Christina, princesse de l'érotisme (1973)

Directors:

Jesus Franco
Jean Rollin

Writers:

Paul D'Ales (French dialogue)
Jesus Franco (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 October 1978 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

A girl arrives from London to visit her estranged relatives in a remote castle for the reading of her father's will...

Plot Keywords:

Castle | Nightmare | Will | Remote | Playing Footsie

Cast

Christina von Blanc	...	Christina Benson
Britt Nichols	...	Carmencé (as Britt Nickols)
Rosa Palomar	...	Aunt Abigail
Anne Libert	...	The Queen of the Night
Howard Vernon	...	Uncle Howard
Paul Muller	...	Ernesto Pablo Reiner, Christina's father
Jesus Franco	...	Basilio (as Jesús Manera)
Nicole Guettard	...	Female Doctor (as Nicole Franco)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fernando Bilbao	...	Male Nurse
Val Davis
Linda Hastreiter	...	Blind Girl
Pierre Taylou

Also Known As:

A Virgin Among the Living Dead (USA) (video box title)
Among the Living Dead (International: English title)
Christina chez les morts vivants (France)
Christine, Princess of Eroticism (USA)
Gli zombi cannibali (Italy) (video box title)
I desideri erotici di Christine (Italy)
Una vergine tra i morti viventi (Italy)
Une vierge chez les morts vivants (France)
Zombi 4: A Virgin Among the Living Dead (USA) (video box title)

Runtime:

Argentina:87 min | Australia:76 min | Spain:85 min | Germany:92 min (DVD version) | USA:79 min (director's cut)

Country:

Belgium | France | Italy | Liechtenstein

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated (DVD rating) | Italy:VM18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | UK:18 | Netherlands:16 | Germany:18 | Spain:18

Company:

Brux International Pictures

Trivia:

Listed among "The worst Movies of all Times" by Giesen/Hahn (Giesen, Rolf / Hahn, Ronald M.; Die schlechtesten Filme aller Zeiten ; BVA, Berlin, 2002)

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Brunnen (2005)

Not Franco's best but still worth watching

Jess Franco is an interesting director, despite the fact that only about five or ten percent of the films he made are actually worth watching. "A Virgin Among the Living Dead" isn't one of his masterpieces or his most accessible, but fans of stylish vintage European horror will probably enjoy this one. Like most Franco films, it has plenty of stylish and posh eroticism thats plentiful and exploitive but also elegantly filmed. Also, there's an odd sense of emotional poetry, especially the last scene. Franco is often accused of being complete style over substance, which is usually the case, but there's a strange sense of resonance to the project when its over. Also, unlike many of his other films, this is actually an effective horror film. There's a real sense of dread and suspense to the last half hour of the film.

Its far from perfect however. The acting is incredibly uneven and it often comes across as being very pretentious (Franco has a sense of the absurd thats often unintentionally funny). Plus, those looking for an all out gore fest will be very disappointed. The film is pretty slowly paced, especially the first half. However, its an interesting film which proves that Franco was a genuinely talented director at times. The fact there's a lot of hot naked chicks is only the icing on the cake. (6/10)