Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

disgusting, overrated, pointless

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

I'm rather a latecomer to this movie, as I don't seek out Jean Rollin movies (based on what little I have seen), but as this is supposed to be something of a classic of it's type, I gave it a go - but it is certainly not converting me into a fan.The slim story sees a dead girl named Catherine unexpectedly revived in her coffin when disturbed by grave robbers. She quickly attacks one of them, and then seemingly in a daze, makes her way rather unsteadily back to an empty castle which is her former home. Her newly living status comes to the attention of her former best friend Helene, who seems to think the best course of action is to keep Catherine hidden in the empty mansion, rather than seek help - even despite the realisation that her friend craves the taste of fresh blood! I was really expecting something more stylish from this movie due to it's reputation, but I have to say I think it's really poorly made. Jean Rollin was no genius, if movies like this are the evidence. Several shots are out of focus, the acting is poor, the dialogue stilted and the gore effects are downright terrible. You can clearly see the tubes that squirt blood from a throat in one shot, and the bag that Catherine is squeezing in her hand to squirt gore from a stomach wound in another. All Rollin seems to be interested in is keeping his actresses nude, for as often and as long as possible. The two leads are both very attractive, and the ornate mansion is very picturesque, but that doesn't mean that Jean Rollin is using any talent to show that off. Anyone who is not part of the main cast is so obviously an amateur, and the direction of scenes involving extras is terrible - they continually stare directly at the camera, in almost every shot. I guess the lighting is pretty enough in daytime scenes, but at night, everything is floodlit by flat, harsh industrial lighting. And the castle's underground vaults seem to have enough light to grow tomatoes in!I also read that the portrayal of the relationship between the two women is strong enough to carry the film, but again, I don't think this is true either. As Catherine becomes more and more aware of what she is, things get more interesting, and there are moments that hint at some depth, but these are few. In conclusion, I am amazed that people rate this movie so highly. I think it is average at best. It has a lot of nudity, which seems to please a lot of viewers, but having acting and special effects that are as downright poor is they are here, strips this effort of any redeeming value.

"The Living Dead Girl" is generally considered one of Jean Rollins' more accessible efforts and the prime jumping-in place by no less an authority then Fangoria magazine. Initial reaction? I liked it, kind of. It's not hard to see why the filmmaker has a cult following. He mixes copious female nudity, bright spurting blood, genuine artistic flare and enough campiness to make it interesting. The set-up is silly. Some random French crooks are burying toxic waste beneath a local castle. The barrel is knocked over through sheer incompetence and, for reasons never further elaborated upon, revives the astonishingly well-preserved corpse of a young girl. She goes about jabbing the guys' eyes out and feasting upon their bodies.Catherine, the titular Living Dead Girl, is the childhood BFF of the woman living in the castle, Helene. The two were so devoted to one another that they made a blood-pact to stay together forever. So when Helene sees Catherine revived, she's overjoyed. And what's a quasi-lesbian lover to do besides supply living flesh for her zombie girlfriend? The movie quickly devolves into set-pieces of Helene tricking woman (always woman) back to the castle, killing them, and feeding them to her personal living dead girl.There's a subplot involving an American couple vacationing in the country side. The guy is forcing his girlfriend into photography against her wishes. He generally acts like a jerk, doing everything to undermine her interests. After capturing Catherine on camera, the lady gets intrigued by the mystery. This story line ends up being unnecessary. Both characters are (hilariously) dispatched before the proper ending. The focus is definitely on the relationship between the two women which is framed as a tragic love story.As exploitation sleaze, "The Living Dead Girl" provides. There's three sets of breasts displayed and almost as much full-frontal. Every bit is easy on the eyes, especially Francoise Blanchard, whom Rollin can't wait to get naked. You've got a naked young girl, with an almost perfect behind, covered with spurting blood. I can appreciate that.The arty side shows through a number of times. A scene of blood rolling down the stairs, cut with an image of a bat fluttering, is lyrical. Blood dripping on a music box and Helene washing her girlfriend are also pretty images. Rollin's visual flair goes hand-in-hand with his self-serious pretensions. Catherine starts out as a drooling retard. After teaching her one measly word, the Living Dead Girl is immediately verbose, frequently discussing how she's evil and unnatural. This is a big jump. The fact that Blanchard is a better body then an actress doesn't help. A scene of her moaning to the sky in agony, unnecessarily echoed, is hilarious. The extended finale of her feasting on a body, chomping on fingers like potato chips while weeping uncontrollably, is more likely to evoke laughter then the intended pathos. Marina Pierro is a better actress but can't quite sell it either. The movie seems sincere and some of that transcends the shortcomings, but it's never as strong as the writer wanted it to be."The Living Dead Girl" does drag in its latter half. A mixture of camp, gore, visual flashiness, and blatant T&A is something I should have loved. Yet the film is undermined by a number of limitations, some of them budgetary, some of them creative.

