The Iron Rose (5 Stars)

I've been a fan of Jean Rollin's films for years. He's best known for his psychedelic vampire films, but this strange film is the one that I like the most. It's stunning in its gothic eerieness. I've watched it over and over again, and it impresses me every time.

A young couple go for a walk in a cemetery. After making love in a crypt they emerge and find it's already night, and they're unable to find the way out. The cemetery seems to have turned into an enormous maze. While the man tries in vain to find the way out the woman descends rapidly into madness and decides she wants to remain in the cemetery forever.

The film contains no supernatural elements, although the cemetery is certainly unusual. For instance, the couple discover an open grave full of broken skeletons. As in all of Rollin's films the atmosphere is more important than the plot. The film is like an abstract painting that leaves you stunned after viewing it even if you don't understand it.