The Grapes of Death (1978) 6/10

I've tried to watch a handful of Jean Rollin's special brand of french horror and I've never really "gotten it." I was recommended The Grapes of Death to help me get into his unique style. Although this is probably the best of his work I've seen i still don't "get it."

The Grapes of Death as one might imagine is about a small town special brew of wine that due to evil pesticides turns its consumers into the living dead. A young woman returns home to this small town but on her way only discovers death and carnage. How will she survive?

For me The Grapes of Death is just too damn slow. Sure its very "atmospheric" but i found it to be more tedious then anything The acting is atrocious but i expected that since it is a late 70s horror flick from the country's sole horror genre film maker. Jean helped keep the love of grue alive with slabs of sticky redstuff found throughout the film. Really the film does have great makeup effects for the time and once again considering no one else was doing this type of film in France at the time. The problem is there just isn't quite enough grue to call the film a true gore flick and not enough of anything else to find entertaining.

Perhaps I watched it at the wrong time, maybe i didn't have the right mindset. I don't know, all i can say is that if this is his best then perhaps he should be seen as pioneer and maverick rather then a true horror master.

Nudity-mild

Gore- medium

Overall - 6/10