TV/Movies Megathread

[Savonarola]

Lèvres de sang (Lips of Blood) (1975)

A heterosexual female vampire?  Why, I've seen zany stuff in low budget vampire movies before, but this one tops them all.  What is this world coming to?

So a man named Frederic is at a perfume release party and sees a photograph of a castle by the sea; which reminds him of a time as a boy he met a young woman in a similar castle.  His mother tells him there was no such woman.  Regardless Frederic becomes obsessed by returning and finding her.  Then the young woman, looking as she had in his memory starts appearing to him and staring at him for an uncomfortably long period of time.  Then he unwittingly releases four female vampires in sheer gowns who casually stroll about and... cause havoc?  Terrorize people?  I'm not really sure.  Then he finds the castle by the sea and discovers the young woman is actually a vampire who, his mother explained, was terrorizing the village.  His mother, and her group of vampire hunters destroy the four other vampire girls and his mother tells him to kill the young woman vampire; but can Frederic turn his back on his obsession or will he follow the course of love?

This is yet another Jean Rollins classic.  This one is more "Atmospheric" than Requiem for a Vampire, although the "Atmosphere" is built up by very long shots of buildings for seemingly no reason.  Most of the characters are there to either provide exposition or to look like they just stepped out of a Goth night club.  Frederic's job in the film is to stand in for the audience and look as confused as the audience.  The vampire doesn't do anything but stare for a very long period of time.  Maybe this was spooky in the 70s, but it falls short today.

I did wonder if Rollins took any inspiration from Poe's Annabel lee.  There's a castle by the sea, if not a kingdom, children (well a child and a young woman), and a love stronger than death.