La vampire nue (The Nude Vampire, 1970)

2025: Post #14
Watched February 10th On the Indicator Blu-ray IMDB
Directed by Jean Rollin
TSZDT: 3,342
TSPDT: 15,460

84 minutes. Rollin is style over substance and I love every second of it. Low budget Last Year at Marienbad mixed with a Borowczyk tone, a dash of Warhol, and an otherworldliness that is uniquely Rollin and I have only really felt before in Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast.

This movie is a vibe. It starts, without context, inside a room that looks like a scientists lab with a guy in am animals mask, one person in a blue hood and one in a red. The room looks like it was something they quickly threw together, but at the same time it has a meticulous eye for detail given a tiny budget. It could be accused of excess, perhaps not making any sense, but never lacking style. To me this is not only the cold opening of the movie but also a good metaphor for how the film plays out.

The story is not the most important element here, but it revolves around a cult and a woman that might be a vampire but is never confirmed until a twist ending that somehow makes it slightly more confusing. But no matter, I had an amazing experience watching this. It is for sure going in my Top 100 for style and aesthetics alone. Rollin creates a world that is loosely defined while adhering to a set of rules that make it feel easy to sink into. It’s a vampire movie, but not one you have seen before. If you’re looking for a tight story or genre comfort food I would not recommend, but if you’re feeling adventurous this is a hell of a good time and something I’ve thought about several times since it ended.