Nigel P Jean Rollin describes this as his best written film, but not his best screenplay. The reason for this is that a week before filming commenced, one of the producers decided not to be involved, and withdrew his funding. This meant that instead of four weeks filming allocation (already a pretty tight deadline), there was now only budget for three.So it is a surprise that this is as good as it is – and it is very good! It isn't flawless, of course. The vampires, although very effective, backlit in the distance, traces of blood on their lips, lose their effectiveness when close up due to the outsized fangs being a little too large (a common problem in Rollin's films, but not his first, 'Rape of the Vampire', in which the fangs were more subtle and effective) causing the actresses to appear to smile to reveal them.Also, at the end, when two vampires encase themselves in a wooden coffin that goes floating off to sea, it is worth remembering that running water is deadly to such creatures, so the hope is that the coffin is sealed. And yet I regret criticising that, because – as with all films by Rollin – the whole project is written and directed as a kind of dream-like fairy-tale, not bound by the limitation of rules, even vampire lore. Indeed, the scene at the end, typically filmed on 'Rollin's beach' is one of his best known, and is poetic and effective even now, fusing perfectly 'the beauty of obscenity'.So too, is the death scene of the Castel twins (featured on much of the accompanying merchandise). Despite being well known to fans of Rollin, Marie-Pierre and Catherine only appeared in two films together. This isn't quite as effective use of them as in the earlier 'The Nude Vampire', but they are still seductive and mesmerising and ethereal and sinister, all at once.The central performance by (co-writer) Jean-Loup Philippe as Frederic is very strong. Indeed, 'Lips of Blood' features one of Rollin's strongest casts. Frederic's ultimate decision at the film's close is a satisfying twist and once again successfully blurs the line between 'good' and 'evil', much as 'Dracula's Fiancée' did 22 years later.The locations are stunning and lovingly shot. The camera lingering over the enticingly-lit castle, with the (presumably dubbed) sound of whistling wind and thunder, accompanied by eerie flute music, is as atmospheric as anything from a big budget extravaganza. Kudos, also, for doing something very rare in vampire films (especially at this time) – actually using real bats. If this hugely impressive picture was done with a truncated budget, I truly wonder what could have been achieved were Rollin fully funded.Alongside 'The Iron Cross', this was the French director's least successful picture. Agonizingly, to bring it into profit, Rollin re-edited his work, adding scenes of a pornographic nature and renaming it 'Suck me, Vampire.' Yes, truly. Needless to say, the new version was a lot more profitable.

gavin6942 This erotic vampire film features a young man on a strange quest after recognizing a castle on a poster. He seems to remember the castle from his childhood and eventually finds it with the aid of a strange woman dressed in white.Where does Jean Rollin get his locations? Because I am pretty sure he used the same fence in the water from a previously film. Is this his own private shooting set? Or what? Also, for those of you who have seen the many naked women in his films and were asking where the naked men were, this might be the film for you. I mean, there is only one, and you have to squint, but he is there.

christopher-underwood A fine film. Not, perhaps quite as effective as the rather similar and later, Fascination, but there is still enough to enjoy. Those wind blown see through dresses again for one, or should that be four? No Brigitte Lahaie in this one but the lovely girls in this do well enough. Not quite sure why two of them have to wear something underneath their diaphanous garments but perhaps I have no right to quibble. Bit more story to this one, which actually slows it down a little but this is an interesting enough tale, the girls are of course enchanting and menacing at the same time and Rollin knows well enough how to make the very most of a simple Gothic location.

lazarillo I read somewhere that director Jean Rollin was especially proud of this movie because it actually has a plot (kind of). Unfortunately, when it comes to Rollin, a plot is more of a liability than an asset--logical plots and the infamous French Eurohorror director just aren't a great combo. It starts out well--a man who works for an ad agency has a recurring dream where he meets a strange woman in a crumbling castle by the sea. At an expo he sees a picture of the castle from his dreams. He finds the female photographer and, although she's reluctant at first, he convinces her (by having sex with her, of course) to tell him where the mysterious castle is. The subsequent murder of the photographer doesn't deter him from going there where he meets the strange woman and the plot begins to unravel (in more ways than one).Without giving it away, the pay-off to this mystery is unbelievably stupid and even requires the protagonist's mother to show up at one point and deliver a long, awkward exposition. Moreover, the more or less linear plot doesn't work too well with Rollin's decidedly non-linear visual style. At one point, for instance, the main character is fleeing half a dozen naked female vampires in the seaside castle and then in the very next scene he's fending off a mugger on the Paris subway. I'm no geographer but I'm pretty sure Paris is a couple hours from the coast and that the Paris subway doesn't run that far. This scene would be no problem in the typical non-sensical Rollin's film, but in a movie that is otherwise trying to be logical it's a little jarring. The movie also lacks a lot of Rollin's interesting trademark visuals (i.e. vampires emerging from grandfather clocks, virgins in miniskirts lying face down on coffins). The one exception is at the end where a brother and sister vampire crawl naked at sunrise into a coffin which is slowly swept out to sea (I understand this is one of the most famous images in Rollin's whole oeuvre). But there are not nearly enough visuals like this to maintain your interest, and the "plot" here, unfortunately, is a poor substitute.