Fascination (4 Stars)

"Beware, death sometimes takes the form of seduction".

If you read articles about Jean Rollin you'll find disagreements about how many vampire films he made during his career. The reason is simple. He rarely used the word "vampire" in his films. Most of his films feature beautiful women who drink blood, but sometimes they don't have the typical characteristics that would classify them as vampires. For instance, almost none of the vampires in his films sleep in the daytime.

"Fascination" is a typical example of a film in which it's difficult to say whether the women are vampires or not. There's a cult of seven noble women who are supposedly suffering from anaemia. They need to drink blood every day to remain healthy. Usually they drink ox blood. One day each year they meet in a castle for a special ceremony. They capture a man, kill him and drink his blood at midnight.

So are they vampires or not? I say Yes, but I shan't argue with anyone who disagrees. The women are all young, which suggests immortality, although it's not expressly stated. They're stronger than usual women, but they don't have the super-human strength usually associated with vampires. They can be badly injured by gunshots. Even though they usually drink ox blood, they're driven crazy by the smell of human blood and can't resist it. They even turn on one of their own women who's been shot, so does she class as "human"? I'll leave the question open.

The leading male protagonist in this film is a thief called Mark. He's a stereotypical alpha male. I see a lot of my younger self in him. He's good looking and self-confident, and he considers himself irresistible to women. He doesn't take threats from women seriously, because (1) he's much stronger than them, and (2) even if they were stronger they would never hurt him because they desire him.

Mark is the leader of a gang that's stolen some gold coins. He says he'll travel to London to sell the coins and bring the money back to share with the others, but they don't trust him. They want their share immediately. Mark runs away with the gold and hides in a large castle inhabited by only two women, Eva and Elisabeth, who claim to be servants. They sum him up immediately. Rather than be terrified when he points a gun at him they say, "What are you going to do now you've caught us and we're helpless? Are you going to rape us?" Mark is too stupid to realise that they're mocking him. That's what alpha males are like. Too much testosterone and not enough brain.

When the gang members arrive at the castle the women promise to protect him. He thinks it's because they've fallen in love with him, but it's because they want to keep him safe for the upcoming ritual. The women go outside and kill all four gang members within minutes. That's the moment any man with a functioning brain would realise that there's more to the women than he thought. Not Mark. He still thinks he's in control, even when the other five women arrive. He's the centre of attention, and the women all flirt with him. Symbolically, they play a game of blind man's bluff. Mark is blindfolded, and he has to recognise the women by feeling their breasts. In truth, he was blind ever since he entered the castle. The only thing he was aware of was the female bodies. He's on a one-way trip to destruction, but he doesn't even realise it.

This is a stunningly beautiful film, considered by many to be Jean Rollin's best film. The plot is enthralling and draws the viewer in as it slowly unfolds. Like his other vampire films, "Fascination" has a surreal voyeuristic allure.

By the end of this year all of Jean Rollin's films will be available on Blu-ray. They were badly preserved, so a full remastering is necessary, but it's only been a medium quality restoration. Most of the film shows crystal clear pictures, but there are still spots and speckles that only a much more expensive remastering would remove. Nevertheless, I recommend the Blu-ray edition. The Blu-ray discs on the Redemption label are all region free, so ignore the false information on the Amazon websites.

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