Fascination (1979/I)

Director:

Jean Rollin

Writer:

Jean Rollin (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Plot:

This erotic horror film, set in 1916, tells the story of a thief who seeks refuge in a castle owned by two women...

Plot Keywords:

Cult | Seductive | Castle | Aristocrat | Refuge

Cast

Franca Mai	...	Elisabeth (as Franka Mai)
Brigitte Lahaie	...	Eva
Jean-Marie Lemaire	...	Marc / Mark
Fanny Magier	...	Hélène
Muriel Montossé	...	Anita
Sophie Noël	...	Sylvie
Evelyne Thomas	...	Dominique
Agnès Bert
Cyril Val	...	Un Apache (as Alain Plumey)
Myriam Watteau	...	La femme apache
Joe de Palmer	...	Un Apache (as Joe de Lara)
Jacques Sansoul

Runtime:

USA:80 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | UK:18

Company:

Comex

More erotic vampire trash from Jean Rollin

Jean Rollin is famous for his 'erotic' vampire movies, and for me Fascination is the fifth that I've seen. The four previous ones have disappointed me, and even though Fascination is generally reputed to be one of his best; it disappointed me also. I have noticed that the French director is better at directing zombie films, as The Grapes of Death and The Living Dead Girl are the only Rollin films among my favourites. Still, it would seem that the man himself prefers vampires. The main problem with this, and probably most of the rest of Rollin's output (certainly the ones that I've seen) is that it's all so similar to previous efforts. Lips of Blood was my first Rollin vampire flick, and every time I see another one, I am constantly reminded of the fact that I really shouldn't have bothered. The plot takes place in 1916, and follows the story of a young thief who stumbles upon a castle while on the run. The castle is owned by two beautiful and seductive women, who proceed to toy with and torment him for their pleasure. However, there's something more sinister about them and they turn out to be part of a vampire blood cult!

If Jean Rollin was better at writing, his films could be masterpieces. The director clearly has a great eye for detail, and his art direction is superb as the film looks lovely and benefits from several memorable shots. Furthermore, Rollin's scene setting is good; the sequence that sees one of the women in a black cape with a sickle being a particular standout. However, the rest of the movie is entirely forgettable; as the characters spout awful lines of dialogue at one another, and resort to having sex with each other every time that Rollin can't think of what else to do. The film doesn't take long to get tiresome, and after a while I found myself just admiring the locations rather than trying to connect with the cold and lifeless plot. The surreal atmosphere is well felt, however, and the director does a good job of ensuring that his film always feels like it is taking place in a dream world, which helps the erotic side of the movie. However, for a film about vampire lesbians; Fascination isn't very erotic at all, as Rollin films the sex with little or no feeling. Overall, this movie is bound to delight fans of Rollin's other vampire films, as it's essentially more of the same; but personally, I don't think I'll see any more vampire films from the sleazy French director.