Stars: Olivier Martin, Caroline Cartier, Ursule Pauly
Genre: Horror
The Nude Vampire, originally released as La vampire nue and also commonly referred to as The Naked Vampire, is Jean Rollin's second film, following his black-and-white debut The Rape of the Vampire.
If any Rollin film deserves the title of Surrealism it's probably this one. All I can remember in the way of plot is some vampires, some nudity, some weird masks, some shooting, and a really far-out ending. Yeah, I don't know, go watch a trailer or something.
I don't really have much to say about this one. It's a solid movie but as of now I see it to be the worst of Jean Rollin's early vampire films (by which I mean up to and including Requiem for a Vampire). It fails to match the beautiful cinematography and sets of The Rape of the Vampire, it's terribly inferior to the following The Shiver of the Vampires, and it's not as atmospherically enthralling as Requiem of a Vampire. It's a fine film, and it does many things well, but everything it does is done better in other Rollin films.
I've only just watched this a day or so ago and yet I'm struggling to remember much of it. It has a pretty confusing and convoluted plot that doesn't even make much sense when you sot it all out (as with many of Rollin's films). Rollin has never been noted for intricate storylines though. He's remembered for his poetic imagery and weird atmospheres and, yes, plenty of vampire nudity.
There's certainly some nice cinematography and imagery in here and it does maintain a pretty weird and mind-boggling atmosphere. Plus there's a fair amount of vampire nudity in here. The soundtrack is good too; a bit more conventional compared to the twisted jazz in The Rape of the Vampire or the psychedelic rock in The Shiver of the Vampires but still good nonetheless.
I unfortunately only had access to a dubbed version of this film, rather than a preferable subtitled one. If you can, avoid the English dubbing. It's awful (as most film dubbings tend to be). Perhaps this was why I didn't enjoy this film as much as I could of.
An enjoyable film, but not, in my opinion, Rollin's best. A must watch for those whom are already fans of Rollin's work, but perhaps not the best starting place for newcomers.
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