The October Zombie-Thon! - Day One: Living Dead Girl
Posted by Trevor Snyder on 10.01.2006
The zombie-thon starts off right, with a large heaping of gore and nudity.
Much like the undead ghouls they focus on, zombie films have proven to be pretty hard to kill. Ever since George A. Romero's 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead re-invented the cinematic zombie, jettisoning the "zombies as slave labor" formula made famous in films like White Zombie and I Walked with a Zombie and instead casting them as cannibalistic murderers, it has remained one of the most popular, and certainly most abundant, sub-genres of horror films. Whether the zombies are used as social metaphors, as is often the case, or simply a means for a film to cram in as much as blood and nudity as humanly (or inhumanly) possible, it seems audiences never tire of watching the deceased wreak havoc upon the living.
And yet, for such a crowded genre, it's typically the same movies getting the majority of the attention. Over time, this select group of films has pretty much been accepted as the essential zombie canon (Romero's Dead series, Fulci's Zombi, Re-Animator, 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, etc.). But focusing on just these already often-seen and often-discussed movies means ignoring hundreds (literally) of other movies that are unknown to all but the most dedicated zombie fan, and that's a shame. That's why I have decided to spend this month taking a look at some of these lesser-known films. Thirty-one of them, to be exact; one for each day of the month. I can't promise they'll all be good; in fact, I can guarantee that a lot of them will be complete rubbish. But then, speaking as a hardcore zombie fan, I believe that even that worst zombie film is worthy of some attention. And besides, is there any group of movie fans more accepting of trashy, B-level movies than zombie lovers?
31 days, 31 films, countless scenes of carnage and boobs. The 411 October Zombie-Thon starts now.
LIVING DEAD GIRL (La Morte Vivante) (1982)
Directed by: Jean Rollin Written by: Jacques Ralf & Jean Rollin County: France
What better way to start a column devoted to under-appreciated zombie movies than to take a look at an under-appreciated director? Although he has developed quite a large cult following around the world, French director Jean Rollin has never quite achieved the same kind of status as other notable international horror directors, despite having one of the most unique and recognizable styles around. Admittedly, this might have something to do with the fact that his style is an acquired taste. Not exactly known for their strong characters, acting, or plots (quite the opposite, actually), Rollin's films are instead characterized by their languid pacing, minimalist dialogue, and heavy sense of atmosphere. Rollin's key signature is an amazing ability to transition from scenes of complete beauty to ones of sheer terror and carnage, giving his films a peculiarly poetic and macabre tone. Oh, and nudity; can't forget the nudity. There's a fine line between a Rollin horror film and soft-core porn (and, in fact, Rollin has also helmed several adult films during his career), but in his better films the nudity is handled in a sensual, somewhat classy manner, not an overly exploitative one. And besides, if you're bothered by nudity and eroticism in your horror films, perhaps the Zombie-thon isn't really the place for you anyway.
Although best known for his vampire films like Rape of the Vampire and Shivers of the Vampires, Rollin has explored the subject of zombies in a handful of films as well (I'll take a look at a couple more of them before the month is over). Perhaps the most well-known is Living Dead Girl, a gore-soaked shocker from 1982.
The film opens with a bumbling gang illegally disposing barrels of toxic waste in a crypt located in the French countryside. Being the multi-taskers they are, the group decides to rob the crypt while they're at it. But when an earthquake causes one of the barrels to spill its contents onto the coffin of Catherine Valmont (Francoise Blanchard), the crooks are given a rude awakening, as Catherine herself awakes with a ravenous lust for blood (why Catherine has not decomposed at all during her two years in the crypt is a question best left ignored – as a matter of fact, if you're going to watch a Rollin film you might as well just turn off your sense of logic from the get-go).
