Lips of Blood (1975)

Dir: Jean Rollin

A man finds himself haunted by vague childhood memories of meeting and falling in love with a girl in a spooky ruined castle. When he sees a photograph of the same ruins as an adult, he becomes obsessed with tracking down his lost love in this typically strange and beautiful Jean Rollin vampire film. If you've seen any of Rollin's work, you'll probably already either worship him or curse his name and Lips Of Blood - packed as it is with his staple ingredients - will do nothing to change your opinion. The plot is slight but effective, a vehicle for his perfectly framed shots of beautiful women in flamboyant costumes floating through the Parisian night, sticking their plastic fangs into the necks of anything that moves. There's a serene, dreamlike atmosphere and a bittersweet sense of regret and nostalgia to this one too and, beneath its cryptic exterior, something very personal indeed. If he'd only made one film, this would be a true classic - if anything, it's just the fact that he's made so many of a similar style/standard that dilutes its brilliance. ***1/2