Chad

Undeadcow

This was a first time viewing for me but I liked the subtlety and atmospheric build-up. I first heard about Fascination (as well as Lips of Blood) when the DVD was out of print and commanding a high price. The image of Brigitte Lahaie with a scythe and clock is so iconic I am surprised this movie is not more well regarded. Brigitte Lahaie steals the show as a teasing taunting seductress that turn horror conventions upside down by tormenting intruders. Fascination maintains a nice playful tone throughout with parlor games tinged with implied (and at times explicit) maliciousness. I love Brigitte's switch in dress from conservative long white dress to being nude under a dark black cape, a scene that is a brilliant thematic representation of the movies own play on misinterpreted feminine hostility for innocence. The use of black and white color (as well as day and night) seems important in Fascination in staggering characters behavior from unassuming to villainous. However, I was not sold by brunette girl Franca Maļ's illogical twist actions at the finale.

If nothing else those silly see-through red/purple one piece cloaks from Lips of Blood and Shiver of the Vampire make an appearance here as re-used costume design, they must have gotten a good bargain on those things.

For those catching Fascination on NetFlix it's interesting to me how 1970s eurohorror was promoted, the blu-ray has 16 minutes of expanded sex scenes Rollin preserved "in case he needed to edit a more explicit version and sell Fascination as a softcore film."

I disagree because I think it's too generalized but here is an interesting review suggesting Fascination is a look at aristocratic morality versus the values of common men.

Trevor

Bump as it is today's film.

edwardnortonfan

Maybe it's because I was told over and over and over that Jean Rollin's films were terrible (and this was from a couple of his fans) but I really liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would. I was told that this movie didn't have a plot, but it most certainly did (a thin plot maybe, but it was there, and it was kind of interesting too, with women becoming "vampires" who just like drinking blood). I liked the twist at the end. I rolled my eyes into the stratosphere when the brunette tells the guy she loves him, so when the ending looked like it was going to be the two "star crossed lovers" running away together, I wanted to barf, and when she said that maybe the thing she loved about him was his blood, I was happy that the movie went there (in my own little demented way of being happy when movie characters I hate get killed).

Baron Of Hell

I liked it. Kind of silly at times with a lady with a 4 inch knife attacks another lady that is holding a 5 foot scythe with a 3 foot blade. Some nice tatas waving around. The plot was thin. The guy had a choice of staying to find out the secret or leaving with the money. He picked staying. Why he want to stick around after one girl kills everybody is beyond me. The tits make up for it.

Trevor

Pretty much my thoughts exactly. I haven't seen a lot of Rollin's work, but assumed I'd never be a fan. The plot proved to be more interesting than I first thought, I even picked up on those themes Undeadcow mentioned. The scenery was very nice; and I'll remember that scene with the scythe for a long time.

I too rolled my eyes at what looked like a typical Hollywood ending, and loved the reversal.

Dick Laurent

I watched this last night on BD, but wanted to share my limited edition disc from Germany. It's #252 of 333.

NSFW

edwardnortonfan

I totally want that DVD now. Or the cover as a poster I can hang on my wall.

Undeadcow

Very nice! That disc art is shameless. You can tell it's #252 because someone hand wrote it in permenant marker on the interior? Haha...

I wonder whatever happened to Brigitte Lahaie.

It doesn't seem like Fascination really ever had traditional poster art somehow.

Dick Laurent

Yeah, I thought the hand-numbering with marker was amusing as well.

And speaking of shameless, check out the back cover:

NSFW

Undeadcow

I count 14 clearly visible tits, one crotch shot, and another rear end. That back cover alone has more action than most full features.

Although this marketing is over the top I think that's one of the greatest things that stood out about Fascination and is missing from so many modern horror films... serious eroticism (not teen flashing or sex jokes; but mature sexuality).

Dick Laurent

Here's a pic of a few more of my Rollin collectables. Figured you'd appreciate it, Undeadcow.

NSFW

All of the Encore editions come packaged with beautiful books and some with soundtrack CDs, extra discs, etc. These are so much more in depth than the BDs, minus the quality. If you can still find any of these I highly recommend owning them.

Undeadcow

Very nice... I'm relatively new to Rollins work and would appreciate more in depth extras. That's quite a nice collection you've got!

Supplements lacking I do appreciate the Redemption Films releases because there's not a lot of quality high definition eurohorror releases these days (with Blue Underground silent).

It looks like the Encore release are going for a good amount on Ebay ($30) but from DVD Beaver the color seems more vibrant than even the blu-rays (at least for Requiem for a Vampire) with more detail in some areas.

Dick Laurent

Interesting. I haven't looked up the comparisons since the BDs came out. I'll have to take a look. Encore is the most impressive with packaging and supplements, so it would be worth checking out if you ever want to collect any of Rollin's work. They are PAL though, so heads-up there.