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The Shiver Of The Vampires
AKA Le Frisson Des Vampires
Directed By Jean Rollin
Released: 1971
Starring: Sandra Julien, Jean-Marie Durand, and Dominique
Running Time: 90 minutes
Region: 0 PAL
DVD Released By Encore Films 2006
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Newlyweds Antoine (played by Jean-Marie Durand) and Isle (Sandra Julien)
make their way to Isle’s cousins’ castle for a quick visit before
continuing on their honeymoon in Italy. They discover from the townsfolk
that her cousins have recently died and only their servants remain in the
castle. When they arrive, Isle is seduced by Isolde the vampire (played by
Dominique) while Antoine uncovers the fact that Isle’s cousins aren’t dead
but are actually quite undead. In order to save his young wife, Antoine
tries to flee with Isle but it may already be too late.
Jean Rollin’s fourth vampire film, The
Shiver Of The Vampires, is one
hell of a blend of the arthouse with the grindhouse. The perfect gothic
scenery and brazen lighting are matching only by the beauty of the
actresses involved. I couldn’t help but be blown away by the lush and
fluid cinematography. The man responsible, Jean-Jacques Renon, also
provided the excellent cinematography on
The Demoniacs.
Fans of 70s films will no doubt be impressed by the soundtrack performed
by progressive rock band, Acanthus. While other Rollin soundtracks are
much moodier and eerie, Acanthus just rocks out through much of the film
but they know when to deliver the softer, moodier moments.
Who the hell came up with Isolde’s (Dominique) three grand entrances and
deadly boob spikes? A genius, that’s who. The wildly sexy Sandra Julien is
mesmerizing in her role as the object of the vampires’ desire, Isle. In
fact, the scene where Isolde seduces her is deliriously hot. From hot to
hilarious, actors Michel Delahaye and Jacques Robiolles are extremely
amusing as Isle’s cousins, the two pretentious ex-vampire hunters. They
deliver what are essentially monologues split up between the two of them
with great timing and even take bows when their performance is over.
Although it doesn’t make my list of favorite Rollin films (Grapes
Of Death,
Living Dead Girl, or
The Demoniacs),
Shiver Of The Vampires
is still a fascinating and enjoyable film. The film is pretty slow-moving
so be prepared for that but it gets better with repeat viewing. Luckily, like much of the director’s
other
works, this film is visually stunning and the characters are completely off
the wall. Horror fans unfamiliar with Rollin should prepare for
surrealism, a dreamlike delivery, and a minimal amount of bloodshed. Clips
of Shiver
can be found on When Eurotrash Attacks Volume 1. Not really.
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DVD Stuff:
Encore Films kicks ass once again. The packaging for this 2 DVD edition of
The Shiver Of The Vampires
is awesome with gorgeous cover art and a lengthy booklet as well. The
anamorphic widescreen print is gorgeous with vibrant colors and only
minimal scratches. The digitally remastered audio is astoundingly clear
which is important due to the rockin’ soundtrack by Acanthus.
The second disc is where the extras are found. First up is a very detailed
feature length commentary from Jean Rollin. There are some alternate
scenes which were filmed to get Shiver
into the sleazier market. These scenes are more graphic sexually and one
torture sequence is definitely more violent than the rest of the film.
While not essential viewing, I find these highly amusing since they used
completely different actresses to film scenes which would be cut into
The Shiver Of The Vampires.
Finally, there is an awesome slideshow with tons of production photos. I
usually don’t bother with these photo collections on DVDs but one gets an
excellent sense of the mood of the production with this one.
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Links:
Get this DVD from
Xploited Cinema.
Check out
Encore Films for more info.
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