The Grapes of Death (1978)

A young woman discovers that the pesticide being sprayed on vineyards is turning people into killer zombies.

Director:

Jean Rollin

Writers:

Jean-Pierre Bouyxou (story), Jean Rollin (story)

Stars:

Marie-Georges Pascal, Félix Marten, Serge Marquand

Cast

Cast overview:
Marie-Georges Pascal	...	Élisabeth (as Marie George Pascal)
Félix Marten	...	Paul (as Felix Marten)
Serge Marquand	...	Lucien
Mirella Rancelot	...	Lucie
Patrice Valota	...	Pierre
Patricia Cartier	...	Antoinette
Michel Herval	...	Michel
Paul Bisciglia	...	Lucas
Brigitte Lahaie	...	La grande femme blonde (as Brigitte Lahaye)
Olivier Rollin	...	Le mort-vivant qui se fracasse le crâne
François Pascal	...	L'homme du train
Evelyne Thomas	...	Brigitte
Jean-Pierre Bouyxou	...	Le mort borgne / Le mort-vivant à la faux

Storyline

A city girl is traveling by train to live with her boyfriend on his vineyard. Unknown to her that workers on her boyfriend's farm has gotten sick due to pesticides. After her fellow commuter is killed by a man with ulcers on his face, she leaves the train by pulling the emergency break n flees to a village for help but gets shocked to find that the village people has turned into crazy lunatics.

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Plot Keywords:

winery | blind woman | infected | sex horror | sex scene | 

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Taglines:

When the wine flows, the terror begins ...

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The filming locations had extremely cold temperatures and often the makeup effects would start to freeze on the actors, making it difficult for them appear realistic on camera.

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Goofs

During the long zoom in the scene where Élisabeth meets the blind girl at the deserted valley, a man can be seen walking in the distance.

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Alternate Versions

Although the Film is banned in Germany, an uncut DVD Release was released. The DVD is not proved. A cut Version is released with an FSK Rating and signed with "neue Version".

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Connections

References Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972)

User Reviews

Rollin unearths fresh rural dread in surreal zombie poem

Jean Rollin's "Grapes of Death" is a refreshing living dead poem, and an effective low key horror film from France's gentleman auteur.

After Elizabeth (Marie-Georges Pascal) encounters a rotting man and the corpse of her traveling companion on a deserted train, she flees into the countryside where she must battle a plague of the sad, tortured dead. The "grapes" of the title relate to the cause of the spreading problem.

Rollin's films have always found horror and dread in rural landscapes and crumbling architecture; in "Grapes" the fascination with these elements continues and is intensified by suitably evocative photography. Despite some ropey focus and action sequences that don't quite cut smoothly, this is the director's most technically polished work and an important addition to French "cinefantastique".

Although the plot line bears some similarity to Romero's "The Crazies" and the visuals pre-date the recent dead-on-arrival French "Revenants" (see review), Rollin does not run this show along traditional genre lines. Instead, he has the heroine Pascal encountering a blind woman who is oblivious to the contagion and a recluse (Brigitte Lahaie) who may be her savior in a white nightie. Elizabeth's final reunion with her boyfriend has a sad, tragic quality that becomes, like the rest of the film, quite surreal.

There is sporadic gore and the violence is shockingly sudden in parts, but Rollin's trademark dream-like pacing and social commentary are there to be enjoyed and appreciated.

Details

Official Sites:

Distributor's official website for private individuals Distributor's official website for professionnals

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

5 July 1978 (France)

Also Known As:

As Uvas da Morte

Filming Locations:

Causse du Larzac, Massif Central, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rush Productions, Films A.B.C., Off Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1