Fiancée of Dracula

Review by Bob Ignizio

This review appears courtesy of Utter Trash.
Published with permission.

French director Jean Rollin has been exploring his romantic obsession with the undead for five decades now, starting with his riot inducing (really) 1968 gothic-erotic art film Rape of the Vampire and continuing on up to the present with this latest offering. If you've never seen a Rollin film before, this makes a very good introduction. It's far more coherent and professional looking than some of his films, but still contains all the elements that define his work; atmospheric locations, clueless "heroes", sexy living dead girls, and a strong sense of romanticism and mystery throughout.

Isabelle is being held captive by a group of nuns called The Order of the White Virgin. Fated to be the bride of Dracula, her mere presence exerts a powerful influence on her captors. This leads to bizarre behavior by the sisters, including cigar smoking, goofy ranting, and a little bit of lesbianism. The legions of the undead (a diminutive jester, a scantily clad vampire girl, a baby eating blond who calls herself The Ogress, and a pair of aged black magicians) plot to bust Drac's betrothed out of the pokey. On the side of "good", a Van Helsing type and his apprentice are trying to get to Isabelle first. Apparently if she and Drac hook up, then everyone's favorite lord of the vampires will be able to escape his prison. As usual, the director seems to be rooting for the undead.

While the plot might sound like a recipe for cheese dip, Rollin makes it compelling with his visual flair and sincerity. He reuses a few bits from past films, notably the idea of a vampire emerging from a clock, but this feels more like a culmination of his themes than an attempt at rehashing them. It's a shame that big budget Hollywood horror and hardcore pornography have all but eliminated this sort of poetic erotic horror from the marketplace. In a way, Rollin has become almost like his protagonists; a lonely survivor from another time, still carrying on and yearning for an age long past.

This review appears courtesy of Utter Trash. Special thanks goes out to their staff for allowing us to use this review.

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