Plot: What’s it about?
Christina Benson (Christina von Blanc) hasn’t had a smooth life, as her mother died when she was young, she was raised in a boarding school, and now, she has just learned that her father had died. As a result, she is asked to come her family’s castle to sit in on the reading of the will, which means a family reunion of sorts. When she arrives, she is greeted by an assortment of odd relatives and of course, she is stunned by how strange her family members are, not to mention greedy and ambitious. Although she has never before met her stepmother Hermione, she is upset to learn that the woman is on the brink of death herself. This is well known, as Christina’s family seems poised for the instant the woman dies, so that the estate can be divided. As dark as the times are for her, things are about to become even darker, as Christina begins to have supernatural visions, including seeing her dead father. In addition to these ghostly visions, she encounters other eerie happenings, some that even seem dangerous. Her father’s ghost warns her to leave while she still can, but are these horrific visions real, or just a figment of her imagination?
If the title alone on this release doesn’t generate interest from genre fans, perhaps they’ve been turned into zombies themselves. But this is a horror movie, so we know titles and cover artwork can be misleading, to say the least. This time around, you’d assume this is a lost masterpiece of horror cinema, given the awesome title and artwork involved. These elements seem to promise two things, a beautiful naked virgin and some hideous zombies, but does A Virgin Among the Living Dead fulfill its obligations? To be blunt, this movie fails to deliver anything of substance, as even gore and zombie content is lackluster. I don’t need blood & guts in every horror movie, but when I watch a Jess Franco directed picture with a title like A Virgin Among the Living Dead, I’m disappointed when there’s minimal amounts of the red stuff. A couple of scenes offer some gore, but the main focus is on frequent nudity and of course, that helps the film’s case. But there is not a massive amount of bare flesh to be seen, so don’t expect a complete feast of flesh here. The pace is slow, the production values are low, and the visuals, while sometimes interesting, are tainted by too much use of the zoom, which could give some folks headaches. As bad as this movie is however, it has some good moments and the general eerie atmosphere is commendable. So if you’re a Franco fanatic or a genre buff, then you’ll want to give this one a look.
At the helm here is Jess Franco, who has an immense resume of cult level productions. His films weren’t always solid in terms of traditional definitions, but horror fans should look into his work, as he made some very cool flicks, even his more recent movies haven’t been that bad. Franco likes to be reliant on the exploitation basics, which means lots of strange plot twists, naked ladies, and of course, a liberal dose of bloodshed. His career has spanned over three decades and hundreds of film, which means he knows what he’s doing in terms of direction and such. I know some will claim these kind of movies require no skill, but I beg to differ, as Franco worked with small budgets and low talent casts, still pushing out fun movies. Other films directed by Franco include Hellhole Women, Ilsa: The Wicked Warden, The Lustful Amazons, The Awful Dr. Orloff, Vampyros Lesbos, The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, The Loves of Irina, and White Cannibal Queen. The cast here includes Christina von Blanc (The Dead are Alive, Virgin Report), Britt Nichols (Tombs of the Blind Dead, Daughter of Dracula), Howard Vernon (The Sinister Dr. Orloff, The Bloody Judge), and Rosa Palomar (The Sex Demons, Flame Over Vietnam).
Video: How does it look?
A Virgin Among the Living Dead is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. I was pleased to find some vivid and rich colors here, as the movie makes good use of the green & red hues, but I worried that time had faded them. Not the case however, as the colors look terrific here and flesh tones remain warm & natural also. Although some grain has softened the contrast a shade, the black levels still seem solid and effective, with no lost detail to mention. The print has some debris and marks, but looks better than expected and so does this entire transfer, a much more solid presentation than anticipated.
Audio: How does it sound?
The included French mono option seems up to task most of the time, with minimal age related issues to discuss. A few small instances of distortion can be detected, but again, nothing to be concerned with. The various sound effects come through without much trouble, as does the eerie musical score, although not as full as I’ve become used to. I heard no flaws with the vocals either, as dialogue is sharp and always at a proper volume. This won’t blow out the speakers, but the material has probably never sounded as good on home video. This disc also includes an English language option, as well as optional English subtitles.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes about thirteen minutes of deleted scenes, as well as the film’s theatrical trailer.
