Blood and Roses
Blood and Roses
Young Carmilla is jealous of her friend's engagement, and her obsession leads her to the tomb of a female vampire. The vampire possesses her and leads her to kill and terrorise the inhabitants of the estate. But is it all in her mind, or is she really under the control of an ancient vampire ancestor?
markknight739 reviewedJuly 3, 2025
Weird, wonderful Eurotrash masquerading as Art. Director Roger Vadim perhaps began the French New Wave w/ his And God…Created Woman. A relatively inexpensive modern (circa 1956) character study of young French people attitudes towards erotic fulfillment. This theory was espoused by Jeanne Moreau (The Lovers, Jules & Jim). Having gained financial success he decided to try his hand at fantasy in Blood & Roses (1960). He starred his then wife Annette Vadim in a very loosely adapted version of Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872 ‘Carmilla.’ By the time Vadim finished w/ the adaptation all that remains is an ancient noble family had a vampire in its tanks, who has a tendency to bite young women. Every other part of Le Fanu’s original tale is jettisoned. In his ‘The Vampire Cinema’ book David Pirie posits that Vadim’s Blood & Roses was the first vampire sex film, meaning that his 1960 work was openly erotic about undead blood suckers and paved the way for films like The Vampire Lovers and Vampyres (1974). This version on Plex is nicely presented, if a little soft in the visuals. It’s the European/French version which differs from the English language version released in 1961. In the version U.S. audiences, and presumably British and Canadian audiences saw, a voice over from the vampiress alerts the viewer that she is real, and the supernatural is very much at play. In the original French version (w/ English subtitles) Vadim tries to play it “real” by having Carmilla a mad young women being driven insane by heterosexual passion. Vadim was never a believable director. His films are fun to watch but unrealistic dramas. He has a visual flair but realistic emotions eluded him. Dialogue is flat, awkward sounding. Situations are exaggerated to the point of operatic. Still, if you accept his limitations his films can be a treat. Here’s hoping for a Blu-ray restoration of both versions w/ an informative commentary.