Doubt Les Frisson des Vampire AKA The Shiver of the Vampires would make it in my personal Top Five films by fantastique director Jean Rollin, but I do know it's blessed with an incredible soundtrack that I sadly still don't own a physical copy of due to it being OOP and selling for stupid prices.
Les Frisson des Vampire OST is comprised of some very short and sweet acid folk and trippy sound effects which provide Rollin's film with one of the most haunting soundscapes from that period. Highlights include Isolde, Sleeping Beauty (Samba des Vampires), Flightless Bird, Envol Vers la Folie and of course the title track, Le Frisson des Vampires.
The band Acanthus was an alias to the Gallic, teen, psycherock group Unity. During their very short time together, they only released two singles; their final effort O Wa Nou Me Nou Ma, featured a fitting homage to guitar god Jimi Hendrix for its B-side song. Not sure if Rollin gave them the soundtrack gig on these tunes alone, but I am thankful his film led me to their head-nodding, fleur power number, regardless.
Unity - Jimi (En Hommage A Jimi Hendrix)
O Wa Nou Me Nou Ma single B-side, 1970
Dada Debaser Bonus:
There must have been something in the Perrier in 1971, since the Belgian erotic vampire film Daughters of Darkness*was also blessed with a magnifique soundtrack by the French composer, François de Roubaix. Sample heaven ever since.
* Daughters of Darkness happens to be a film with Delphine
Seyrig in it where I'm not instantly repelled by anyone hailing it as a classic film,
unlike the overrated shite that is Last Year at Marienbad (1961), or Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975); a film that I refuse to waste three hours of my life while she cotches in a kitchen.
Orchestrator of Storms: The Fantastique World of Jean Rollin (The Iron Rose clip)
Dima Ballin & Kat Ellinger, 2022
Feeling entirely vindicated right about now over my completely shallow appreciation for Jean Rollin's The Iron Rose. Haven't done a dedicated review on it, nor any of Rollin's other films for that matter, but I left some honest thoughts on it in a post from last year. Imagine my surprise when I watched a clip of the new documentary on Rollin and my simpleton thoughts were completely echoed by whoever that scholarly person was they interviewed. Desperately want to see this documentary, but signing up to any subscription service to stream it is an immediate turn off.
Jean-Denis Bonan's lost French New Wave / genre mash-up made its worldwide debut on blu this month. Imagine if Jean Luc Godard had helmed Dressed to Kill during the Paris '68 protests and that might give you some idea what the film might be like. It features Rollin in an early cameo as a policeman. Mixed feelings over the film, but it gets the honour of being part of La Nouvelle Vague where it didn't make me want to throw a brick at my TV (even though the tuneless, French folk singing that serves as part of its soundtrack is utterly horrendous). Worth it for the extras, since I learnt about crusty, French activists almost driven to rioting after a screening of The Rape of the Vampire (1968), one of Rollin's earlier films. Très bon, Jean!
A Woman Kills (Trailer)
Jean-Denis Bonan, 1968
February seems to be the month of all things Jean Rollin, since the folks over at Indicator revealed the first of their Rollin home releases last week and I'm seriously tempted to cop both of them.
