Review: The Living Dead Girl (1982)

(aka La Morte Vivante)
Directed by: Jean Rollin
Starring: Françoise Blanchard, Marina Pierro, Carina Barone
Written by: Jacques Ralf, Jean Rollin
Music by: Philippe D’Aram
Country: France
Available on: Blu-ray (Redemption Films/Kino Lorber)
IMDb

This is probably Jean Rollin’s most familiar work, thanks to Rob Zombie. It’s also reportedly one of Rollin’s least favorite, since he was not a huge proponent of gore and this is easily one of his most gruesome. The film follows Catherine, dead two years but now revived thanks to a toxic waste spill in the family crypt, and she now needs blood to survive. La Morte Vivante sports an unusually traditional narrative, which allows Catherine room to breathe as a character. There’s a developed emotional core unfamiliar in Rollin’s work, and a significant portion of the film focuses on the conflict between her returning humanity and her growing hunger as she becomes violently desperate for sanguine refreshment. Catherine’s arc is an interesting contrast to the descent into corruption by her former best friend (lover?) Helene, who is at first shocked to find Catherine back from the dead, but then fully intent on helping her friend feed as a show of devotion. Given that Catherine is a ravenous vampire or zombie or something, there is plenty of bloodshed, most of it fairly convincing. While this is the most violent of the Rollin oeuvre I’ve seen, it’s also the least sexual. That doesn’t mean he misses the chance to include full-frontal female and male nudity, but the eroticism is definitely put on the back burner. Sadly, some of the gorgeousness of his best work is also set aside. This film is still beauteous, but there is much less time spent lingering on resplendent gothic settings and pretty people and there is less heavy lifting being done by music. All in all, this a faster-paced, more character- and plot-driven jaunt than seems typical for the auteur. This isn’t necessarily bad, because Françoise Blanchard is wonderful in the title role and gives Catherine more vitality than European cinema usually affords, and her performance during the intense final scene is worth beholding. But I found myself wishing there were a few more Rollinsian flourishes.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10