Movieline Online

Vampire movies typically fall into three categories: traditional gothic (think cobwebs and capes), modern twists ( Twilight or Lost Boys if you’re old school) and erotic lesbians. No joke, the lesbian vampire film has a long and storied history, about on par with the Nazi zombie sub-genre (what…you’ve never heard of that either? Sheesh!). Yet the work of French director Jean Rollin defies all categorization. Early on you can probably credit that to a lack of filmmaking talent in general. But as his work evolved so did the man behind the camera, leaving behind a catalog of films that exist outside of any typical horror film structure, but resonate in your mind like a half-remembered dream. Dream-like is the term probably most often thrown at Rollin’s work. And Redemption Films and Kino Lorber have put out a dreamy series of five Blu-ray Rollin titles. The Nude Vampire is rough going. Provocative title aside, it’s simply too clumsily made to overlook its faults. But it do...

Whether it’s a sign of the times or a passing fad, staging the end of the world has become de rigueur for all fashionable filmmakers these days. Typically at the hands of some sort of undead zombie horde (see above). But writer / director Cornel Wilde’s No Blade of Grass (1970) is much more environmentally-minded, laying the blame in humanity’s own lap by overdosing the atmosphere with pollutants that destroy most of the plant life on earth. Without the ability to grow food, every country in the world descends into chaos and anarchy. Even in jolly old England, the bloom of civilization fades quickly as citizens arm themselves to survive. Leading his family towards a secret sanctuary, John Custance (Nigel Davenport) must elude soldiers, roving bands of thugs and his own descent into irredeemable savagery. It all sounds much more exciting that it is. No Blade of Grass is the kind of film where the end of the world happens mostly off-screen. That means, other than a few mob sce...