When people throw out the word "dream-like" to describe a film, I immediately think it will possess three distinct qualities: 1. soft focus or hazy photography, 2. little to no plot or a plot that doesn't make sense, and finally, 3. shots that linger for an eternity to make up for the fact there's little to no plot. After all, *something* needs to fill the time, right? I can't say I'm usually a big fan of these kinds of films unless they're done by very talented directors who are able to use photography, lighting, music, art direction and shot composition to enhance and strengthen the plot. This is also commonly referred to "Making a proper movie." One can actually have it both ways and find that perfect balance. One can be both an artist and a storyteller, which is really what the art of filmmaking is all about. This film I don't think ever finds that balance. In fact, it doesn't really excel at anything. There's next to no plot and, despite this director's reputation as a visual stylist, the material is mostly presented in a surprisingly flat and uninspired fashion. Sure, there are a few nice shots in this 80-minute movie, but not nearly enough to justify sitting through the rest of it.Arrogant thief Marc (Jean-Marie Lemaire) double-crosses a few people, takes the lone female as a hostage and runs off with a bag full of gold coins. The hostage flashes her breasts, kicks him in the crotch and manages to escape. Marc takes off again and finds a secluded mansion that's surrounded by water and accessible only by bridge and sneaks inside. Those he's betrayed see him going in, but decide to lay low for awhile with plans on ambushing him later on that evening when he's not expecting it. Inside, Marc encounters two young women; Elisabeth (Franca Mai) and Eva (Brigitte Lahaie)... and they're odd to put it mildly. For starters, their story keeps changing as to why they're even there. They should be terrified in the presence of an armed thief, but instead act like giggly schoolgirls who joke about letting him rape them and then turn the tables by claiming they want to rape him. Elisabeth and Eva are lovers and the director is kind enough to prove it by shoehorning in a sex scene at an awkward time as if quickly trying to fill some requirement. Eva takes off her clothes and seduces the thief. Elisabeth gets jealous because she's in love with Eva but then claims she's in love with Marc and pleads for him to leave before nightfall. While that's going on, Eva goes outside to meet up with the four people Marc ripped off. She stabs one of the guys during sex with an (obviously retractable) dagger and then takes a scythe to the other three in scenes that have absolutely no impact whatsoever because they're so poorly staged and edited. Night finally falls and another weird woman named Hélène (Fanny Magier) swings by with four other girls talking about some "reunion" and Satan. The ladies reveal themselves to be part of a bourgeois lez cult who drink human blood to keep themselves from becoming anemic (?) because they're sick of drinking ox blood (?!) The women then put on sheer nightgowns and walk around, a couple of people get shot and then the film is over.This isn't art, as real art actually means something. This film means nothing, stands for nothing and ultimately accomplishes nothing. It's really just lazy pseudo eroticism shot at a cool-looking house and with a few attractive actresses in it and that's all. It helps that one of those actresses is Lahaie, who's worth a look even in something as dull as this. She also has the lion's share of the nude scenes, but even gazing upon her fine form from time to time isn't enough to overcome the lumbering pace, meandering non-story and awful dialogue. Apparently they didn't even use a shooting script for this one and just made it all up as they went along... You can tell! Worst of all, this isn't the least bit impressive on a visual level. Your average Friday THE 13TH sequel features more artistry and skillful camera-work than this does. The photography isn't imaginative, the score is forgettable, the editing is terrible, the potentially atmospheric location goes completely to waste, every single "horror" moment is ineptly fumbled and the director seems to have no concept of scene continuity. There's a good reason people always focus on the striking image of a nude Lahaie, clad only in a black cape, holding onto a scythe. That's because it IS the only striking image in this film.This is the fifth effort I've seen from Rollin now and it's one of his most popular and acclaimed works for some reason I can't quite fathom. I much preferred his zombie film THE GRAPES OF DEATH (1978) and the oddly compelling THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTED (1980) to this one.

