When I received my DVD copy of Lips of Blood, it took me half a year before working up the courage to block off 90 minutes for viewing. The DVD cover had me intrigued all right with a naked dead woman sitting on some kind of rock wall by the water, but being a vampire film released in 1975, I knew I had to be in the mood. Nearly six months later, the mood hit and I plopped Lips of Blood into the Blu-Ray player on a cold Friday night.
As the film starts, I was beginning to envision the experience to something more like a Mystery Science Theatre viewing. There was dry dialogue at a cocktail party and the opening scene where two men bring two covered bodies down to some kind of cellar seemed more laughable than anything worthy of attention.
But then Lips of Blood began to grow on me, and by it's conclusion I was thankful for this unique and atmospheric work.
Lips of Blood centers on Fredric (Jean-Loup Philippe), a man who is both obsessed and beset by a picture of a landscape that reminds him of his youth. Frederic can remember the castle in the picture and he begins to have other memories of the location such as a woman for which he will spend most of the film searching.
Frederic's obsession leads him to a cemetery where he opens multiple coffins unleashing female vampires onto the streets of Paris. It also leads him to being taken away by doctors and forced into a straightjacket that is, until two of the female vampires come to his assistance.
Frederic's obsession with female and the photo bring him to the brink of insanity and he finds himself hospitalized and put into a straightjacket for a short period of time until rescued by two female vampires that he unleashed unknowingly the night before Most of Lips of Blood has Frederic running around the streets of Paris tracking down his childhood memory while naked women parade across the big screen biting unsuspecting victims (God Bless you, director Jean Rollin). In fact, at a very brisk 87 minutes, Lips of Blood has enough full frontal nudity to do two or three of today's standard Hollywood horror flicks (again, God Bless you, director Jean Rollin) To enjoy Lips of Blood as much as one should, you really must have an appreciation for 1970's cinema. Set design was only a suggestion and the wardrobe is downright embarrassing (Frederic runs around with a padded shoulder and elbow sweater). But that doesn't stop Lips of Blood from being both impressive and erotic. It is distinctive and moody and it transported me back to when I used to sit in front of an old RCA television on Saturday afternoon trying to get ariel feeds on channel 24. It is a simple vampire film that tries to be nothing more. And sometimes, this is the best approach to providing the viewing public with some worthy entertainment.
www.robertsreviews.com
As the film starts, I was beginning to envision the experience to something more like a Mystery Science Theatre viewing. There was dry dialogue at a cocktail party and the opening scene where two men bring two covered bodies down to some kind of cellar seemed more laughable than anything worthy of attention.
But then Lips of Blood began to grow on me, and by it's conclusion I was thankful for this unique and atmospheric work.
Lips of Blood centers on Fredric (Jean-Loup Philippe), a man who is both obsessed and beset by a picture of a landscape that reminds him of his youth. Frederic can remember the castle in the picture and he begins to have other memories of the location such as a woman for which he will spend most of the film searching.
Frederic's obsession leads him to a cemetery where he opens multiple coffins unleashing female vampires onto the streets of Paris. It also leads him to being taken away by doctors and forced into a straightjacket that is, until two of the female vampires come to his assistance.
Frederic's obsession with female and the photo bring him to the brink of insanity and he finds himself hospitalized and put into a straightjacket for a short period of time until rescued by two female vampires that he unleashed unknowingly the night before Most of Lips of Blood has Frederic running around the streets of Paris tracking down his childhood memory while naked women parade across the big screen biting unsuspecting victims (God Bless you, director Jean Rollin). In fact, at a very brisk 87 minutes, Lips of Blood has enough full frontal nudity to do two or three of today's standard Hollywood horror flicks (again, God Bless you, director Jean Rollin) To enjoy Lips of Blood as much as one should, you really must have an appreciation for 1970's cinema. Set design was only a suggestion and the wardrobe is downright embarrassing (Frederic runs around with a padded shoulder and elbow sweater). But that doesn't stop Lips of Blood from being both impressive and erotic. It is distinctive and moody and it transported me back to when I used to sit in front of an old RCA television on Saturday afternoon trying to get ariel feeds on channel 24. It is a simple vampire film that tries to be nothing more. And sometimes, this is the best approach to providing the viewing public with some worthy entertainment.
www.robertsreviews.com