From acclaimed cult French director Jean Rollin comes this interesting and enjoyable horror film, one that could best be described as an escalating nightmare. It seems that everywhere our heroine runs, she can't find safety. There's madness all around her, and no help in sight. Rollin keeps things continuously unpredictable, delivering some scenes that viewers are sure to find delightful. It usually wasn't Rollins' style to "frighten" his viewers, or to take his movies in a commercial direction, but he successfully does these things with "The Grapes of Death".
Marie-Georges Pascal stars as Elizabeth, a young woman travelling by train to be with her fiancée. She encounters a young man on the train who's rapidly deteriorating, and who attacks her. Terrified, she goes on a long run to the nearby hills, trying to seek shelter and assistance from the locals, most of whom don't act very friendly towards her. It seems that these decaying people drank contaminated wine, during a festival, but she won't be aware of this for some time. Among the people that Elizabeth encounters are blind girl Lucie (Mirella Rancelot), a farmer, a crazed gal (stunning blonde Brigitte Lahaie) who tries to work out a deal with the zombies, and a pair of uninfected men - including Paul (Felix Marten) - out to eradicate the menace.
Pascal is an appealing (and lovely) actress, who's able to gain our sympathies. Lahaie is an absolute vision, whether she's parading around in a white dress or stripping down to her birthday suit. Rollins' film doesn't have much in the way of story but makes up for that with a pretty good pace, a fair deal of tension, plenty of shots of the gorgeous French countryside, and even a little bit of political / social commentary injected into the dialogue. The music by Philippe Sissman is striking and the atmosphere is strong. The makeup effects are quite colourful, with multi hued grue dripping from and peeling off of peoples' faces. The best scene involves a decapitation and is sure to be remembered by the viewer.
All in all, this is engaging entertainment and a decent starting place for those cinema lovers looking to check out Rollins' works.
Seven out of 10.
Marie-Georges Pascal stars as Elizabeth, a young woman travelling by train to be with her fiancée. She encounters a young man on the train who's rapidly deteriorating, and who attacks her. Terrified, she goes on a long run to the nearby hills, trying to seek shelter and assistance from the locals, most of whom don't act very friendly towards her. It seems that these decaying people drank contaminated wine, during a festival, but she won't be aware of this for some time. Among the people that Elizabeth encounters are blind girl Lucie (Mirella Rancelot), a farmer, a crazed gal (stunning blonde Brigitte Lahaie) who tries to work out a deal with the zombies, and a pair of uninfected men - including Paul (Felix Marten) - out to eradicate the menace.
Pascal is an appealing (and lovely) actress, who's able to gain our sympathies. Lahaie is an absolute vision, whether she's parading around in a white dress or stripping down to her birthday suit. Rollins' film doesn't have much in the way of story but makes up for that with a pretty good pace, a fair deal of tension, plenty of shots of the gorgeous French countryside, and even a little bit of political / social commentary injected into the dialogue. The music by Philippe Sissman is striking and the atmosphere is strong. The makeup effects are quite colourful, with multi hued grue dripping from and peeling off of peoples' faces. The best scene involves a decapitation and is sure to be remembered by the viewer.
All in all, this is engaging entertainment and a decent starting place for those cinema lovers looking to check out Rollins' works.
Seven out of 10.