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Fascination

Fascination

List Price: $24.99
Your Price: $22.49
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lesbian Blood Drinkers Rule
Review: Once again, the prolific french director, Jean Rollin, provides the bored horror film market with a true classic. Fascination is a bizarre foray into the twisted realm of two women who seek to entice unwary men into their devilish world of evil. As with all Rollin films, Fascsination is ripe with symbolism and grotesque imagery which puts most current horror films to shame. For those of us who have seen way too many horror films, Rollin's Fascination will renew our faith in the genrea-check it out.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rollin's finest! 7 female bloodsuckers descend on a chateau
Review: One of, if not the best Rollin flick. Rollin films are either real good (Fascination, The Shiver of the Vampires) or real bad (Night of the Hunted, Requiem for a Vampire). This one is superb. It goes above and beyond his other films in almost every aspect: plot (comprehensive and fluid all the way through), character development, character dialogue (yes, even Brigitte Lahaie has more than 5 lines in this movie), the true horror element (definitely his scariest and eeriest film), and suspense.

The confrontation scene between the scythe wielding Lahaie and the female thief is very stylish and effective! In fact, Lahaie does very well in this movie, far above and beyond her awful turn in Night of the Hunted. I hated her in Night of the Hunted, loved her in this.

A couple of down notes though, about the DVD. The quality of the transfer is not very good, with marks and splotches flying by in several scenes. Also, this isn't the DVD makers fault, but the theatrical trailer has several scenes which were really not in the film. I mean they were all scenes that were in the flim, but they were shot differently for the trailer. It seems Rollin used different takes for the trailer. Weird.

Overall, the movie gets 5 stars, while the DVD quality would get only aobut 3 1/2.

This film is scarier, wittier, more suspenseful, more original and more entertaining than any horror film I've seen released in the past 10 years. They simply don't make them like they use to, and probably never will.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Rollin IS the genre
Review: This film embodies a lot of why i find these Euro horror/sleaze films so interesting.The way its filmed,the camera seems hand-held all the way through!!Just for some of the imagery this film is worth it.The abbatoir at the start,the infamous Brigitte Lahaie with sythe scene,when the main character(i forget his name-but who cares!!)is running up to the castle its very eerie with the washed-out,watercolours of the woodland behind him. Lahaie really makes this film stand out for me,she is BEAUTIFUL. Aestheticly this film really is a treat to watch.Im now hooked on Rollin,im getting Living Dead Girl next!!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Arty & pretentious bi-sexual vampire flick.
Review: This little seen cult flick is mostly recommended for those who like art melded with their gore. Personally for that I would watch BLOODSUCKING FREAKS (1978) or THE GORE GORE GIRLS (1972); but this is the first Jean Rollin film I have ever seen so cut me a little slack.
Set in France in 1905, the movie opens with a pair of attractive young women drinking ox blood fresh from the local slaughterhouse as part of a bizzare therapy prescribed by their doctor. Predictably as a result of this they become addicted to blood, & soon reach the point where animal fluids don't work well anymore so they logically advance to human blood. Hiding out in a castle, the ever growing band of lovely female vampires, tired of feasting on their own gender; select two of their brethren to seduce young men & slaughter them for their blood. No mean feat, since (speaking as a heterosexual male) guys do about 90% of their thinking with their nether regions anyhow, so the mission is about as straightforward as finding ice in Antarctica.
FASCINATION is a pretentious arty film directed by cult fave Jean Rollin; there are a few lesbian sex scenes & some nudity but not enough to make the movie worthwhile, even given the brief running time (approx 78 mins). The gore scenes are boring too, & make one pine for the masterful works of Herschell Gordon Lewis. Who would have though a French exploitation film about two gorgeous bi-sexual female vampires could be so bloody boring? FASCINATION may rate as essential viewing for arthouse ponces but horror/cult movie fans will be disappointed.
However, if you enjoy this you may want to check out the Hammer horrors THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970), LUST FOR A VAMPIRE (1971 aka TO LOVE A VAMPIRE) & VAMPIRES (1974 aka DAUGHTERS OF DRACULA)- all of which are mediocre too, in my opinion. But I WILL give Jean Rollin a second chance & rent LIVING DEAD GIRL at some stage.


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