Phonearl
Good start, but then it gets ruined
Matrixiole
Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
aklcraigc
This was my first Jean Rollin movie, having come across his name on related searches on Amazon and seen his name mentioned in conjunction with Jess Franco, I thought I'd take the plunge. Firstly, this is really low budget stuff, not quite z-grade, but sub b-grade. However, even with obvious limitations Rollin seems to be able to produce one atmospheric, visually engaging shot after another, his use of color reminds me a little bit of Ken Russell. Any notion of plot goes out the window fairly quickly, we're treated to some preliminaries concerning a couple on their honeymoon, but this rapidly degenerates (evolves) into random shots of women in various states of undress wandering though smokey castles and graveyards, in one famous scene, a woman emerges from a Grandfather Clock. On the downside, Rollin seems to have a thing for over-loud, annoying and repetitive sound effects, he often uses these to ruin a perfectly good scene right at the end. Overall there is more to like than dislike here, it's no 'Vampyros Lesbos', but definitely worth seeking out if you're a fan of the whole 70s Lesbian Vampire sub-genre.
Wilbur-10
Dreamy European vampire art-film with a modern-day setting, but all the trappings of a more traditional period horror. Throw in a psychedelic pop score and various hippy motifs and the result is an awkward hybrid of themes and ideas.'Le Frissons des Vampires' is basically a slow series of impressive images set to music, with limited dialogue and a disjointed narrative. The characters and performances are wooden but functional, although this is probably a deliberate method of enhancing the surreal aspects more. The allusions to vampire eroticism, with semi-clad females and implied lesbianism, are not unwelcome but the results are singularly uninteresting with little to excite the viewer.The storyline - pair of newlyweds stop off at a Castle inhabited by vampires - meanders dreamily (drearily) along, with no points of interest to break up the monotony. Despite some individual images which are stunning - the female vampire emerging from the grandfather clock - it's difficult to find much to recommend here. I'm not sure how much of the film's strength was lost to the poor dubbing, but even so I can't help feeling that 'Lust for a Vampire' (1971), despite its lack of artistic merit is better entertainment.For all its striking visuals, Rollin's film falls down on too many basic levels and as naked lesbian vampire films go, it's simply dull to watch.
roganmarshall
Perhaps it's a matter of personal taste, or the lack thereof; I love Jean Rollin movies, and this Rollin film in particular I've seen several times. Of all the European erotic horror of the sixties and seventies, Rollin's movies most effectively maintain a certain morbid psychedelic vibe, a genuinely Gothic atmosphere, which most of his peers' work only captures fitfully, at best. "Shiver of the Vampires" was the movie that firmly established my fondness for this entire genre; and if it sounds interesting to you, do yourself a favor and seek it out, especially the Redemption DVD, which is gorgeously mastered from (according to the liner notes) the director's own print.
Dave Godin
It seems axiomatic that the more cruddy a movie is, the more variant titles it will collect along its merry way, and this pretentious, self-conscious mix of "horror" and "sex" is tedious, dreary and almost embarrassing in its desperate attempt to appear "meaningful". With hammy acting and posturing substituting for emotional expression, what little plot development there is, gets padded by longeurs which, whilst evidently intended to convey some kind of "significance", merely provoke a yawn and a glance at the clock. What this film seemed to be aiming for, and so miserably failed to achieve, was so much more successfully captured in DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS, so, give this one a miss, and fast-forward to that title instead if you want a vampiric theme pregnant with dark sensuality and sexual energy.
