Now here is a rarity. A movie I came across late at night on one of Sky's inferior movie channels (in this case zone horror) that I actually found quite enjoyable. If you are a fan of old school horror then I imagine you will enjoy this. Yes there are some ropey gore effects and some dodgy editing but overall there is a sense of menace which is greatly aided by the slow burning pace and genuinely spooky sound track. The basic premise of the film s that off a pesticide that has been sprayed on the grapes of a vineyard turn all those who consume the wine into some form of diseased zombie type. A young girl on the way to see her boyfriend at the vineyard has to deal with it. This is my first experience of French horror and of the movies of Jean Rollin and I have to say I will be seeking out more of both on this showing. You do have to take into account that this is a 1978 movie and it does show it's age but it has genuine fright moments and a real seedy scary under currant and a lot of modern horror directors could learn a thing or two about pacing a horror movie from here. A real unexpected treat. I would definitely watch this again and for fans of the genre give an extra mark.

A bleak gallic version of 'Night of the Living Dead', except that this time the victims remain horribly sentient and resemble lepers rather than zombies.

The makers probably had the outbreak of mass psychosis at Point-Saint-Esprit in 1951 in mind (which was caused by ergot in the local bread rather than pesticide in the local wine as depicted here).

It's not that I disliked this movie. It was just very dull with too many moments where I began to space out. It really does have some adroit scenes. The atmosphere was quite quaint and somewhat creepy. It has some picturesque scenery with a French feel to it. The makeup effects, while good, tend to look a little bit corny. The stuff that is on the infected people's faces looked rather lame. Characters do some really questionable things as well. There is a blind woman named Lucie, who incidentally resembles the blind female character from Lucio Fulci's The Beyond, but I digress. There is a bunch of infected zombies surrounding an area, and Lucie inexplicably goes right towards it willingly (!) They aren't really zombies either. They don't want your flesh. They just enjoy killing you in twisted ways. It's like they get an unstoppable rage that can't be stopped. At least Jean Rollin tried to be different in that aspect, as so many zombie films were coming out around the time this movie was released. It does have a decent amount of gore. I wouldn't call it a gore fest, but it does deliver. We get a very bloody decapitation, icky zombie makeup, impaling with a pitchfork, gunshot wounds, and off screen stuff as well. Not great, but not bad either. The ending was very, very odd. We get no real explanation as to why the main female lead is acting suspicious. It subtly hints that she's turning crazy, but it never gives it to you fully. Or it could be I was becoming more and more disengaged that I missed an important plot development, but nonetheless, I was confused. The acting isn't worth mentioning

Final Thoughts: It's well made, but it's quite a drag to sit through. It has good moments, but not enough of them. Worth a watch for die hard horror fans, but prepare for your mind to wander

5/10