Review of Dracula's Fiancee

This is a film widely regarded as a return to form for French director Jean Rollin and was released in 2002, 34 years after his debut vampire feature. And it really is - everything is here; scantily clad young actresses enduring freezing looking, exotic locations, a finale set on a beach, a meandering story-line (which, on this occasion, takes in a Van Helsing subsititute, a circus dwarf, comedy nuns and even a cameo from Rollin veteran, lovely Catherine Castel. Castel's appearance is so brief, you could very easily miss it, like I did a few times. She plays the non-speaking 'Soeur à la corde à sauter', or 'Sister with a skipping rope) and plenty of blood. There's even a nod to his earlier film 'Shiver of the Vampires', in that an old grandfather clock is used for transportation and resting for the vampire The dreamlike quality of story-telling is still very much in evidence here, and as such, a coherent story-line is almost an irrelevance. It seems mad killer nuns are grooming a young lady called Isabelle to be Dracula's bride, which seems fair enough. When he finally appears after being whispered about in hushed tones, Dracula is not what you expect - just a well-groomed looking gent in a cape who pales into insignificance alongside the sensuous, snake-like ethereal qualities of his former, red-haired, white-faced partner.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, it is a relief to see Rollin's imagination and skill for creating illusory weirdness so prevalent in his later life. The music, so important for setting a scene, is very effective here also.

The whole production is delightful, mad and macabre, possibly Rollin's most joyful yet. There is a happy ending too, of sorts - at least for certain characters if not for others. It's all very surreal, but gives the proceedings a memorable closure.