This Jean Rollin feature is an erotic horror about a woman who returns from the dead due to an accident involving an earthquake and toxic chemicals. She is The Living Dead Girl and she has a vampire like taste for blood. She is drawn back to her 'blood sister' Helene, who in turn finds victims for her.This is another melancholic and downbeat effort from Rollin. Once again his vampire is a tragic one. She did not choose her fate. She feels guilt at her subsequent actions and is repulsed by them. We feel sorry for her. The film is also about friendship and loyalty. The bond between the two girls is effectively a pact that goes beyond the grave. One of the defining features of The Living Dead Girl is its goriness. It is very bloody by Rollin's standards, so in this respect it may be a little more accessible to a wider horror audience. But then again, aside from this, it's strictly business as usual. There are the usual selection of paper thin characters, weak dialogue and low production values; while the story emphasises things that are atypical for a standard horror film, such as a melancholic 'monster' and some poetic imagery. Examples of the latter would include scenes of the girl wandering through fields in a white night dress and the night time river scene. As usual Rollin does ensure the film looks interesting. There are some nice French countryside locations and a picturesque villa. While the atmosphere is moody throughout, with some delicate musical accompaniment on the soundtrack. It is a little odd though having an American couple in the movie. This, no doubt was a way of trying to sell the film easier overseas. But like all other Rollin films these characters are uninteresting, Rollin seems to be only interested in his female vampires/villains. It isn't without faults; it does drag in places but like others from the director would probably improve on re-watches. The film does, however, wrap up in one of the most effectively haunting endings Rollin ever conceived.

I obviously must have started my venture into the world of Jean Rollin with the wrong films. Until recently I did not fully understand the man's cult-status among some of my fellow Eurohorror fans, as the films I had seen ranged from stylish but flawed (e.g. "Fascination") and stylish but boring (e.g. "La Rose De Fer") to ridiculous ("Le Lac Des Morts Vivants"). My opinion of Jean Rollin, as being a master of style but not at all of substance, rapidly changed when I first saw his near-brilliant 1978 Zombie/Gore film "Les Raisins De La Mort" ("The Grapes of Death"). When I recently saw this film, "La Morte Vivante" aka. "The Living Dead Girl" of 1982, I was in for another positive surprise. "La Morte Vivante" is so far my second-favorite Rollin film, and while it isn't as good as "Les Raisins De La Mort", it is quite original, creepy, very weird and very gory to say the least. Unlike "Les Raisins De La Mort", "La Morte Vivante" film does not feature ZombieS, but just one living dead girl. As it is the case with the zombies in "Les Raisins...", the girl owes her state to irresponsible treatment of the environment.A couple of men break into a tomb to get rid of some barrels of toxic waste. After one of the crooks suggests to rob the graves, a small eruption makes one of the barrels fall, and released the toxic waste, which brings the recently deceased beauty Catherine (Françoise Blanchard) back to life. The ravishing blonde is not too grateful for her resurrection, as she butchers the grave-robbers, and escapes her tomb, continuing a sanguinary rampage in order to satisfy her insatiable blood-lust. When she is found by her best friend, Hélène (Maria Pierro), the latter decides to supply her beloved friend with the blood she needs...The film is bizarre and may have some holes in its inner logic, but not to the extent that made some other Rollin films difficult to sit through at times. The female part of an American couple (played by Carina Barone), for example, is not only annoying, but inexplicably interested in finding Catherine after randomly seeing her once on a field. The film has many creepy moments, however, and the gore is very intense. As all Rollin films, the film is elegantly filmed in wonderful Gothic locations that simply ooze atmosphere. The rural French areas where Rollin filmed many of his film have enough chateaus and tiny old villages to make great Horror locations. As almost all Rollin films this is full of elegant female nudity (though the focus on eroticism is still low for a Rollin film). The eponymous beauty played by Françoise Blanchard is a tragic monster, in a way, as she is unwillingly brought back to life, and has to follow her insatiable thirst for blood. The film has a very strong lesbian subtext, although there are no scenes of explicit lesbianism (unlike it is the case in many other Rollin flicks). Overall, "La Morte Vivante" is a atmospheric and elegant wholesome filled with Rollin-typical female nudity and female blood-lust, combined with some truly creepy moments. Recommended to my fellow Eurohorror fans, especially those who like Rollin.