Jean Rollin
Jean Michel Rollin Roth Le Gentil (3 November 193815 December 2010) was a French film director, actor, and novelist best known for his work in the fantastique genre.
Jean Rollin
In 1979, and now established as a somewhat successful director, Rollin created "Fascination" in which he returned to the roots of the fantastique genre his early works are known for. The film is inspired by the short story "Un verre de sang" ("A Glass of Blood") from French poet Jean Lorrain with tells the tale of wealthy French people, who, at the turn of the century, begin to drink the blood of bulls in order to cure anemia. The title of the film refers to and pays homage a French magazine of the same name with is dedicated to different forms of eroticism in art. Rollin's story of "Fascination" differs slightly from that of Lorrain's novel, in that, in the year 1905 a group of wealthy Parisian women arrive at an abattoir to drink the blood of an ox as it is believed to be a curative for anemia. The central story follows two lovers Elizabeth and Eva (Franca Maï and Brigitte Lahaie respectively), chambermaids-in-waiting who reside at a deserted castle and are suddenly interrupted by a thief named Mark (Jean-Pierre Lemaire), who takes refuge at the castle in order to hide from a group of thieves he has stolen coins from. When Mark makes love to Eva, she is forced to go outside and confront the thieves in the nearby stables to make a deal; she is forced to have sex with one of the male thieves and subsequently they are murdered by Eva in an iconic scene with Eva wielding a scythe. It is soon revealed that Elizabeth and Eva are expecting a group of women to arrive where sensual love making takes place and the women are revealed to devour the blood of humans.