The Iron Rose

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.

You know what is baffling of Rollin fans? It is that they can't accept that someone who dislikes these movies is not an explosion loving neanderthal. Do they think they are suddenly above the masses because they ignore the obvious flaws of those train wrecks?

Me I am a big Rollin fan. His movies are usually awkward and very funny. This one though, it's a pretentious tedious lazy mess. You will never forget this movie for all the wrong reasons.

La rose de fer is badly acted, badly edited, badly written and badly directed. Sure it has some striking images but it has more to do with the filming location than Rollin's skill. Everything is long, drawn out, tedious and pretentious.

But I hear you Rollin fans telling me how I am a stupid American who never did open a book in my life and how I must love marvel movies for not understanding this unique poetry. Sometimes rambling and randomness is just that. Sometimes an accident is not necessary style. Just like falling down a staircase isn't an avant-gardiste style of walk.

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...

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.

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.