Terror Transmission

Revenge of the Living Dead Girls (Le Revanche de les Mortes-Vivantes) – 1987 – France – Retromedia DVD

Billed as the first French gore film,  though perhaps not the best, (my vote still goes to the ultra-sick Baby Blood from 1990 for that distinction) this is an unofficial sequel to Jean Rollin’s 1982 feature “The Living Dead Girl.”  In that pic toxic waste resurrects a foxy young blonde who proceeds to lurk about the countryside surrounding her beautiful chateau seeking to drain and ingest the blood of her victims. It is said that Rollin may have directed this flick under a pseudonym, but I can see none of his visual flair or idiosyncratic surrealism on display, so I have to question that postulation.

What we do have is a fun little film that won’t scratch your yen for a good story or competent acting but certainly will deliver in the jerk-off and gag departments (not necessarily in that order).  In short, this one is for all of you sickos out there, myself included! The manager of a milk factory is disposing of the toxic waste materials from the plant illegally and the doofus he hires to do it thinks it a grand idea to dump it in the local cemetery. Three recently deceased vixens, who coincidentally had been killed by poisoned milk from said factory, are resurrected as zombies with an itch for revenge against those involved. They proceed to cut a grisly swath through the cast members and their members! There are some truly inspired and abhorrent set-pieces that follow including a penis chomping, a mutant baby tearing out of the womb, the ol’ death by sword in vagina, and the first lesbian-zombie sex scene this lucky stiff(!) has ever seen. Throw in a blackmail subplot and tons of gorgeous nude French gals and you’ve got pure, mind-numbing, chunk-blowing entertainment! The disc includes an alternate ending which erases the supernatural shenanigans, and which this reviewer certainly preferred to the rather abrupt one which was originally shown in theatres. “The Revenge of the Living Dead Girls” sports some truly memorable moments and is well worth a look for all you gorehounds out there.

Jason’s Grade:  B-