aspects are as limp as the supernatural ones.

We only meet Leonor on her deathbed, so we get no sense of her (before her revival from the dead), or the Piccoli character's supposed great love for her. It's a bit hard to believe in the latter, as the very day she's buried he demands to marry young Ornella Muti, to the bafflement of her, her father, and the viewer. Nor does he express any notable emotions (beyond eventual impatience and hostility) towards his new bride, either. Ergo we feel nothing about the passion that supposedly leads him to resurrect one wife and neglect, then destroy another. He's a selfish, combative, unappealing character. That element might have provided its own social commentary, but the film doesn't seem to be saying anything in particular with it. The two women are beautiful, but their considerable acting skills are put to little use here. (Nor does it help that both are dubbed by others in the English language version I saw--it's particularly weird to be deprived Ullmann's familiar voice.)

The film is not so much badly as indifferently made, which is odd considering the director's pedigree (and the fact that it was his debut feature). It's watchable, but stubbornly refuses to become hypnotic, frightening, insightful, or any of the other things you might hope for. I saw the longer original cut, presuming it would be better than the shorter (by about 15 minutes) U.S. version, which was very poorly received. But I suspect the shorter edit simply made the story less comprehensible, without making it any livelier, and the long version isn't exactly dull, just very flat. If a director with more visual and atmospheric flair, say anyone from Bava to Herzog, had made this around the same time, it might have turned out brilliantly. But the best you can say about Juan Bunuel's handling is that it is technically competent if uninspired--not what you want from a film about a love that defies death itself.

Michel Piccoli plays Richard, a nobleman whose wife Leonor (Liv Ullmann) dies fairly young. Some years later (although the film doesn't make this clear), he impulsively marries a much younger woman, Catherine (the luscious Ornella Muti). But he simply cannot get over the memory of Leonor, entering into a forbidding bargain with a charismatic stranger whom he meets near a bridge. The ramifications of the resurrected Leonor are chilling, as the local children start perishing. And all of this while The Plague is decimating the populace.

The fact that director Juan Bunuel is the son of the legendary Luis Bunuel will ensure that curiosity is raised among many interested viewers. The result here is one of those slow, stately foreign films that straddles the line between art house cinema and (not so traditional) horror stories. It has plenty of atmosphere and a very melancholy feel, so it's not something that one can just easily dismiss. Its wonderful international cast is very easy to watch, especially the enchanting Ms. Muti, whom many people will likely know best for the 1980 "Flash Gordon" feature film. Antonio Ferrandis is also excellent as the despairing Father Thomas.

"Leonor" is provocatively designed (by Enrique Alarcon), photographed (by Luciano Tovoli), and scored (by the great Ennio Morricone). It makes for rather potent entertainment, but people should be aware that the cheesy poster art does not really indicate the nature of the story. This is something far more serious and portentous. The bottom line is that if one admires the European art / horror films of the 1970s, they will find much to enjoy here. Leonard Maltin may have saddled it with his bottom-of-the-barrel "BOMB" rating, but in no way does it deserve that level of scorn.

Eight out of 10.

Although not strictly a vampire film, this is one of those interesting European combinations of horror and art, typified by "Daughters of Darkness" in the 70's or "Let the Right One In" more recently. The plot involves a a 14th century nobleman who loses his young wife (Liv Ullman) to a horseback-riding accident (and to primitive medical practices of the era). He re-marries and has children, but remains mired in grief and unable to forget his first wife (even though his new wife is played by a Ornella Muti, who would make most men forget their own name). Finally, in a kind of "Monkey's Paw" scenario he manages to actually will her back from the grave, but she's not the same, and a lot of local children begin to mysteriously disappear and it isn't long before his new family is threatened. . .

This is more an art film than a horror film, not surprisingly since it was directed by Luis Bunuel's son and features Ingemar Bergman's frequent lead actress and muse. It's more serious than a lot of Euro-horror films, realistically set against the background of the Black Death plague and seriously commenting on the prevailing superstitions of the time (i.e. the fool-hardy medical practices, the witch-burnings). The vampiric element is present mainly in the undead Ullman's predations on peasant children, which recalls the "Bloofer Lady" that the undead Lucy Westeridge becomes in Bram Stoker's original novel "Dracula", an element that has been left out of almost all the subsequent movie adaptations because it't just too disturbing. It's also really quite heartbreaking to see the maternal instinct so corrupted, and to see undying love gone so horribly wrong.

This movie has, unfortunately, kind of fallen through the cracks between art and horror. It is not as exploitative as Jean Rollins sex-and-blood-soaked vampire films, on one hand, but it is not quite as self-consciously arty as something like Ingemar Bergman's "Hour of the Wolf" either (if Bergman or the Bunuel father had simply put their NAME on this movie, it would no doubt be much more well-known today) . It deserves better though. Ulman and Piccolo are very good as the star-cursed lovers, and Ornella Muti is amazing (if WAY too beautiful to be forsaken for a dead woman). It is ripe material for a DVD release.