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Les
Démoniaques
AKA The Demoniacs
Directed By Jean Rollin
Released: 1973
Starring: Lieva Lone, Patricia Hermenier, John Rico, and Joëlle Coeur
Running Time: 95 minutes
Encoding: Region 0 PAL
DVD Released By Encore Films 2005
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The film opens with a brief description of the
wreckers, a group of pirates who, instead of cruising the seas to plunder,
light fires on the beaches to lead passing ships into the rocks and then
loot the wreckage. This particular group of wreckers is led by The Captain
(John Rico) and is a particularly nasty and bloodthirsty bunch. While they
are looting a wreck one night, two survivors (played by Lieva Lone and
Patricia Hermenier) are washed ashore. Upon discovering them, the wreckers
proceed to rape and assault the girls then leave them for dead. The two
girls make their way to an abandoned cathedral where a swarthy demon is
kept prisoner by a clown (Mireille Dargent) and a hippie. They make a deal
with the demon in order to get their revenge on the wreckers.
Jean Rollin (Requiem For A Vampire,
Grapes Of Death) directs this very weird
yet visually stunning tale of pirates, a demon, the undead, psychic
powers, and a clown. The soundtrack is composed of jazz and what sounds
like stock horror movie music. Jean-Jacques Renon’s cinematography is
gorgeous and he makes excellent use of the haunting locations. The already
modest pacing of the film is hindered by some softcore sex moments but
never slows to a crawl like some of Rollin’s artier efforts.
Joëlle Coeur (Seven Women For Satan) is awesome and extremely sexy
as Tina, the most psychotic and violent of the wreckers. Tina’s pursuit of
the two girls is unrelenting and when she screams “I’ll bring you back
their heads!” well, I’m perfectly convinced she would have, if given the
chance. John Rico is great as the Captain, a man who is haunted by his
past misdeeds. Paul Bisciglia (Grapes
Of Death) is very cool as Paul, the drunkard of the group,
whose bloody (albeit highly unlikely) fate is perfectly ironic.
The two beautiful actresses, Lieva Lone and Patricia Hermenier, play their
parts mute for whatever reason. According to the film these two demoniacs
lose their ability to speak after getting their powers from the demon
which is funny because in most of Rollin’s films, the heroines are almost
always completely silent anyway. Either way, it’s kind of silly and a
shame that these two actresses didn’t do more horror films. Their
performances are haunting and very well played.
Les Démoniaques does have a few problems which seem to bring out
the gushing love or the seething hatred in its viewers. There are a lot of
cheesy things about the film. First of all, while the outdoor locations,
the wrecked ships, and the abandoned cathedral are all first rate and
nearly decadent in their gothic-ness, the indoor sets such as the bar
and Tina’s hotel room are pathetic. Another problem is a mind-boggling
continuity flaw. Tina is burned on the face and shoulders while trying to
catch and kill the demoniacs. The next time we see her, she isn’t scarred
or even bandaged. Another annoyance is how Rollin chose to put Mireille Dargent
(Requiem For A Vampire) in clown makeup yet again. And finally,
Yves Collignon has to be the silliest looking demon ever captured on film.
When he appears, he looks like a disco roller derby Dracula with a tan.
Les Démoniaques is an incredible film but I have to warn viewers
not accustomed to Jean Rollin to put on their patience pants. Although
this is certainly easier to jump into than the pretentious
Rape of The Vampire or
the nap-inducing
The
Shiver Of The Vampires, a better Rollin starting point may be found in
Grapes Of Death
or The Living
Dead Girl. The dreamlike quality of this one may be too much
for folks looking for a gorefest. However, what
Les Démoniaques
lacks in arterial spray and squewered intestines,
it delivers with frightening brutality and
disturbing rape scenes. So, if you're looking for some trashy Eurohorror
delivered with style and an unforgettable ending, then check this one out,
people.
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DVD Stuff:
Oh my lord, Encore Films have issued the be all, end all edition of
Les
Démoniaques. The film looks practically immaculate in its 16:9
Widescreen and sounds great with remastered audio. There are subtitles for
several languages (English, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese,
Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Polish) but that's not all,
duders.
The extras spread out over the 2 extra discs go something like this...
There is an interview with actor Willy Braque, the film's trailer, a slide
show with extensive production stills. Is that all? Hell no! There is
Audio Commentary with Jean Rollin himself, deleted scenes with some
extended versions of the sex scenes (mmm more Joëlle Coeur), and even one
of Rollin's early short films. And let's not forget about the grand
packaging and the gorgeous booklet that comes with the lot. If you call
yourself a Rollin fan, then get this. Now.
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Links:
Get this DVD from
Xploited Cinema.
Check out
Encore Films for more info.
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