The Nude Vampire (1970)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The second Jean Rollin movie is a lot better than the first one, "Rape of the Vampire". It also has a misleading title: just as there was no rape that I could see in that movie, in this one I am not sure if there is even any vampires, and nor does the one the title presumably refers to ever get naked, though she does spend the whole movie in a see- through orange gown.There is also more story this time, more unsettling images, and more eroticism. These things add up to a better movie in my opinion.This one is something about a rich man who believes he has found a vampire and is trying to learn the secret of her condition. There is also a suicide cult who are apparently after the woman as well, though no great attempt seems to be ongoing to prevent them from getting their hands on her, nor do they seem that keen anyway.Even the "suicide cult" part of that is questionable. When we see a young woman supposedly commit suicide with the group, she does so with the most unconvincing gun shot I have ever seen. There is a sound effect, yes, but no attempt to make it seem that the gun has actually fired besides that. She doesn't even aim it at her head particularly well: the gun is angled upwards so that if it did fire, it would probably miss her brain.Aside from that, the movie benefits from its visual style more than anything. There are some beautiful babes in this one, particularly a black lady and two pig tailed sisters (whose hairstyles keep changing). The bits at the beginning with the girl wandering around and the guys in horse masks creeping up on her were generally scary and could have been great in a better movie. The ending is disappointing. We find out that no one in the movie is a vampire, but rather they're all mutants, and one day humanity will be immortal? What?Is that supposed to be scary?

I started watching this movie by accident. I found that even with a sub par plot, minimal acting, and terrible effects this movie was a sexplotation delight. It was like a weird Bjork video but with better looking women. It was extremely subtly sexy and the framing and cinematography was superb. Considering the director had a cruddy plot, he worked wonders. The opening scene was odd, yet very well done.If you like watching sexy Euro women walking around scantly clad, and getting undressed for no apparent reason, creep yet sexy twins, and a very modest attempt at making something different, you will like this addition to the cheap horror movie genre.

Following a strange encounter with a young woman, Pierre (Olivier Martin) begins snooping around the location where he last saw her and quickly uncovers a mystery leading all the way to his own father. See, Pierre's dad has kidnapped this vampire girl and is using his company in order to try to find out the secret to her immortality. This is director Jean Rollin's second vampire film but the first one that I've witnessed. I'm not sure it is entirely successful, but it clearly establishes some Rollin motifs. I did enjoy the dream-like staging even if it has a slumber-like pace at only 81 minutes long. As always, Rollin has a keen eye for the ladies and everyone here is downright gorgeous. Especially of note are the twin servants, played by real life twins Marie-Pierre & Catherine Castel. Rollin also has an equally good eye at catching some great images and the final half hour set in a picturesque château in the country features some really striking bits. Of course, you know he is going to work that beach in there too and the last few minutes feature that famous location (plus a dimensional jump and twist that reminded me a bit of PHANTASM).

From the title and the opening sequence of 'La Vampire Nue' it looks like you're in for a dreamlike erotic nudie vampire flick ala Jess Franco (which is not a bad thing mind you!). Very quickly though it metamorphoses into something more complex, and difficult to categorize. The mysterious and sensual title character played by Caroline Cartier actually has very little to do on screen, but is the key to the mysterious events involving scientists studying immortality, and a surreal suicide cult. A young man discovers his father is somehow involved in a secret society who favour animal masks and (apparent) murder. When he investigates he finds that not everything is as it seems, and that the enigmatic, mute beauty at the centre of it may hold the key to the future of mankind's evolution. A very strange, poetic and unique piece of 60s exploitation, quite unlike any other. I was fascinated by the whole thing. Highly recommended to fans of the offbeat and unusual.