Fascination: The Celluloid Dreams of Jean Rollin

by David Hinds

The presbytery has lost none of its charm, nor the garden its colours. Fiancee of Dracula Disguise those corpses, destroy their clothes, and make sure that they remain dead forever. Don't forget, they are vampires. The Rape of the Vampire May 1968. Parisian streets are awash with violence and public unrest. In a small cinema, a surreal vampire film causes a riot: The audience smashes up the auditorium, tear out the seats, and chase the film s director onto the street with violent intent. This is the premiere screening of Jean Rollin s feature debut, The Rape of the Vampire. An outsider of French cinema, Rollin s films are unique and dreamlike. They offer tales of mystery and nostalgia -- of lost love, childhood, obsolescence and seductive female vampires with a thirst for blood and sex. Rollin made strange, evocative and deeply personal horror films. But he was also at the heart of the French pornographic revolution after the abolishment of censorship, and discovered porn queen Brigitte Lahaie, later to star in many of his films. Funding his own projects, Rollin defiantly made the films he wanted make and in so doing created a fantastique genre unlike any other. Films like The Nude Vampire, The Living Dead Girl, Fascination and The Grapes of Death are now celebrated as the work of an auteur, one who confounds preconceived notions of what constitutes Eurotrash cinema. This book is the first of its kind in the English language. It is devoted to the director and all his films, across all genres. Written with full co-operation from Jean Rollin, shortly before his death in 2010, it contains exclusive interviews and archive material."

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

260 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[hanna]

nothing new to ME but still enjoyable to read about your favorite things, especially when it's an actual book you can hold in your hands..! thoroughly disagree with the author about échappées, he's kinder to much less accomplished (though still interesting) films like trottoirs -- not to pit two girls against each other &c. the transcript at the end of rollin's interview w/ his v rough english is cute.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few years ago, I saw a still of the opening image of The Nude Vampire. Just the film's title imposed over a ringed hand resting on a stone statue. This intriguing title and striking image stuck with me and I knew I had to seek the film out. That film was incredible and it led me to search for the other films of Jean Rollin. As I made my way through his work, it was astonishing how the same filmmaker could be responsible for some of the absolute greatest and absolute worst films I'd ever seen. He's often lumped in with the Eurotrash school, but his work has more in common with Bunuel or Salvador Dali than with Jess Franco or whomever. Despite all the nudity and sex in his work, I wouldn't call it erotic. It's slow and beautiful and full of mystery and with barely a gesture at plot. The more you watch, the more you see how self-referential his films are. It's all a part of a greater puzzle. When it works, it's magical, when it doesn't, it's terrible. And the use of sexual violence and gore in some of his films is a turn off. I got this book on a whim and it turned out to be a great delight. The introductory essays were wonderfully written. The summaries and analysis of the individual films could have used a good editor, but it still had a wealth of great information.

[Ned Netherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely appreciation of a wonderful Director. I'm not one for stuffy academic studies, I like living, breathing approach from a passionate enthusiast. I found myself picking it up randomly throughout the day in-between tasks.

[Toxic Graveyard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've got to be honest when it comes to Jean Rollin and Eurohorror in general. It's a blind spot for me. Sure, I've seen tons of Italian horror flicks and love 'em, but as far as gothic/creepy castle type Eurohorror it's not a big draw for me. I've only seen The Grapes of Death and Zombie Lake by Rollin and according to this book, neither are good representations of the body of work Rollin was known for. I'm not alone in this. Author David Hinds concedes that for most horror fans, Jean Rollin's work goes unseen. Rollin is often compared to or confused with Spanish director Jess Franco, despite the fact that Rollin is French. I know I've made the same mistake myself. Fascination: The Celluloid Dreams of Jean Rollin sets the record straight on the director and schools ignorant film fans (read: me).

Writer David Hinds makes no bones about it: he loves Jean Rollin's films. His writing on the subject in the first few pages practically gushes his love all over the paper (which could be why the book has an odd but pleasant sweet aroma). From there he spends time writing about his life, his upbringing and how get got into film, as well as his aesthetic and influences for about 60 pages or so. We are then treated to lengthy reviews on each and every one of his films, including his hardcore films, short films, and unfinished works. The reviews not only comment on the style and success (or lack thereof) of the film from an artistic point of view but also goes into the history of how the film was made and background cultural information that may have had an influence. To put it simply, each review is very thorough. The book finishes off with a full interview with Rollin, who has since passed away. The reviews themselves are annotated with footnotes from other interviews with Rollin. The guy did his homework for sure. The book is printed in black and white and features numerous stills from Rollin's films throughout.

For Jean Rollin fans this is a must buy. If you like the films, you should own this book. It's informative and written by a person with obvious passion for the films. I will say that he isn't slavish in his love however. He's willing to admit when a film was a failure so the book is pretty balanced as well. I doubt anyone will ever write a more thorough and definitive book on Rollin, especially since he has now passed on. For those uninitiated in the cult of Rollin but are curious, it's a good buy as well. I like to be informed on the films I watch before, during or right after watching them and this book gives the goods.

[Matt Hicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't say the author offers any particularly deep analysis in his reviews of Rollin's work, coming across as more of a fan than an insightful critic. However, his enthusiasm and genuine affection show in the excellent and thorough filmography, with advice on the various DVD and Blu-Ray editions of Rollin's films, no matter how obscure or hard to find.