Released by: Kino Lorber/Redemption Films
Released on: 1/24/2012
Réalisation: Jean Rollin
Cast: Jean-Loup Philippe, Annie Belle, Catherine & Marie-Pierre Castel, Natalie Perrey, Serge Rollin
Year: 1975
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The Movie:

Number four in Redemption's “The Cinema of Jean Rollin” Blu-ray series, Lips of Blood tells the tale of Frederic (Jean-Loup Philippe), a man in his 30s who never realized he was looking for something. Attending some sort of party for the launch of a new fragrance with his mother (Natalie Perrey), one particular piece of advertising utilizing some old ruins catches Frederic's eyes. He is suddenly thrown into a repressed childhood memory, one that takes place at the ruins and involves a young woman whom he fell in love with instantly, at the ripe of age of twelve. As a boy (played by Jean Rollin's son Serge) he meets her in the night and gives her a toy, professes his love to her, and then takes off to be with his mother, never seeing her again. Fast forward twenty years later and the single photograph of the ruins puts him on an obsessive path to find them. It's also a very dangerous path, as it appears someone doesn't want him to find the ruins.

After some perseverance, and the appearance of the girl he loves who tips him off, he finds the ruins. But in nosing around he inadvertently releases four vampires from their entombment, who in turn seem to be protecting the man with the ultra-perm from whatever people are trying to keep him from discovering the truth about the girl and what happened to her. When he finally does find the truth, it's from a source he doesn't expect. He's being told to do something he doesn't want to, and must make a decision as to where his loyalty lies.

At its core this is a love story. Boy meets girl; boy falls in love with girl; boy goes on a mission to find the girl. But in the true fashion of a Jean Rollin picture, it's all about the visual side of things. Although not as surreal as say The Shiver of the Vampires, Rollin still throws in some telltale signatures found in his other works. Long, flowing, and see through vampire outfits, wonderfully copious amounts of gorgeous female nudity, an amazing location, long takes, and really interesting camera movements. Fascinating castle ruins, run-down buildings, and some beach action make for some great settings. The man had a wonderful eye for what makes an interesting shot, and he exploited that to his fullest potential.

Unlike the aforementioned Shiver, and also Fascination (the only other Rollin movies this viewer has seen up to this point), Lips of Blood seems to be less symbolic and more of a straight-up story, with only one main character rather than numerous ones. It's a lot easier to follow than the other two, and it moves along at a quicker pace as well. Absent is the lesbianism, but there's plenty of vampire action to go around, and two of the four vampire ladies are pretty much naked for their duration of screen time. Heck there's even some female masturbation thrown in for good measure. It's pretty tough to complain about that.

Atmospheric, gothic, and quite eerie at times, Lips of Blood should give horror movie lovers something to talk about. This one feels less like arthouse fare and more like a Hammer movie, giving it a different feel that the other mentioned Rollin films, but it is no less entertaining. From start to finish, there's always something interesting going on or something appealing to look at.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Kino/Redempion do a fine job giving the movie its high-definition debut, with a 1080p AVC encoded image, and a 1:66:1 aspect ratio. Good detail, the colors look pretty solid, although not the kind to hit you over the head, and the blacks seem deep and consistent. There are white flecks through out, but they aren't distracting and given the age and low-budget roots of the film, it's totally forgivable. There seems to be no edge enhancement or DNR, and there's plenty of what looks like natural grain to behold. Missing are artifacts or aliasing. No apparent authoring issues to mention. The audio is an LPCM 2.0 French language track with easy to read English subtitles. The only complaint is the volume seems louder than the average, but once you find a level that agrees with you, the balance seems to be correct. A little age is apparent in the sound, but it does its job just fine.

For supplements, there's a short introduction by the director, and he addresses some troubles with the filming and is pretty candid about his thoughts on the finished product. Also to be found is a ten-minute or so interview with Rollin script-girl Natalie Perrey, who plays the mother in the movie. The interview is in French with English subtitles, and she speaks of her experiences on the film and with the director, and her relationship with his son, whom she shared lodging with during the shoot. She smokes the entire time she talks. HD trailers for other films from the series are also present, and as with the others releases, a 20-page booklet by Tim Lucas, editor of Video Watchdog, is included.

The Final Word:

This writer can't compare this film to anymore than two Rollin films at this point, but Lips of Blood is every bit as entertaining and interesting as the others. Kino/Redemption has done a great job with these movies, and here's to hoping more are in the works.