Blu-ray Review: THE GRAPES OF DEATH (1978)

THE GRAPES OF DEATH
a.k.a. "Les raisins de la mort"            
Directed by  Jean Rollin
Distributed by Kino Lorber/Redemption Films

  If you are not familiar with Kino Lorber and Redemption Films, you really need to be.  They have been putting out some amazing Blu-ray releases over the last few years, including lots of films from the late, great, Jean Rollin.    The latest release that I watched was THE GRAPES OF DEATH, one of the scarier and gorier films from Rollin's body of work.   Here is the basic plot of the film from the Kino Lorber website:

  The polluted wine produced for a village's annual Grape Harvest Festival has left all but a few rabid with some chemically- engendered form of zombiism. They may saunter about like sleepwalkers, but these are not the zombies of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968); they are, rather, oozing transmitters of an impassioned insanity that can only be termed anarchy.

 This is a very interesting film, as the "zombies" are caused by a physical sickness, one that turns their skin into oozing mounds of puss and blood.  Yes, that is gross for sure, but seeing it on film is even worse!   Rollin did an amazing job with this one, greatly increasing the amount of blood and gore that are usually found within his films.   

  Like his other films,  THE GRAPES OF DEATH is very atmospheric and gives off a very creepy mood.   Rollin always uses great set pieces and great locations for his films.  Unlike his other films, he focuses on story and horror elements rather than just nudity and sexuality like a lot of his other films. 

  If you've never seen a film by Jean Rollin, this is a great on to start with.  THE GRAPES OF DEATH is available now on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Entertainment and contains the following special features:

*  Mastered in HD from the original 35mm negative
*  Introduction by Jean Rollin
*  Interview with Jean Rollin, by Patrick Lambert and Frederick Durand (2007, 49 min.), in which Rollin discusses his varied literary influences
*  16-page booklet with an essay by Tim Lucas, editor of Video Watchdog
*  Original theatrical trailer
*  Original trailers of other Rollin films


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD or Blu-ray

Double Feature Blu-ray Review: ZOMBIE LAKE (1981) and OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES (1982)

 
OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES
Directed by:  Jesús Franco
Distributed by Redemption Films/Kino Lorber, Inc.

ZOMBIE LAKE
Directed by:  Jean Rollin
Distributed by Redemption Films/Kino Lorber, Inc.

The great folks over at Kino Lorber, Inc. have just released two classic European zombie films onto DVD and Blu-ray.   Jean Rollin's ZOMBIE LAKE and Jess Franco's OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES aren't the best zombie movies ever made, but they both have a certain nostalgic feel to them that makes them sort of "cult classics" when it comes to foreign zombie films.  The films are very similar in many ways, and both have their good points and bad.  Here are the basic plots of the films from the Kino Lorber website:

OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES
In telling the story of a cache of German gold—lost in the desert, sought by a group of teenagers, protected by the walking dead—Franco demonstrated his characteristic lack of restraint, shamelessly inserting stock footage from a bigger-budget war picture, allowing his camera to dwell on the worm-eaten orifices of the shriveled undead and, of course, lacing the action with his trademark style of lyrical eroticism. The resulting film is a decadent exercise in grindhouse filmmaking that is more audacious than frightening, illuminating one of the more peculiar facets of Jess Franco's uniquely warped cinema.

ZOMBIE LAKE
Conceived by one master of erotic horror (Jess Franco) and pseudonymously directed by another (Jean Rollin), ZOMBIE LAKE weaves the tale of a contemporary French village haunted by water-logged Nazis slain by the Resistance. With little regard for narrative subtlety, the film veers from the shamelessly exploitive (as when a women's volleyball team skinny-dips in zombie-infested waters) to the tearfully sentimental (depicting a young orphan girl's psychic connection to one of the walking dead). Beneath its garish surface, however, ZOMBIE LAKE embraces several themes that run throughout Rollin's body of work, showing that this eclectic artist could not help investing even a playful film such as this with his personal sensibilities

