Two Orphan Vampires Review
In many respects "Two Orphan Vampires" epitomizes the films of Jean Rollin. Its subject matter is Rollin's favorite: murderous but strangely vulnerable vampires. His protagonists are (as usual) two girls--possibly lesbian, certainly vampiric. Furthermore, the film's overall atmosphere, a disquieting blend of elegy and fairy tale, is typical of Rollin's work. Nevertheless, "Two Orphan Vampires" stands out as the great director's finest masterpiece--a poetic gem whose underlying theme is nothing less than the Imagination itself.
Though the film's predacious central characters, Henriette and Louise, are raised in a Catholic orphanage, thence removed to the Parisian mansion of their adoptive father--their actual home is within their own minds. Typically adolescent, the two girls share a secret fantasy world based largely on all the forbidden literature they can borrow or pilfer--fantastic picture books, penny dreadfuls, horrific chapbooks, etc. Absolutely Romantic, they allow their Gothic imagination to enter the real world in a quintessentially Gothic form: they practice vampirism.
Who can blame them? The normal world, as presented by Rollin, is unbearably dismal. Initially it is symbolized by the orphanage's monotony. At the film's close the world contracts to an indifferent, motionless swamp. Given these prospects, along with the apparent death or slumber of God(s), Henriette and Louise declare bloody war against the status quo. Vive L'Imagination! Rollin's idea, expressed through his heroines' actions, couldn't be clearer: "I think I am a vampire; therefore I am a vampire." (My apologies to Descartes.)
Naturally, Henriette and Louise lack a classical vampire's superhuman powers. Though they claim to have night-vision, they use a flashlight to read one of their fantastic books at night. Furthermore, one of their first victims (legendary Brigitte Lahaie) observes that even their vampiric fangs are fake! Their limitations notwithstanding, the two girls manage to bring down a number of victims, usually by well-coordinated surprise attacks. Of course, as their vampirism springs from their inner Romanticism, their relish for blood is quite excessive.
Unfortunately, as the young vampiresses' contempt for the all-too-human world becomes more pronounced, their attacks grow more audacious--which makes their defeat inevitable...
Perfectly cast as the film's title characters, Mlles. Alexandra Pic and Isabelle Teboul are a joy to behold. While each possesses a unique beauty, together they are downright sublime! Combining youthful playfulness with a true longing for adventure; infinitely tender toward each other, while despising everyone else as something akin to sacrificial cattle: Alexandra and Isabelle are at once wonderful and malefic--perfect emblems of Romantic Imagination! Thus they've earned a place among the greatest horror film girls--Ingrid Pitt and Soledad Miranda. And that comparison alone indicates that "Two Orphan Vampires" is as excellent a film as "The Vampire Lovers" or "Vampyros Lesbos"--classics of the genre.
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