The Iron Rose

First off, I was shocked at the low rating this film got. Probably because not many people have seen it. Jean Rollin is mostly known for his violent and sexual vampire movies. That's why I've never seen any of his films till now. Maybe I'll have to see more of his movies. La Rose De Fer (the Iron Rose) is one of the most sensual and beautiful horror films I've ever seen. The plot is simple yet effective. A beautiful french women meets a guy at a wedding. He asks her out. They decide to take a romantic walk in the cemetery. The couples bright yellow and red outfits add a contrast to the dark setting. They decide to make love in a tomb, and when they get out they discover they are trapped in the cemetery. They keep walking, but end up in the same spot. The cemetery almost becomes never ending and it seems there is no way out. This leads the couple to slowly loose their sanity. The girl almost enjoys the cemetery too much. Although the movie doesn't have much nudity, it has a very surreal and sexy feel to it. There really isn't any violence in the film either, but that doesn't stop it from being creepy. The dialog flows like poetry, and the Gothic atmosphere almost paints a picture. It's definitely a film thats visually rich with compositions as breathtaking as anything done by Antonioni or Greenaway. Fans of bizarre art-house films will definitely find it worth watching. Although the film moves slow at times, it's still flawless in it's vision. A perfect horror film to watch on a date.

Rose of Iron, as it is known in English has been difficult to find and largely neglected up until this point. Not only has it been subtitled into English, but the video I own includes a brief introduction by the director, Jean Rollin. He claims the film was inspired by a real life incident.

Rollin refers to Rose of Iron as an art film. Why it has garnered the label of horror can only be because Rollin is largely a director of horror movies. This one isn't. Not really.

The plot concerns a young couple who decide to take a stroll through a quiet, seemingly unending cemetery. When night falls, the lovers realize that they cannot find the way out. As time progresses, fear gives way to madness.

There is much to recommend this film. It is beautifully shot, the cinematography almost having a surreal, dreamlike quality. The performances are quite good also for relative unknowns. If you have the patience, give this one a try. That is, if you can find it...

If you like gothic imagery about graves and old ruins, then you must see this film. Almost the whole movie takes place in an old cemetary. The plot is quite thin. Mostly the main characters just run and try to find a way out of the cemetary. So...this is a very usual thing to say about Jean Rollin films: not such great plot, but a lot of beautiful visual images. In my country there aren't such big and old cemetaries like seen on this film. Italy is such a gift to the world of horror, and I'm grateful for directors like Rollin to shoot movies in this kind of fantastic locations.

I was a little bit disappointed because I've seen more interesting films from the director before. The lack of plot and lack of actual horror/blood/monsters/something troubled me a bit. But since I bought the blu-ray I will definitely keep it in my collection and watch again later. Must have red wine, though. And perhaps a skull-shaped chalice.

A surreal tale with an almost fairytale like quality to it. Rose of Iron seems very much like a cautionary tale of old as opposed to a straight forward horror film. The films drips with dark atmospheric, from the morbid poet who charms the female lead, to the foggy and creepy aesthetics of locations such as the train yard and the graveyard.

The plot navigates around a young man falling for a pretty girl, they meet at party where his poetry (need I remind you that not all poetry is rose are red) wins him the attention of an attractive girl. In keeping with the surreal they meet in a eerily quiet train yard and soon find their way to a graveyard. Our male lead lacks what you'd call respect for the dead and they're soon making love in a family crypt. When they're done night has fallen, they're locked in. Fear and madness begin to overtake them. But is there more to the graveyard than meets the eye? Perhaps, perhaps not. Rose of Iron is at the very least, a very enigmatic film.

A purely psychological horror, with few actual elements of the supernatural. It could be that they are simply lost in the graveyard, but at times they seem to be going straight but ending up where they began. It plays on conventions and stereotypes as our male lead becomes angry and violence prone. Since it is he who triggers the inciting incident, it is of course him that the obligatory scene at the climax must focus more one. But ultimately it's the female lead and her surreal serenity that leaves us with a climax you won't find in many gore encrusted horror films.

A very odd film from Jean Rollin, a horror film completely without traditional horror elements and threats - it's about getting lost! A young couple gets lost at a country churchyard one night and lots of panic, statues and typical Rollin-doomed romanticism follows. It's a sympathetic, sometimes beautiful films with an interesting idea that still could have been executed a lot better. Lack of pacing was to be expected but the bad actors are the biggest problem. Usually Rollin's use of non-professionals is greatly to his advantage - bored-looking non-actors delivering pretentious dialogue in a very stiff way is part of his aesthetic style, but here the actors actually tries to act and it doesn't really work. Still, a pretty good film with some memorable scenes (the lovemaking in the tomb with spinning cameras was great!). A film for friends of Rollin.