The Blood Rose (1970)

In the old days (1955 – 1970) it seemed like all French horror directors had a fetish for facial reconstructions… Either that or they all just wanted to rival the tremendous success of Georges Franju's immortal and hugely influential genre landmark "Eyes without a Face". The notorious Jess Franco succeeded by making his "The Awful Dr. Orloff" one of the biggest euro-Exploitation hits of all time, whereas Claude Mulot's attempt "The Blood Rose" merely just remains a modest and obscure gem for the die-hard fanatics to seek out. Since times and audiences had already evolved quite drastically by the year 1970, "The Blood Rose" is a lot more graphic and provocative than the aforementioned two titles, but Mulot nevertheless tried – and managed – to insert with style, elegance and artistic elements into his movie. Although blatantly promoted as a sleazy exploitation shocker (with the enticing tagline: "The First Sex-Horror Film ever made!") the film primarily aims to be a surreal melodrama with a gloomy atmosphere and convoluted characters. It's almost regrettable to say that most of Mulot's ambitions and efforts are a waste of time, though. It nearly takes 45 minutes to come to the point that is actually summarized in one sentence on the back of the DVD. Mulot generates an ardent and detailed introduction, complete with narratives and flashbacks, solely to explain that the eccentric painter Fréderic Lansac finds true love in the shape of beautiful young Anne and retires with her in his remote countryside castle. On the day of their marriage, however, Anne averts from a cat fight with Fréderic's former mistress and falls face-down into a fire. She miraculously survives, but her beautiful frontispiece gets disfigured for life. The actual horror plot only properly lifts off at this point, as Fréderic – descending further and further into personal pity – discovers that the new tenant of his art gallery is, in fact, a suspended plastic surgeon instead of a botanical gardener, and blackmails him into operating his wife. The doctor obviously needs a living donor for the medically unorthodox face transplantation, but luckily Fréderic Lansac enslaves two disfigured midgets to do his dirty work. These creepy little fellas capture beautiful girls wandering around the castle area, whilst both Fréderic and the doctor begin to develop moral conflicts. Standard exploitation guff, in other words, but niftily decorated with extended dream-sequence and marvelous filming locations. The "sex" in the so-called first sex-horror film is limited to a couple of bare breasts and an attempted rape by the two midgets (which is, admittedly, a rather unpleasant sight to behold). Main actors Philippe Lemaire and Howard Vernon admirably manage to make their prototypic characters appear convincingly tormented and pitiable, whereas the female protagonist Anne undergoes a rather implausible metamorphosis… And not just physically. The cast girls are absolutely ravishing and the most memorable trumps of the film are undoubtedly Igor and Olaf. In case you always wanted to see a horror flick with two dwarfs, dressed in animal fur, virulently chasing a half naked brunette in castle tower; here's your only chance!

"La Rose Écorchée" aka. "The Blood Rose" (1970) has apparently been marketed as the 'First Sex-Horror Film ever made', which it isn't; however, it is still an interesting film that fans of European Horror cinema should not neglect. Some people seem to be bothered by the fact that "The Blood Rose" re-adapts the storyline of Georges Franju's 1960 masterpiece "Les Yeux Sans Visage"; however, they also seem to be forgetting that this particular Horror theme - a man murdering women in order to restore the beauty/health/life of a particular woman - was a very popular one in the classic Eurohorror era, and that several other brilliant European Horror films had a similar topic: Such as "I Vampiri" (directed by Riccardo Freda and the greatest horror director ever, the unmatched Mario Bava), which was released in 1956 and therefore predates Franju's film, Giorgio Ferroni's "Il Mulino Delle Donne Di Pietro" ("Mill of the Stone Women") which was released in the same year 1960, or Jess Franco's "Gritos en La Noche" ("The Awful Dr. Orloff") of 1962 (now there's an actual pioneering Sex-Horror title).While "La Rose Écrochée" may not be as fascinating a Eurohorror landmark as these aforementioned titles, it is a magnificently moody example for the eerily beautiful atmosphere that can be found only in European Gothic Horror gems. Though Claude Mulot's film may be lacking logic at times, it is a bizarre and compelling mixture of elegant sleaze and Gothic eeriness.The ingenious painter and womanizer Fédéric Lansac (Philppe Lemaire) has found his first true love in the beautiful Anne (Anny Duperey). Shortly after moving into Frédéric's remote Gothic Château (which includes two uncanny dwarf servants), their luck is shattered when the attack of a jealous former mistress leaves Anne horribly disfigured. Desperate, Frédéric blackmails an obsessed but brilliant scientist (played by the great Howard Vernon) into restoring his wife's beauty; by morbid measures...Similar story lines were mainly popular in European Horror films of the 60s, but, at least in my humble opinion, they always make magnificent Horror material. In this film, the story is clearly presented in a style-over-substance manner, but what a delightful style it is. The Gothic setting is beautiful yet supremely uncanny, and a magnificent photography even improves on this impression. The female cast members, among them Anny Duperey, Elizabeth Tiessier, Olivia Robin (who never appeared in another film) and Valérie Boisgel, are entirely ravishing, and they all show (very tasteful) nudity. Philippe Lemaire is good in the lead and the iconic Exploitation actor Howard Vernon is great as usual in another sinister role. Praise has to go to the two little people, Johnny Cacao and Roberto, who give the film some extra creepiness in their roles of the dwarfish servants Olav and Igor. The film comes along with a nice score that underlines the elegant and sensual atmosphere. Overall, "La Rose Écrochée" is a film that is highly recommended to my fellow Eurohorror fans, especially those who like their Horror sleazy and elegant at the same time.

Hyped as The First French Sex-Horror Film "The Blood Rose" certainly delivers the goods.Lemaire plays an aging painter whose wedded bliss to gorgeous Anne turns to tragedy,when she nearly gets in a catfight with his former lover and falls into a fire in a pretty hilarious scene.She is of course horribly scarred.The great Howard Vernon plays a surgeon who may be able to return her to her former beauty,but he'll need a live victim to do it.So women are brought to the artist's château in order to get a face.The dwarfs,who were the painter's longtime servants,are charged with capturing the girls.Clearly inspired by Franju "Eyes Without the Face" "The Blood Rose" features lovely Gothic setting of French medieval castle, great-looking women and a healthy dose of sleaze.Rollin-esquire atmosphere is well-captured and the climax is fantastic.7 out of 10.

Georges Franju's remarkable horror film had a deep influence on that kind of cinema:even Amenabar's "abre los ojos" is a good example of what Franju brought to the fantasy and horror movies.The first sex-horror film!claimed the tagline.Well for that matter,Murnau's "Nosferatu" came first.Claude Mulot's script is thin,mean and lacks humor and substance.A poor man's "les yeux sans visage" indeed.But it manages to retain some -minor - interest.The castle where a lady who was disfigured in a fire (Duperrey) is waiting for a doctor who will give her back her beauty;but this man's methods -blackmailed by the lady's husband - are illegal to say the least for he needs warm young flesh,well you know the score.We never see the lady's horrible face ,only her eyes -like Rosemary's baby- ,and there's a lot of camera taking first-person point of view.Two sinisters dwarfs appear now and then .Claude Mulot sometimes manages to create a dreamlike atmosphere,but once again,his script is really half-backed.