Dracula's Fiancée (4 Stars)

Despite giving this film only an average rating when I reviewed it in 2018, I decided to buy the new Blu-ray release, and I'm glad that I did. Watching it again today, I really enjoyed it. I can understand why I disliked it in the past. It has a darker, less psychedelic character to it than Jean Rollin's earlier films. However, I only say less psychedelic, not unpsychedelic. There's still a lot of vivid imagery. Just look at the wedding ceremony with the nuns in white, pictured above. Most of the characters are dressed in bright colours. The only ones dressed in black are the vampire hunters. They're the bad guys.

And there's a priest, also in black. Do you recognise the man pushing the priest's wheelchair? It's Jean Rollin, easy to recognise even in this poorly lit scene. He has a small cameo in almost all of his films. He's not named in IMDB's credits list, but IMDB isn't always correct.

Catherine Castel is listed in the credits as Sister Skipping Rope. I think this is her, but I can't be 100% certain. Her other films were made in the mid-1970's, 25 years earlier.

Brigitte Lahaie is easier to recognise. She's appeared in over 100 films made in France, Germany and Switzerland. She began her career as a porn star, and Jean Rollin was the first person to give her a chance in serious films. He recognised her acting ability when others didn't.

Sandrine Thoquet pretends she's Kate Winslet on the bow of the Titanic.

Leonardo DiCaprio wouldn't have known where to put his hands. The wounds are from being shot, but Sandrine's a vampire, and it takes more than a gun to kill her. She's not a well known actress. She only ever appeared in one other film, "Two Orphan Vampires", also directed by Jean Rollin.

The fiancée herself is played by Cyrille Gaudin, also an unknown actress, in her fourth and final film. It's a shame she never made a career out of acting. I'd like to have seen more of her. I can't say the same of Thomas Smith, who plays the Jester. His acting is so bad that it looks like he isn't even trying. Maybe it's deliberate. It could be that Jean Rollin wanted him to imitate the exaggerated movements of Punch in the Punch and Judy shows. That's the only way he can be excused.

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