Doomed Moviethon - Les Démoniaques 1973

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
Region: 0 PAL
DVD Studio: Encore Films

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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.