Product Details

• Actors: Brigitte Lahaie, Franca Mai
• Directors: Jean Rollin
• Format: DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: French
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Redemption Films
• DVD Release Date: October 28, 2008
• Run Time: 80 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001D5C1M6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,248 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

FASCINATION - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lesbian Blood Drinkers Rule, January 17, 2000

By 

Sir Jub-Jub (Sir Jub-Jub's Lair, Alaska) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fascination (DVD)

Once again, the prolific french director, Jean Rollin, provides the bored horror film market with a true classic. Fascination is a bizarre foray into the twisted realm of two women who seek to entice unwary men into their devilish world of evil. As with all Rollin films, Fascsination is ripe with symbolism and grotesque imagery which puts most current horror films to shame. For those of us who have seen way too many horror films, Rollin's Fascination will renew our faith in the genrea-check it out.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eurosleaze classic, January 26, 2004

By 

Jeffrey Leach (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fascination (DVD)

Jean Rollin is a name instantly recognizable to hardcore horror genre fans, but meaningless to nearly everyone else. That is too bad because this French director concocted some of the sleaziest, most unusual films ever made during the 1970s and 1980s, films usually imbued with hypersexuality and bloody violence. I have often tossed Rollin's name around in impolite company with seeming aplomb even though I had never seen even one of the man's films. You read enough plot synopses about someone and you start to feel as though you know every intimate detail about their work. What I did hear from others about this director oftentimes did not bode well. He is apparently well versed in schlock filmmaking--which in and of itself is not a problem with me, a true lover of bad cinema--but several of his films continue to draw raves from a selected minority of genre fans. Well, I finally sat down with a Jean Rollin film, his 1979 effort "Fascination," and was pleasantly surprised with the results. As I viewed the film with a growing sense of intrigue, I began mentally composing a list of other films from this director that I should watch in the near future.

"Fascination," set in rural France sometime in the early twentieth century, is a story about vampires. Initially, this plot did not interest me. Vampire films have been done to death over the years, and I rarely express any interest in this popular mainstream staple. I plunged ahead anyway. A gang of criminals roams the countryside, waylaying and robbing hapless travelers who happen to pass by. Simultaneously, at a nearby castle, a group of women who regularly drink blood in order to stay young plan a very special nocturnal gathering. These two seemingly diverse events converge in the form of Mark (Jean-Marie Lemaire), the leader of the band of robbers who suddenly decides to double cross his companions. In the ensuing chase, Mark barely escapes with his life by seeking refuge in the aforementioned castle. As his partners in crime lurk outside, Mark meets two young, beautiful women named Elisabeth and Eva in the castle (Franca Mai and Brigitte Lahaie respectively). At first, he holds them hostage, but he slowly lets his guard down as he gets to know these two on a personal level. Elisabeth and Eva keep mentioning a mysterious gathering of women about to take place in the castle this very evening, but Mark is too busy fending off his enemies outside to take much note of this talk. When the other women do show up, the criminal takes great joy in playing games with these enigmatic ladies. The conclusion of the film has several interesting twists and turns, but it is sufficient to say that several members of the cast meet their doom by the time the credits roll.

What I liked best about "Fascination" is the style. If I had to choose something to compare with Rollin's film, I would say Paul Morrissey's "Blood for Dracula" and "Flesh for Frankenstein" most closely resemble "Fascination." The set pieces look great in a chintzy way, the costumes look nice as well, and a mood of brooding despondency hangs like a pall over the whole film. Like the characters in Morrissey's two films, the cast of "Fascination" gives off a distinct sensation of seediness. The people in this film exude decadence. Moreover, the behavior exhibited by Mai, Lahaie, and several of the actresses certainly add an element of sleaze to the general proceedings: "Fascination" overflows with gratuitous nudity and soft-core sex. This contrast between lowbrow behavior and plush scenery gives Rollin's movie a distinctive flair. Sure, the whole thing looks like it was shot on a shoestring budget, but at the same time it looks better than its financial limitations.

The DVD version released by Image does offer a few extras, such as a Rollin filmography and a few trailers. All of the dialogue is in French but adequately subtitled. In fact, the language of the film is one of the things that impressed me. I know a bit of French, and I could follow along with most of the dialogue because the actors spoke slowly enough for me to understand what they were saying. I don't know if this was due to the wooden performances of the cast or because I just clicked with the language. Either way, it was kind of neat to listen to a film in French and understand the darn thing. Digressions aside, "Fascination" was, to me, a fascinating film well worth watching again. If nothing else, tune in to see a semi-nude Brigitte Lahaie swinging a cheesy looking scythe on the drawbridge of the castle, a scene that must be seen to be believed.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rollin's finest! 7 female bloodsuckers descend on a chateau, February 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Fascination (DVD)

One of, if not the best Rollin flick. Rollin films are either real good (Fascination, The Shiver of the Vampires) or real bad (Night of the Hunted, Requiem for a Vampire). This one is superb. It goes above and beyond his other films in almost every aspect: plot (comprehensive and fluid all the way through), character development, character dialogue (yes, even Brigitte Lahaie has more than 5 lines in this movie), the true horror element (definitely his scariest and eeriest film), and suspense.

The confrontation scene between the scythe wielding Lahaie and the female thief is very stylish and effective! In fact, Lahaie does very well in this movie, far above and beyond her awful turn in Night of the Hunted. I hated her in Night of the Hunted, loved her in this.

A couple of down notes though, about the DVD. The quality of the transfer is not very good, with marks and splotches flying by in several scenes. Also, this isn't the DVD makers fault, but the theatrical trailer has several scenes which were really not in the film. I mean they were all scenes that were in the flim, but they were shot differently for the trailer. It seems Rollin used different takes for the trailer. Weird.

Overall, the movie gets 5 stars, while the DVD quality would get only aobut 3 1/2.

This film is scarier, wittier, more suspenseful, more original and more entertaining than any horror film I've seen released in the past 10 years. They simply don't make them like they use to, and probably never will.