The Rape of the Vampire (1968)
"Le viol du vampire" (original title)

After a psychoanalyst unsuccessfully tries to convince four sisters that they are not 200 year old vampires, the Queen of the Vampires promulgates the cause of the Undead.

Director:

Jean Rollin

Writers:

Alain Yves Beaujour, Jean Rollin

Stars:

Solange Pradel, Bernard Letrou, Ariane Sapriel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Solange Pradel	...	Brigitte
Bernard Letrou	...	Thomas
Ariane Sapriel
Eric Yan
Jacqueline Sieger	...	Queen of the Vampires
Catherine Deville
Ursule Pauly
Nicole Romain
Marquis Polho
Don Burhans
Philippe Druillet
Jean Aron
Mei Chen
Edith Ponceau-Lardie
Jean-Denis Bonan

Storyline

This low budget first film from director Jean Rollin is in reality two very loosely-connected, surreally erotic shorts about vampirism. In the first, three Parisians including a psychoanalyst try to convince four neurotic sisters living in a decaying country chateau that their belief that they are 200 year old vampires is false. The alluring young women are influenced and controlled by a enigmatic disembodied voice which turns out to be the an aging, aristocratic lord of the manor, whose motives are unclear but clearly perverse. Local rustics unite to hunt down and kill the sanguine siblings. In the second, the Queen of the Vampires and her acolytes arrive on the scene, resurrect the dead, and promulgate the cause of the Undead while a medical researcher works to find an antidote to vampirism.

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | acolyte | antidote | crypt | theatre | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

27 May 1968 (France)

Also Known As:

Queen of the Vampires

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films ABC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jean Rollin improvised most of the story after losing the script on the third day of shooting the picture.

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Quotes

Queen of the Vampires: The time has come to seal the union of the imminent triumph of the immortal race. This wedding of blood opens up the doors to the world. The great mystery is about to take place. Another chosen one will sit among us. Many more will follow us and taste immortality. The world will become a feast of blood, and we will have the best seats - we the vampires of whom I am queen!

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Connections

Featured in Eurotika!: Is There a Doctor in the House? (1999)

User Reviews

Visually Arresting French Flick

After a psychoanalyst unsuccessfully tries to convince four sisters that they are not 200 year old vampires, the Queen of the Vampires (Jacqueline Sieger) promulgates the cause of the Undead.

Having watched Jean Rollin's "Nude Vampire" before this, I can say one thing: Rollin works better in black and white. His stark composition recalls some of Roman Polanski's better films (such as "Repulsion") and is just beautiful to look at. While the second half is completely incoherent if we focus on plot (which we should not do with Rollin), the film as a whole has images to show us that cannot be put down.

A newspaper at the time of the film's release said "we can only remain puzzled by the intentions of the director, Jean Rollin." Even Rollin himself admitted that it was confusing. He would later say, "Le Viol was a terrible scandal... People were really mad when they saw it. In Pigalle, they threw things at the screen. The principal reason was that nobody could understand the story."

But perhaps this is alright? When Luis Bunuel or Salvador Dali release nonsense, it is a work of art... when Rollin does it, we call it "nonsense". Where does one end and the other begin?