THE LIVING DEAD GIRL

(A.k.a. LA MORT VIVANTE)

Okay, as this is the third release of the film that I’m reviewing for the site (voluntarily, I hasten to add!), I’ve pasted my initial synopsis and considerations on the feature itself below:

A van pulls up outside an old chateau one sunny afternoon. Two men struggle to carry a large vat of chemicals down into the castle's vaults. Once they have stored the barrel in place, they make their way deeper into the vault and toward two coffins where the building's previous owner and her daughter Catherine (Francoise Blanchard, CALIGULA AND MESSALINA; REVOLT IN THE HOUSE OF USHER) rest.

The two men begin to prise the coffin lids open, hoping to loot the corpses of the priceless jewellery they are said to have been buried with. But a minor earthquake causes the chemical barrel to topple and leak - the fumes emanating from it reaching Catherine's cadaver and re-animating it. Moments later, one of the men has had his eyes gouged out, while the other's throat has been torn apart.

The action then cuts to an American couple visiting their favourite cafe, only to find it has closed for an hour while the owners repair the damage the earthquake has caused. The couple decide to pass their time by venturing to a nearby field and taking some photographs. Barbara (Carina Barone, EROTIC TALES) spies a wistful Catherine walking barefoot through the distant undergrowth, and is immediately intrigued by her demeanour.

Catherine finds her way to her old home's main entrance and lets herself in. She hides while an estate agent shows a couple of prospective buyers around the premises. While taking cover upstairs, Catherine finds a music box that reminds her of her childhood friend Helene (Marina Pierro, BEHIND CONVENT WALLS; THE ART OF LOVE).

Back in the nearby village, Barbara shows her photograph of Catherine to the cafe owner. He recognises her, but states categorically that she died two years earlier. Barbara becomes determined to learn more about the mysterious figure she has seen.

After a bloody double murder designed to satiate Catherine's newfound lust for blood, she answers a telephone call to the chateau from Helene. Helene recognises the music box's tune as it plays over the phone and knows instinctively that Catherine is listening silently on the other end of the line. She, in turn, rushes to the castle and into the arms of her old friend.

What follows is essentially a tragic love story as Catherine struggles to come to terms with her affliction, and Helene lures victims to the chateau for her friend to feed her bloodlust on.

Co-writer/director Jean Rollin (FASCINATION; REQIUM FOR A VAMPIRE) has always been capable of dividing audiences. He has an international cult following that demands his films be taken seriously as lyrical, poetic hymns to the Gothic and the ethereal. And then there are those who decry his work as incoherent messes with nothing but fetishist nudity to warrant their 'arty' reputations.

I just find his work, for the most part, boring. However, LA MORTE VIVANTE is definitely his most accessible film. Its story is straightforward and more evenly paced than a lot of other Rollin films. The script is tight and there's more dialogue than usual.

The performances and widescreen photography combine to consolidate a sense of mourning and solitude that imbues the film with a darkness that stays with the viewer after the end credits roll. And speaking of photography, it is often well lit and beautiful - despite the film's obvious low budget.

LA MORTE VIVANTE is also an exceptionally bloody film. While the FX work is ropy at times, it is at least of the gore-soaked, arterial-spraying variety. There are a couple of standout set-piece murder scenes which hold up against anything that Euro-horror offered us in the early 1980s.

Poignant, dark and decidedly European in flavour, LA MORTE VIVANTE is an immensely enjoyable vampire flick that eschews the trappings of the genre by focusing instead on the subtle romance that lies beneath Helene and Catherine's friendship.

Surprisingly graphic and yet unexpectedly atmospheric, the film is also beautiful to behold and cerebrally gratifying in its meditations on love, loss and the nature of life itself. Wow.

The film gets its worldwide HD debut courtesy of Redemption-Kino, and looks superb on this region-free blu-ray disc.

For a start, the print is exceptionally clean. Aside from a couple of specks in the opening scenes, the source material is in fantastic shape and as a result we get perhaps Kino’ s most satisfying genre transfer yet. Colours are strong but natural, blacks remain stable throughout and the height of added detail and depth is stunning. I got great pleasure from watching this 1080p transfer back. All three times! The close-up scenes are especially impressive, boasting awesome clarity and really natural flesh-tones.

Likewise, the lossless French mono audio track is very nice indeed. Optional English subtitles are well-written and easy to read against any backdrop.

The disc opens to an animated main menu page and possesses text-only pop-up menus which include a scene-selection menu allowing access to the film via 10 chapters.

Extras begin with a 1-minute optional video introduction from Rollin, which is very ropy-looking and hampered a little by his broken English. Bless him.

Jean-Pierre Bouyxou turns up to comment upon the film from an assistant director’s point of view in an interesting, laid back 7-minute interview.

Then he’s back for a further 7-minute featurette, having not moved off his sofa or changed his shirt, to discuss the differences between the International and American versions of the film at the time of its original release.

"Music by Philippe D’Aram" is a self-explanatory 8-minute featurette. The composer speaks easily about his mournful, sombre contributions to the film. Interspersed with clips from the main feature.

An homage to Benoit Lestang follows. This is 12 minutes long and features various contributions, including interview snippets with Lestang himself. He provided the film’s admirably lo-fi FX work.

Next is an amazing 38-minute, window-boxed video account of Rollin’s appearance at the 2007 Fantasia Festival in Montreal. He seems happy, gracious and in deceptively good health throughout. What a bittersweet joy to behold.

The above featurettes are all in French with English subtitles.

Rollin returns for a 3-minute interview specifically relating to GIRL, complete with a Fantasia Fest T-shirt adorning his chest.

Finally we get trailers for THE LIVING DEAD GIRL, THE RAPE OF THE VAMPIRE, THE NUDE VAMPIRE, THE SHIVER OF THE VAMPIRES, THE IRON ROSE, THE DEMONIACS, LIPS OF BLOOD, FASCINATION, TWO ORPHAN VAMPIRES and REQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE.

The set also comes with a 12-page booklet offering some nice photos, along with excellent liner notes on GIRL and TWO ORPHAN VAMPIRES by Tim Lucas.

Poignant, thought-provoking, romantic … THE LIVING DEAD GIRL wouldn’t have been any of these things in anyone else’s hands. As it happens, Rollin made a unique film that offers as much gore and nudity as it does soul-searching artiness.

Praise the Lord that Kino/Redemption have rewarded this highly distinguished endeavour with such a marvellous, region-free blu-ray disc.

Review by Stuart Willis