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The
Living Dead Girl
AKA La Morte Vivante
Directed by Jean Rollin
Released: 1982
Starring: Marina Pierro, Françoise Blanchard, Mike Marshall, and Carina
Barone
Running Time: 85 minutes
DVD Released By Encore Films 2005
Encoding: Region Free PAL
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After a toxic waste spill, Catharine Valmont (Françoise Blanchard) raises
from the dead to fulfill a blood pact she made with her best friend,
Helene (Marina Pierro). After killing several people and drinking their
blood, Catharine takes up residence in the Valmont Castle where she once
lived. Helene is surprised to discover her living dead friend but soon
begins to lure people into the castle for her to feed on. When a nosy
American couple begins to suspect that Miss Valmont has risen from the
dead, they are drawn into a bloody climax as Catharine discovers her true
destiny.
Jean Rollin (Lips of Blood,
The Grapes of Death)
masterfully directs this dramatic little horror film filled with dread on
an obviously small budget. The lighting of the film is done very well with
a naturalistic approach with the exception of the night scenes, which are
brightly lit with very little shadow. The soundtrack is minimal and leaves
many open spaces of silence giving the visual action center stage. Even
the flashbacks of Catharine and Helene as children are handled stylishly,
hauntingly and not overly sentimental.
Marina Pierro is a fine actress and is a pleasure to watch. Her character
becomes obsessed with bringing Catharine back to the world of the living
and can look beyond all the horrors that she herself is taking part in.
The beautiful and talented Françoise Blanchard makes the movie as the
seemingly ruthless yet sympathetic character. At first, Catharine seems to
sleepwalk through the scenes, exploding into action once blood is shed.
Then she returns to her almost childlike state of confusion. Towards end
of the film however, Blanchard's “living dead girl” becomes aware of her
fate and tries desperately to fight it.
What European horror film would be complete without some imperfections?
Well, one of the movie's flaws comes in the form of the two American
characters played by American born actor Mike Marshall and especially
Carina Barone. Barone is astoundingly terrible as Barbara Simon, some kind
of halfhearted attempt at comic relief. Clearly, English is her second
language but instead of rolling with the punches, she tries to cover it up
by stomping all over the character.
Another flaw and one that is simply too glaring to ignore, are the
"corpses" in the Valmont tomb at the start of the film. According to the
men that are dumping barrels of toxic waste in a nearby tunnel, the
Valmont women have been dead for years. Unfortunately, neither Catharine
Valmont nor her mother has begun decomposing. Granted, it isn't Rollin's
style to have an actress as gorgeous as Blanchard running around with
maggots in tow and skin sloughing off but I was a little nervous when I
noticed such a blatant oversight in the beginning of the movie.
But these flaws are (believe it or not) easy to overlook when it comes to
the film as a whole. The blood and gore, while not first rate, are piled
on adding some much needed strength to what could have been a saccharine
ghost story. Blood spurts everywhere and flesh is viciously torn from
bodies by Catharine’s simply adorable little teeth. The gore is especially
brutal during the sad and agonizing conclusion.
I think
The Living Dead Girl is required viewing for horror
fans looking for atmosphere and a lot of blood who can also look beyond
(or even enjoy) a film's flaws. This one will please Rollin fans as well,
despite its departure from his usual arthouse style. I really loved this
movie and will be returning to it many times down the road. My advice:
just be prepared to dust off your suspension of disbelief, you're going to
need to keep it handy.
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DVD Stuff:
Encore Films is quickly becoming one of my favorite companies.
Their treatment of Jean Rollin’s films is nothing short of superb. Their
edition of
La Morte Vivante is no different. While there is
some print damage, colors are vibrant and the remastered sound is
terrific. The packaging is gorgeous and includes a soundtrack CD and a
huge booklet with photos and stories from the production. The extras on
the two DVDs include the film’s trailer, a lengthy introduction by Jean
Rollin, alternate scenes, slideshow, and audio commentary.
Is that all? Hell no! There is also a great interview with Françoise
Blanchard where she talks about how she got into acting and what it was
like working with Rollin. An interview with actor Jean-Pierre Bouyxou
(The Grapes of Death,
Female Vampire) where he talks about working with Jean
Rollin and Jess Franco. Finally, there is an interview with composer
Philippe d' Aram. This is, without a doubt, the definitive edition of
The Living Dead Girl.
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Links:
Get this DVD from
Xploited Cinema.
Check out
Encore Films for more info.
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