French director Jean Rollin's final film, and one that was not released theatrically. It is very difficult to track down. Whereas it seems his previous 'La Nuit des Horloges' was intended to be his final picture - indeed, it survives as a fine retrospective to his years in cinema - Meduse tries something new, not entirely successfully. As ever, though, that depends entirely on what one's views of success actually are.
The legend of the modern day Gorgon is covered here, starring the director's wife Simone. Featured in many deeply unflattering close-ups, she provides a typically enigmatic and frightening figure, even walking the sunny Père Lachaise Cemetery, where the very limited amount of location filming was recorded.
Possibly as a cost-cutting exercise, most of Meduse seems to be shot at the Theatre du Grande Guignol. This sadly limits the usually rich visual elements of a Jean Rollin film, and yet his two main actresses go some way to make up for that: Marlène Delcambre (Stheno) and Delphine Montoban (Cornelius). Although Montoban doesn't appear until the second 'act', she and Delcambre present the most memorable 'twins' since Marie Pierre and Catherine Castel some thirty-five years earlier. Stheno is an apple-faced, feral creature, while Cornelius is more assured and worldly-wise in her demeanour. Together, they create something that lifts the often slow pace of the story, and - it goes without saying - it is a great shame they weren't able to feature further in Rollin's filmic vision.
Rollin appears briefly in this, to bury the head of the gorgon. He appears very frail, and died shortly after this was premiered at the Extreme Cinema Film Festival.
The legend of the modern day Gorgon is covered here, starring the director's wife Simone. Featured in many deeply unflattering close-ups, she provides a typically enigmatic and frightening figure, even walking the sunny Père Lachaise Cemetery, where the very limited amount of location filming was recorded.
Possibly as a cost-cutting exercise, most of Meduse seems to be shot at the Theatre du Grande Guignol. This sadly limits the usually rich visual elements of a Jean Rollin film, and yet his two main actresses go some way to make up for that: Marlène Delcambre (Stheno) and Delphine Montoban (Cornelius). Although Montoban doesn't appear until the second 'act', she and Delcambre present the most memorable 'twins' since Marie Pierre and Catherine Castel some thirty-five years earlier. Stheno is an apple-faced, feral creature, while Cornelius is more assured and worldly-wise in her demeanour. Together, they create something that lifts the often slow pace of the story, and - it goes without saying - it is a great shame they weren't able to feature further in Rollin's filmic vision.
Rollin appears briefly in this, to bury the head of the gorgon. He appears very frail, and died shortly after this was premiered at the Extreme Cinema Film Festival.