This may have Ricardo Freda's name in the credits as director, but to me this is a Mario Bava film. His stylistic and thematic signatures which make his films so wonderfully unique are on display from start to finish. The camera work and how massive spaces are shot with characters within the middle of the frame and the way modern stories exist within Gothic trappings. The giallo characteristics are also here in how an amateur sleuth(..in this case the heroic investigator who doggedly pursues the truth putting his life and career in possible risk is a journalist)hits the streets trying to find the killer/kidnapper of young teenagers left dumped in the Siene, their blood drained. Paris is the setting for this chiller instead of Rome which is usually the location where these stories often take place. Although I'm sure many will feel duped by the film not adhering to the traditional vampiristic themes horror fans are accustomed to, I felt the film features enough atmospheric and macabre flourishes to entertain.
I'm afraid, though, many will become bored with the detective side of this movie because the pursuit is given as much credence to the plot as the ghoulish acts performed on innocent people in order for an elderly duchess, Giselle du Grand(Gianna Maria Canale, yet another absolutely beautiful Italian, proving that something must've been in the water during this time to produce so many glamorous, striking women) consumed with retrieving her beauty so she can get her hands on a second generation of Lantin(Dario Michaelis, the sleuth Pierre often at odds with his superior at the newspaper and the police operating the case), to keep her youth. The duchess, who loses her beauty returning to the old woman she really is after the experiments providing such vitality wear off, uses the love of brilliant scientist, Dr. Julien du Grand(Antoine Balpêtré)who adores her to the point he'd do anything for her, as a means to regain her youth. It's an obsession with repercussions, of course, as continuing to supply her with youth means kidnapping teenagers off the street, extracting their blood, and opening the possibility of getting caught in the act sooner or later. Unfortunate for Gisele(..a created niece of the true Duchess who masquerades as this alias to trick everyone)Pierre loathes high society types and the aristocracy, resisting her advances at every turn. His partner, photographer Ronals Fontaine(Angelo Galassi), however, worships her, he's quite transfixed to the point where he would stare at her from behind her windows, almost a stalking peeper. He ultimately comes to a tragic end when he sees who Gisele really is after attempting to seduce her despite constant rejections. Pierre's true motivation for pursuing the case, besides the publicity it brings his newspaper and himself, is a kidnapped schoolgirl, Lorrette(Wandisa Guida), a friend of the murdered girl in the Sienne he had questioned and become friendly with. Paul Muller, a Jess Franco vet, has an important supporting role as junkie Joseph Signoret whose habit is used against him when ordered by his supplier, Dr. Julien du Grand, to kidnap girls. His fate is sealed when he threatens to expose du Grand and the duchess, strangled by the scientist's assistant. The scientist makes a devastating mistake when he uses Signoret's dead corpse as a guinea pig for "life reviving" experiments, hoping to restore vitality to a body that is dead and inert. The consequences for this decision really come back to haunt them. Carlo D'Angelo portrays Inspector Chantal who becomes increasingly agitated at Pierre who seems to be leading them on a wild goose chase, and are critical of his techniques and desire for creating publicity.
This has certain aspects often associated with early Bava I love. The duchess' castle is sprawling with a giant family crest that rests above the fireplace(..which has a secret passageway leading to the family chapel), a chapel containing decorative skulls-n-bones above the supposed crypt of scientist du Grand who faked his death so that he could work in secret and specifically for the duchess, a spiral staircase, curtains that are always in motion by the wind, and a superb shot of light splintering through trees as a car pulls up(..there's also a great silhouetted shot of du Grand and his scientist working from the outside of his lab as a frightened Signoret awaits them). As expected, Bava also has inspired ways of shooting faces using interesting camera techniques not often seen at this time. Quite an unheralded sleeper which might gain an enthusiastic following through it's release on DVD. The superb age-changing sequences where you can not actually see the dissolve as in times past are simply a splendor to behold. This is a real gem worth pursuing if you are a fan of classic Italian horror.
I'm afraid, though, many will become bored with the detective side of this movie because the pursuit is given as much credence to the plot as the ghoulish acts performed on innocent people in order for an elderly duchess, Giselle du Grand(Gianna Maria Canale, yet another absolutely beautiful Italian, proving that something must've been in the water during this time to produce so many glamorous, striking women) consumed with retrieving her beauty so she can get her hands on a second generation of Lantin(Dario Michaelis, the sleuth Pierre often at odds with his superior at the newspaper and the police operating the case), to keep her youth. The duchess, who loses her beauty returning to the old woman she really is after the experiments providing such vitality wear off, uses the love of brilliant scientist, Dr. Julien du Grand(Antoine Balpêtré)who adores her to the point he'd do anything for her, as a means to regain her youth. It's an obsession with repercussions, of course, as continuing to supply her with youth means kidnapping teenagers off the street, extracting their blood, and opening the possibility of getting caught in the act sooner or later. Unfortunate for Gisele(..a created niece of the true Duchess who masquerades as this alias to trick everyone)Pierre loathes high society types and the aristocracy, resisting her advances at every turn. His partner, photographer Ronals Fontaine(Angelo Galassi), however, worships her, he's quite transfixed to the point where he would stare at her from behind her windows, almost a stalking peeper. He ultimately comes to a tragic end when he sees who Gisele really is after attempting to seduce her despite constant rejections. Pierre's true motivation for pursuing the case, besides the publicity it brings his newspaper and himself, is a kidnapped schoolgirl, Lorrette(Wandisa Guida), a friend of the murdered girl in the Sienne he had questioned and become friendly with. Paul Muller, a Jess Franco vet, has an important supporting role as junkie Joseph Signoret whose habit is used against him when ordered by his supplier, Dr. Julien du Grand, to kidnap girls. His fate is sealed when he threatens to expose du Grand and the duchess, strangled by the scientist's assistant. The scientist makes a devastating mistake when he uses Signoret's dead corpse as a guinea pig for "life reviving" experiments, hoping to restore vitality to a body that is dead and inert. The consequences for this decision really come back to haunt them. Carlo D'Angelo portrays Inspector Chantal who becomes increasingly agitated at Pierre who seems to be leading them on a wild goose chase, and are critical of his techniques and desire for creating publicity.
This has certain aspects often associated with early Bava I love. The duchess' castle is sprawling with a giant family crest that rests above the fireplace(..which has a secret passageway leading to the family chapel), a chapel containing decorative skulls-n-bones above the supposed crypt of scientist du Grand who faked his death so that he could work in secret and specifically for the duchess, a spiral staircase, curtains that are always in motion by the wind, and a superb shot of light splintering through trees as a car pulls up(..there's also a great silhouetted shot of du Grand and his scientist working from the outside of his lab as a frightened Signoret awaits them). As expected, Bava also has inspired ways of shooting faces using interesting camera techniques not often seen at this time. Quite an unheralded sleeper which might gain an enthusiastic following through it's release on DVD. The superb age-changing sequences where you can not actually see the dissolve as in times past are simply a splendor to behold. This is a real gem worth pursuing if you are a fan of classic Italian horror.