Though it has gone through a restoration process viewers will notice a drop in quality compared to other films in this range. By the time she worked with Hitchcock, Carroll had been successfully acting in films for seven years, her early body of work coinciding with an incredibly exciting period in film history – the transition from silent film to sound. A criminal on the run hides out in an old chateau and ends up the victim of a strange blood-drinking cult of women. zoom feature is used, all of the single-line subs are beyond visible height, while the second line of subs gets chopped in half. R0 America- Redemption/Image Entertainment - No cuts known (81:49 NTSC, excluding the modern Redemption introduction.

Some erotic component was usually imposed on Rollin by meddling producers, forcing him to add ill-fitting sex scenes into his productions, but here - more so than anywhere else in his filmography - the erotic scenes feel truly organic to the story. Mander's obvious skill is in coaxing appealing performances out of all his actors – from the three leads, through supporting actors (special mention for Kay Hammond as Gwenda's airhead girlfriend) and even down to the walk-ons – the grievously disappointed drunken toff, for instance, is a classic bit of comedy business. The Seventh Seal (software uniformly simulated HDR) , The Maltese Falcon (software uniformly simulated HDR) .The excellent Mondo Macabro TV episode "Virgins and Vampires" devoted to Rollin is included here in its entirety, with many of the film clips substituted with their new HD upgrades. Unfortunately, when one of the girls takes a liking to him and tries to warn him to leave before nightfall, his old gang shows up and a shootout occurs. These were preserved in raw form in case Rollin needed to deliver a harder variant of the film as he did with some of his other pictures.

Like the other Rollin titles, the DVD omits the Eileen Daly intros and focuses more on the extras: a photo gallery of production and promotional shots, as well as the original French trailer (which contains some alternate sexy close-up shots trimmed from the final cut of the film). The white English subtitles are clean, clear and easy to read and there weren't any obvious typos noted during playback to complain about. Her character doesn't become really all that interesting until the closing moments of the film; perhaps that's because Rollin tries to infuse a romantic, loving connection between her and Marc, which is way too difficult to believe under these circumstances. They must have been distracted from their cause by all the lesbian lovemaking they had been indulging in until that very morning.Rollin's Fascination rises to its most compelling levels late in the game by taking a non-supernatural path in explaining these voracious female vampires. Jean Rollin's Fascination relishes in atmosphere and voracity, offering more siren-like seduction amid its vampire elements than mounting tension. The films most striking sequence has Eva slashing her way through a group of armed peasants with a large scythe. So for the 'true' anamorphic transfer, the Dutch release would seem to be the best, whereas the UK Dark Side release contains the best range of extras.

After a haunting, cryptic opening in which several well-to-do French ladies gather at a farm where animals are being slaughtered and daintily sip glasses filled with blood, the story follows the misadventures of blond hoodlum Jean-Marie Lemaire, who holds up two young women (Brigitte Lahaie and Franca Mai) at an isolated chateau. By 1931, Carroll had successfully made the transition from support player to lead actor, and her role in Fascination as Gwenda Farrell – a jaded actress on the rebound – is arguably one of her best. The plot synopsis has appeared in other reviews but suffice it to say, this is one of my favorite vampire films of all time as it breaks traditions with the usual fangs and undead legends. When a thief holes up in a remote chateau, taking two beautiful chambermaids' hostage, the arrival of his accomplices and the chateau's aristocratic owners leads to an orgy of violence and ritualistic bloodletting.Coming right off her stint on Rollin's The Grapes of Death, former adult film actress Lahaie makes a fine, memorable figure, tromping around semi-nude in her black cape and slashing open trespassers. It's a shame, because color depth is surprisingly rich and subtle details like textures and fabric show a nice level of detail, while black levels are effective with touch-and-go precision. Set in 1905, the story concerns a group of aristocratic women who acquire more epicurean tastes after drinking ox's blood as a cure of anemia.