The Grapes of Death (1978)

The Grapes of Death (1978)

Directed by: Jean Rollin
Screenplay by: Jean Rollin and Christian Meunier

Genre: Horror | Sci-Fi
Running Time: 90 Minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Viewed: Netflix Watch Instantly

When the wine flows, the terror begins...

[IMDb]

Comments: The Grapes of Death was a pretty solid zombie-esque film (though it was more of a "plague" film, à la 28 Days Later). The film centers on a young woman (played by Marie-Georges Pascal in her only Jean Rollin film) running through the rural areas of France trying to find reprieve from the effects of a plague. Along the way, Pascal runs into a variety of people, including an annoying blind woman and über-hottie Brigitte Lahaie (who magnificently proves toward the end of the film that she's not infected by disrobing). Speaking of which, The Grapes of Death is somewhat of a rarity for Rollin in the fact that he focuses more on the story that women running around in various states of undress. Even Pascal, the main character, keeps her clothes on the entire time. It's the first Rollin film I've seen where that occurs. And it's a goddamn shame.

One of the best aspects of the film are the make-up effects. I've seen my share of faces melting off, and those in The Grapes of Death are pretty solid, but nothing extraordinary. However, the characters that have more fungal-looking deformations are really well done, to the point where the sight of a few actually turned my stomach somewhat.

The Grapes of Death is probably Rollin's most well-received and popular film. I enjoyed it myself, although I've tended to appreciate his vampire efforts just as much. I'm really enjoying the amount of Rollin's work that's available on Netflix; it's really allowed me to become a fan of the director. I know Redemption and Kino collectively have put a number of his films out on Blu-ray recently. If the price is right, I may have to pick them up.