Now that Fall is on the horizon I am feeling excited to share some cinematic gems again. This weeks #filmfriday is one of my favorite movies: Fascination (1979), a French horror film directed by Jean Rollin. This film always swathes my heart in such ardent pleasure and makes me feel sultry, decadent, and maniacal all at once. In classic Rollin style, the film is seductive from the start and deftly builds a space where supple intimacy, sexual prowess, blood cults, and murderous lust swirl together in a harmonious dance only Rollin can choreograph. The movie unfurls like a fever dream with gauzy visuals and erotic atmospheres that pervade every frame and continually highlight the film’s unique marriage of bloodlust and fierce femininity. Fascination tells the tale of a bandit on the run who takes refuge in a country château only to find it occupied by two ungovernable vixens, Eva and Elisabeth, who playfully toy with the bandit and entice him into staying for a mysterious midnight soirée. With daggers, a handgun, and plenty of memorable scythe swinging, the vixens wield a myriad of weapons but none so dangerous as their alluring sexuality and traps of submission. Although there are many iconic scenes in this movie, there are two unforgettable ones that really capture the true essence of the film and fill me with glee. First, the opening still of Elisabeth wearing a pristine white lace dress as she stands amidst a blood-soaked slaughterhouse— ahhh, I can’t put into words how much I love the visual tension of this scene! And second, Eva’s iconic walk down the château bridge, scantily clad in a black cloak and brandishing a scythe with all the pomp and ferocity of a woman in charge— attitude goals!!! I call upon the spirit of this scene any time I’m feeling sassy, which is often.🩸 #fascination1979 #jeanrollin https://www.instagram.com/p/CFTL_zEJWGf/?igshid=1oapurzx09l1w
