I'm fairly new to Jean Rollin's output (as I've only watched "The Living Dead Girl" and "Requiem for a Vampire"), but again like those aforementioned films (even though I wasn't blown away from this one) I enjoyed the strange, surreal quality of one of Rollin's latest works; "Dracula's Fiancée". The supernatural meets sensual erotica, in what is a crazy canvas for Rollin to let loose providing a sense of wonder with its moody atmospherics, brooding performances and demented butchery. A professor and his assistant are trying to hunt down the tomb of Dracula, which leads them to Dracula's fiancée and through her they can uncover his remains as they get drawn in to a parallel world. The pictorial story is jadedly convoluted and slow-moving, but fancifully gripping in the surrealistically Gothic universe that's created as its populated with eccentric creations ranging from Dracula, a she-wolf, baby-eating Ogresses, vampires, dwarf-jester and some raving mad nuns within a attractively remote backdrop of castle ruins and sprawling beach line. It's the macabre meeting the beautiful, as Rollin's hypnotically symbolic imagery is richly presented (like the boat ride) and arrestingly captured by its whimsical, haunting soundtrack. Sometimes you find yourself being lost in this bewildering world, forgetting about its ponderously thick script filled with many abstract ideas. There's a lot going on, than what is actually shown even when it favours its sparse long stretches. It's an atypical character journey of a Dracula tale, but at its core it's the usual love story filled with unrest, desire and heartache. Still underdone in the details. The theatrical performances are acceptable and the make-up FX is passable. Erotically nightmarish blood sucking entertainment.
"May you rest in peace".
"May you rest in peace".