Review: Lips of Blood (1975)

(aka Lèvres de Sang)
Directed by: Jean Rollin
Starring: Jean-Loup Philippe, Annie Belle, Nathalie Perrey
Written by: Jean-Loup Philippe, Jean Rollin
Music by: Didier William Lepauw
Country: France
Available on: Blu-ray/DVD (Redemption Films/Kino Lorber)
IMDb

Lips of Blood, about a man who suddenly remembers and goes in search of a mysterious woman from his childhood, locked away in a castle, is a cinematic collage of all the avenues Jean Rollin had previously explored in his career. The mysterious, cloud-cloaked landscapes; the oft-nude vampiresses; the man trying to fix broken bonds of love; a castle engulfed by mist — all of the more grand themes are here, but the film also revisits specific moments from his filmography: the Castel twins from The Nude Vampire (1970); the beach at Dieppe, with its ominous jagged pikes protruding from the sea; characters viewing a screening of his film The Shiver of the Vampires (1971). Lips of Blood functions as a remarkable reflection of Rollin’s legacy to this point. As a result, it’s perhaps his most accomplished work. Beyond the usual dreamy poetry of his films, this movie incorporates some unusual elements for the director: most of the film takes place in a crumbling urban area rather than the sprawling French countryside, and the central character is a sympathetic man who’s more than a testosterone obstacle for a woman breaking shackles. The pacing here is substantially brisker than usual, with a lively and intriguing story that still allows for Rollin’s beautiful meditations on color, light, sound, and composition. Lips of Blood is less a vampire film than would probably be expected — the main vampire, Jennifer, only exists in the periphery for most of the runtime — but it oddly feels more like true horror than Rollin traditionally explores. Many scenes are set up to amplify suspense and mystery through plays on darkness and shadow, complemented by the lush orchestral score, and the vampires, when they do appear, are rendered more as apex predators than seducers in search of companionship. The film has the body of gothic horror with the soul of the fantastique, and it’s a fascinating mashup that none of Rollin’s other work that I’ve seen has managed to balance as skillfully. However, one of the most rewarding things about his oeuvre is that every film, even though they may frequently return to similar themes, executes a vision differently, through a distinctive artistic lens. And here, in Lips of Blood, Rollin brilliantly manifests his darkest and most romantic vision.

Overall rating: 9.5 out of 10