As I mentioned before, both of these movies have their good and bad points.  OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES is just very strange, and the plot is hard to follow. I saw this movie years ago on DVD under the title of BLOODSUCKING NAZI ZOMBIES, and the film was extremely hard to watch in terms of a technical aspect.  The film was very dark and grainy and almost hard to make out certain scenes at some points.  I will say that the film is much improved on with this release, especially on the Blu-ray.  The lighting issues are fixed and it is very good picture quality overall.  Also, I think the zombie makeup effects are better in this film compared to those in ZOMBIE LAKE.  They are not great zombie effects by any means, but compared to ZOMBIE LAKE, they are superior.

ZOMBIE LAKE is my favorite of these two films by far.  The zombie effects are not nearly as good in this film.  Basically, the zombies are just regular men with green face paint.  But, even so, seeing a bunch of green faced zombie soldiers rise out of the lake is a very cool image.  There are also numerous underwater shots of the zombies attacking people who go swimming in the lake (usually young, attractive, naked women).  These underwater scenes are fun, especially considering the lake is dark brown, but the underwater scenes are pretty blue water like you would find in a swimming pool...hmmm.  Ha!  You gotta love low budget films!  ZOMBIE LAKE is a lot of fun and I recommend you check this one out.  

Both films are available now from Kino Lorber and are packed with special features!  I am proud to add these films to my zombie movie collection, and you should to!


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer for OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES
CLICK HERE to purchase OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES on DVD or Blu-ray


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer for ZOMBIE LAKE
CLICK HERE to purchase ZOMBIE LAKE on DVD or Blu-ray

Blu-ray Review: LIPS OF BLOOD (1975)

     
LIPS OF BLOOD
Directed by:  Jean Rollin
Distributed by:  Kino Lorber/Redemption Films

This week, Redemption Films and Kino Lorber Inc have released a collection of films called, The Cinema Of Jean Rollin.  Most of the films have been on DVD before, but I believe this is their first release on the Blu-ray format.  There are 5 films in this collection, and I will be reviewing them all, but up first is the 1975 film, LIPS OF BLOOD.   For those unfamiliar with this film, here is the basic plot of the film from imbd.com:

This erotic vampire film features a young man on a strange quest after recognizing a castle on a poster. He seems to remember the castle from his childhood and eventually finds it with the aid of a strange woman dressed in white. It turns out that his family has been keeping the secret of vampirism from him.

 For those unfamiliar with Jean Rollin, he is a French director that is most known for his female vampire flicks.  His films are the epitome of classic, Euro-horror sexploitation.  While tamer in that realm than some of his other films, he still does not disappoint with LIPS OF BLOOD. 

 I thoroughly enjoyed LIPS OF BLOOD, but I do have to admit that it can be slow in a few parts.  The film clocks in at 87 minutes, but it actually felt much longer to me.   Don't think that means I didn't like the film, that is just a warning to those expecting non-stop vampire action. Rollin's films are very artistic and visual.   The dialog is not the strong part of the film here, Rollins focuses on his visual style.  The film is shot beautifully with wonderful cinematography and some very moody images.   There are some great camera shots and angles which are very aesthetically pleasing. The acting is good overall, although made in 1975, expect some very outdated hairdos and clothing.  

 I have not seen many of Rollin's films, but will be watching all 5 films of the "Cinema of Jean Rollin" collection.  I look forward to seeing his other films, and will be reviewing them all here, so stay tuned!
Until then, check out LIPS OF BLOOD for yourself, available now on DVD and Blu-ray.   Blu-ray features include:

*  Mastered in HD from the 35mm negative
*  French with English Subtitles
*  Introduction by Jean Rollin
*  Interview with star Natalie Perry
*  20 page booklet with an essay by Tim Lucas, editor of Video    Watchdog
*  Original theatrical trailer
*  Original trailers of four other Rollin  films


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer (**WARNING** trailer contains nudity)
CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD