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 Studio Encore Films

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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.