The other day when I was writing about Satan's Slave, I mentioned the proliferation of "girl goes out to an isolated estate and runs afoul of an evil cult" movies... and here's another one. A Virgin Amongst the Living Dead has the extra "benefit" of being a Jess Franco film (in quotes because he's a rather divisive filmmaker - personally I like him). And while this one feels a little less mean-spirited than some of what I've seen from him in the past, it's still got plenty of his trademark style, including a dreamlike plot and plenty of nudity. So while the general framework is pretty generic, it ends up being pretty interesting for an artsy/erotic horror film. It's a bit of a mess at times, but it's watchable.
Our main character is Christina - she's headed out to her recently deceased father's estate for a reading of his will. But her uncle Howard and a few of his friends (I'm not sure if they're family or what) were living there at the time of her father's death. And they're still hanging out, doing weird stuff, and maybe killing and eating people? At least you'd think so, what with the overall creepiness and random body parts hanging around. But they're definitely not zombies/the living dead in the traditional sense, so don't let the movie's title fool you. They seem mostly normal (except for one guy, who is a mute and is just strange in general), although they *may* have some sort of powers of hypnosis? Or maybe they're just a cult who eats people? Whatever they are or what they really do isn't made explicitly clear.
Anyways, the crew's relationship with Christina is kind of bi-polar. They seem welcoming and nice to her at first, but when she brings a local townie home (to prove to him that the house is neither haunted nor abandoned, which seems to be the prevailing rumor in town), uncle Howard gets super pissed and slaps her. And later, one of the family/cult members passes her time by watching Christina sleep. Both nude, of course. And Christina is understandably creeped out. But when Christina inherits the house and has the chance to kick them out, she's all "you've been so kind to me! I don't know what I'd do without you!" Uncle Howard even wants to leave, but Christina talks him into staying. It's just the kind of film where the logic in the script isn't especially strong, and character's motivations are not clear.
So while the story is both generic and kind of confusing at the same time, Franco gives the film a lot of style... maybe too much. Saying A Virgin Amongst the Living Dead is directed with energy would probably be overstating it, but I'm not sure if I've ever seen a film where the camera moves around so much. And not in big sweeping shots or anything, just constant little zooms or quick pans. I'd actually question if they even had a tripod on set, as even shots that would normally be static have a bit of a shake to them in this film. I mean, it's distracting to a point, but it's also sort of effective in that it keeps you on edge as a viewer.
Horror-wise? There isn't a crazy amount of tension or chase/stalk scenes or anything like that. There's more of a horror feel to the film in the respect that you don't really know what is happening. You get a little gore to hold you over, and some dream-like imagery/scenes, so it's mostly horror by way of confusion, if that makes any sense. I'm not sure if that is more the influence of Jess Franco, or more the influence of French horror cinema at the time, or just a combination of the two. But regardless, it's got a unique vibe that keeps things relatively engaging, even when it doesn't make much sense.
Which is good, the film pretty much lives and dies based on this mood (which I have to say is helped immensely by the discordant score), as nothing else particularly interesting or noteworthy actually *happens* (besides the nudity). I mean sure, there is a plot that moves from point A to point B, but at times it just feels like things happen on a whim, not because of anything that grew organically from the story. And that's not a failure on the part of A Virgin Among the Living Dead; it literally feels like something it's just not concerned with. Otherwise, the acting and sets are serviceable (but not noteworthy)... it's just the plot is annoyingly vague at times.
But still, I'm glad I watched it. I don't know if A Virgin Among the Living Dead is going to bring any new fans over to the artsy erotic horror films of Jess Franco, but if that's your thing it's certainly worth seeing.
I would recommend this film.
No comments:
Post a Comment