Suave and cocky thief Mark (a solid and charming portrayal by the handsome Jean-Marie Lemaire) seeks refuge in a remote castle inhabited by beautiful and beguiling servant girls Eva (the stunningly gorgeous Brigitte Lahaie) and Elizabeth (the absolutely delectable Franca Mai). Unbeknownst to Mark, the two lovely ladies are members of a bizarre and deadly distaff cult of blood-drinking aristocrats. Jean Rollin does his customary masterful job of crafting a supremely eerie and erotic dreamy atmosphere that's both chilling and intoxicating in equal measure: The deliberate pace adds immensely to the film's hypnotic attraction, there's a wealth of striking poetic images (the sight of Lahaie in a flowing open black cape wielding a giant scythe is particularly startling and unforgettable), and Rollin handles the expected nudity, soft-core sex, and lesbianism with admirable class, taste, and restraint. Moreover, Rollin offers a fresh, interesting, and even believable non-supernatural take on the standard fright film premise of vampirism (the strange cult drinks blood as a means to cure anemia). Better still, Rollin not only adds a provocative female empowerment subtext by showing how the fetching and enticing women use their irresistible sexuality to get the arrogant Mark to underestimate just how lethal and dangerous they really are, but also comes through with a nice sense of wickedly playful humor and a stately elegance that's uniquely his own. Rightly regarded as one of Rollin's best-ever movies, it's essential viewing for fans of his offbeat and inspired out-of-the-ordinary work.

A fine film, beautifully photographed. Leisurely, yes, even majestic but I consider it unfair to refer to this dreamlike splendour as, 'boring'. Such a subjective term, anyway but tends to be slapped upon films such as this because they do not adhere to the 'normal' narrative structure. What in life does, I ask myself? Actually, I have found some of Rollin's films just a little too seemingly meaninglessly repetitive but rest assured this beauty doe not fall into that trap. Beautiful ladies appear and disappear in colourful, flowing see through gowns. There is a baddie who might yet be more of a goodie than the good ladies, plus great use of a Gothic location. I must also mention the gorgeous, Brigitte Lahaie. She did much work with the erratic, Jess Franco but she never looked better than she does here, deadly scythe notwithstanding.

"Fascination" is the second Jean Rollin film I watched in one week (the other being "Night of the Hunted"), and the second time that I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome! I still consider Rollin to be vastly overrated and unworthy of his cult veteran status, and I still can't bring myself to rate any of his films higher than six out ten, but these two were a lot more enthralling than my first acquaintances with Rollin's oeuvre (like "Lips of Blood" and "The Rose of Iron"). This is really the first time that I spotted a few of those artsy psychedelic style elements that Rollin fan-boys are always raving about and it's definitely the fist time that the story remains compelling beyond the one hour of playtime mark. "Fascination" superficially appears to be just another umpteenth and uninspired lesbian vampire flick – like Rollin already made too many of – but there actually are a couple of welcome assets in the screenplay, like an homage to the legendary Countess Bathory and passionate liaison between the female lead characters. The film starts in the earliest years of the 20th century, when wealthy bourgeoisie women consumed animal blood supposedly to stay in shape and maintain their beauty. A certain while later, a handsome but sleazy delinquent running from the companions he betrayed seeks shelter in an ominous Gothic castle. He's warmly welcomed by two extremely yummy and lewd housemaids, Eva and Elisabeth, who convincingly insist him to stay and even help to get rid of his pursuers. It almost feels as if they are preparing their guest for a much greater purpose. The story's denouement is obviously very predictable and approximately half of the film is redundant padding footage, but still "Fascination" bathes in an oddly seductive atmosphere and delicious choreography. In a strange and inexplicable way, the sight of Brigitte Lahaie rampaging around with a scythe whilst dressed in only a black cape is one of the sexiest things I ever beheld… Still, regardless of these isolated moments of sheer beauty, you still have to endure a whole lot of tedious footage, wooden acting performances, imbecilic dialogs and the completely lack of coherence. Maybe Jean Rollin movies form an acquired taste and I'm slowly learning to appreciate them, I don't know