After dispatching of the would-be robbers, in quite gruesome fashion, Catherine proceeds to wander around the countryside, eventually returning to the castle she called home (which, conveniently, rests right over the crypt). She soon finds two more victims in the form of the real estate agent assigned to selling the castle and the agent's boyfriend, and once again Catherine indulges her newfound cannibalistic appetite. When Catherine's childhood blood-sister Helene (Marina Pierro) cannot reach the real estate agent, she becomes suspicious and decides to head over to the castle to check things out. There she finds a bloody, incommunicative, and very nude Catherine, along with the bodies of her recent "meals." Needless to say, Helene is quite confused and put off by all this, at first assuming that Catherine's death was faked. Although horrified by Catherine's apparent crimes, Helene's love for her is so strong that she decides to dispose of the bodies and take care of her lifetime friend.
Meanwhile, a vacationing American woman named Susan (Carina Barone) has snapped a picture of Christine as she wandered the countryside, and is so intrigued by the image of this beautiful young blonde woman in a flowing white dress that she decides to ask around in the local village, to find out if anyone knows the identity of the mystery girl. When the townspeople inform her it looks a lot like the deceased Catherine, Susan gets curious and decides to investigate the manner further, against the wishes of her impatient husband (Mike Marshall).
Living Dead Girl has often been described as one of Rollin's more commercial offerings, and I'd say that's a fairly accurate claim. Still, although it does appear to be geared a little more towards a mass-audience than many of his other works, it is still a Rollin film through and through, and therefore definitely not for everyone. Even Rollin's most vocal supporters will admit that story and acting are not what you come for when watching his work, and that's certainly the case here. Rollin's usual slow pacing is on hand, particularly during the boring subplot involving the American couple (not helped by the actors' poor performances), which takes up far too much time and feels like it was included just so the American audience could have characters to relate to. Although Rollin clearly intends for the deliberate pacing to add to the atmosphere, there are times you can't help but wish he would just speed things up and get to the point. Some viewers might also be thrown off the by the film's almost complete absence of music. Hollywood audiences are used to movies where characters can barely dial the phone without thunderous music scoring the moment, so the overwhelming silence of Living Dead Girl, which at times makes the film feel even slower, can take some getting used to.
Still, there's quite a bit to like about Living Dead Girl, not the least of which is the pretty constant nudity. The gore is certainly abundant – Catherine's preferred manner of slaughtering her victims is to use her razor-sharp fingernails to gouge out their eyes or throats, and there's a nice lengthy "feasting" scene. Rollin's trademark combination of the macabre and the beautiful is on full-display. And fans of cheesy cinema (and I hope you're in that camp if you're gonna stick with me for the entire month) will find plenty of enjoyably stupid moments (like when a torch stuck in a character's face inexplicably causes their entire body to instantly burst into flames).
But what truly makes Living Dead Girl work, and why I'm giving it a recommendation, is the interesting relationship between the two blood-sisters. It's certainly not surprising to see a female relationship with lesbian undertones at the heart of a Rollin film. Hell, it's practically expected. What is unique about Catherine and Helene's relationship is the way it changes as the film goes on. Rather than give us the usual "girl comes back from dead as a mindless killing machine" story, Rollin makes things interesting by allowing the two women's roles to slowly swap as the film goes on. Although Helene is initially appalled by what her friend has become, she eventually becomes an all-too-willing accomplice to her crimes, willfully kidnapping victims for her friend to feed on. Meanwhile, Catherine's memories and humanity slowly return, and she finds herself disgusted at what she has become. She eventually wants nothing more than to stop murdering people and return to the peace of death, but this proves hard to accomplish when Helene continues to bring innocent women home and insist that Catherine eat them. It's an intriguing twist, and while it may not be the best acted relationship you will see (although, to be fair, Francoise Blanchard is quite good as the conflicted Catherine – it's Marina Pierro's lethargic turn as Helene that's the weak point), it does build to a particularly haunting climax, and it's certainly compelling enough to raise Living Dead Girl above the usual soft-core zombie fare.
The 411: As is usually the case with French director Jean Rollin, how much you will enjoy Living Dead Girl all depends on how much you can get into his trademark style. Although the film is slowly paced, often gratuitous, and (for the most part) terribly acted, it is also dripping with atmosphere, thanks to its oddly gripping mix of eroticism and the macabre. Francoise Blanchard's gripping (and frequently nude) performance as the undead Catherine, and the intriguing relationship she shares with Marina Pierro's Helene, more than make up for the film's weaker elements.
