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The Blood Rose
[Mondo Macarbo]
1970; color
Directed by Claude Mulot
Starring: Philippe Lemaire, Anny Duperey, Olivia Robin & Howard Vernon
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The French have long been associated with themes of love and lust, so it may not come as a total surprise that the country would lay claim to contributing "the first sex-horror film ever made" to the history of cinema. It would be a total surprise, to me at least, if this statement actually turned out to be true but, on the other hand, whether it's the first or fiftieth sex-horror film ever made, I think we can all agree that the words sex and horror are enough to find any film an audience. (Considering this one contains healthy doses of gratuitous nudity, horny midgets and Howard Vernon, the fact that it found an audience here at the BMB is a surprise to no one.) Anywhoo, The Blood Rose is kind of broken into three sections - the past, the present, and the future; all of which are the past to the audience. (But let's not get too bogged down in semantics, or linear plot requirements, because if you do it will become difficult to enjoy the film.) In "the past" we are introduced to famous painter Frederic Lansac and a wealthy star-fucker socialite, Moira, who's just returned to town and is apparently looking to add his notch to her proverbial bedpost. Literally. Again, he's French, so he takes her to bed in short order. Before long, she's ready to unveil her new purchase / beau to her friends at her gala costume party (love this scene!) but, in a not entirely shocking twist of fate, he lays eyes on a younger, prettier girl, Anne, and in minutes becomes completely enamored with her. Convinced he has found his ultimate muse he blows off his main chick's soiree and ultimately dismisses his life in general, opting to shack up in his family's sprawling, secluded, ancestral mansion; which, believe it or not, is staffed by two midgets. Or maybe they're dwarfs. Either way they creep Anne out, and with good reason. Still, it's full steam ahead with the couple's wedding plans and, in another not entirely shocking twist of fate, Moira shows up uninvited. (Seems her invitation was lost in the mail.) Instead of offering a peace offering in the way of a set of dishes or monogrammed towels, she picks a fight with the bride, who winds up getting engulfed in bonfire flames and horribly disfigured. On what is meant to be the happiest day in a girl's life, you can see how this outcome would be rather distressful, but Anne takes it to the extreme and goes a bit batcakes over the whole thing. Lansac experiences a bit of sympathetic insanity as well, as he also takes up an interest in poisonous plants and, once he realizes his botanist friend (played by Howard Vernon) is secretly a gifted but disgraced surgeon who isn't above taking on an unusual procedure if the price is right... well, you get the idea. Especially if you've seen Vernon in Jess Franco's Diabolical Doctor Z or the O.G. of French disfigured wife films, Les Yeux Sans Visage. Even if you haven't, I'm pretty sure you can figure out whether or not the two ultimately walk off happily into the sunset or the whole thing dissolves into an even more of a nightmare for all involved. Overall I'd have to give this one a thumbs up. While it may not be particularly sexy or horrific it was rather atmospheric and entertaining, in a sleazy Euro way, and that's good enough for me.
—Bunny
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