"Lips of Blood" has a great narrative hook. Frederic vaguely remembers a dreamy encounter he had as a child. While staying at an old castle (Of course), he spent the night sleeping in the arms of a beautiful woman. Upon spying a photograph of the castle, the memory comes rushing back. He becomes obsessed with finding the girl, especially since she starts appearing to him in visions. A trip to an old tomb doesn't yield anything but coffins full of bats
Or so it would appear. Vampire girls, dressed in colorful see-through shawls (Of course!), emerge from the crypt and begin to feed across France. A man attempts to assassinate Frederic. It becomes obvious there's a conspiracy preventing him from finding the old building and reuniting with the girl of his dreams.
Narratively, the film is more focused then usual. Pacing-wise, it's still a mess. Scenes drag into each other. The long opening sequence is so soft that the next scene, a fairly explicit nude modeling session, throws you off. Moments of the vampires attacking people seem unrelated to Fredric's quest. A scene of a woman leading him into a room with promises of revealing the castle's location doesn't have much to do with the story. The vamps help him out at least once but we never find out why. I like the mustachioed assassin, even if it's a bit out of place in this horror love story, but that storyline isn't resolved either. Generally speaking, the subplot about the legion of vampire girls never meshes with the main storyline. It seems like a blatant excuse for Rollin to insert his fetishes into the film. I mean, more so then usual.
The worst part? There aren't that many memorable visuals. A shadow of a statue of a bull is the only striking pure image I can remember. Some memorable scenes arise. A pair of nurses pulling down their surgical masks to reveal fangs is darkly funny. The vampire girls weigh a victim down in chains before kicking her up a flight of stairs. Hilariously, during a particularly windy night, a purple dress billows up into a girl's face. I doubt that was intentional.
When the focus is on the love story and the conspiracy, that's when it works. Jean-Loup Phillippe gives an excellent performance as Frederic, especially in a scene where he pleads with the girl's spectre to prove she's real. Annie Briand is enchantingly beautiful as the strange girl at the story's center. It's easy to see why she would inspire such obsession. Natalie Perrey as Frederic's mother delivers exposition but her performance makes it go down easy. The scene of the arrant vampire girls being exterminated is nicely brutal, such as two girls being impaled on the same stake, but also obviously elegiac. Rollin loves his monsters and hates to see them slaughtered.
That monster love shines through in the lengthy epilogue. Following an obvious slight-of-hand, the protagonist is reunited with his love. They frolic on the director's favorite beach (Of course!!) and make love, before she bites him, turning him into a vampire. The nude lovers float off, where they live in vampirey bliss happily ever after. Aww. "Lips of Blood" is a muddled affair even if Rollin's strength for romantic sincerity and some strong actors keep it afloat.
Narratively, the film is more focused then usual. Pacing-wise, it's still a mess. Scenes drag into each other. The long opening sequence is so soft that the next scene, a fairly explicit nude modeling session, throws you off. Moments of the vampires attacking people seem unrelated to Fredric's quest. A scene of a woman leading him into a room with promises of revealing the castle's location doesn't have much to do with the story. The vamps help him out at least once but we never find out why. I like the mustachioed assassin, even if it's a bit out of place in this horror love story, but that storyline isn't resolved either. Generally speaking, the subplot about the legion of vampire girls never meshes with the main storyline. It seems like a blatant excuse for Rollin to insert his fetishes into the film. I mean, more so then usual.
The worst part? There aren't that many memorable visuals. A shadow of a statue of a bull is the only striking pure image I can remember. Some memorable scenes arise. A pair of nurses pulling down their surgical masks to reveal fangs is darkly funny. The vampire girls weigh a victim down in chains before kicking her up a flight of stairs. Hilariously, during a particularly windy night, a purple dress billows up into a girl's face. I doubt that was intentional.
When the focus is on the love story and the conspiracy, that's when it works. Jean-Loup Phillippe gives an excellent performance as Frederic, especially in a scene where he pleads with the girl's spectre to prove she's real. Annie Briand is enchantingly beautiful as the strange girl at the story's center. It's easy to see why she would inspire such obsession. Natalie Perrey as Frederic's mother delivers exposition but her performance makes it go down easy. The scene of the arrant vampire girls being exterminated is nicely brutal, such as two girls being impaled on the same stake, but also obviously elegiac. Rollin loves his monsters and hates to see them slaughtered.
That monster love shines through in the lengthy epilogue. Following an obvious slight-of-hand, the protagonist is reunited with his love. They frolic on the director's favorite beach (Of course!!) and make love, before she bites him, turning him into a vampire. The nude lovers float off, where they live in vampirey bliss happily ever after. Aww. "Lips of Blood" is a muddled affair even if Rollin's strength for romantic sincerity and some strong actors keep it afloat.