French director Jean Rollin’s “The Grapes of Death” is necessary material for fans of undead classics; especially if love Euro-horror like I do. While its not a zombie film in the truest sense, it easily fits and belongs in the sub genre of the walking dead none the less. It stands tall along the likes of other early zombie films “Night of the Living Dead” ‘69, “Tombs of the Blind Dead” ‘71 and “The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue” ‘74 to name a few other must haves.

While vacationing with a friend pretty Marie-Georges Pascal escapes from a train when her friend is suddenly killed by a scarred fiend. She then finds herself in a remote corpse littered village in France where pesticides sprayed on fields of grapes have turned the country beverage of choice [wine] into a lethal cocktail that’s turning the locals into violent zombie killers. These are not your typical zombies; for they have no need to consume flesh. No, there more like stagnating rotting people dying from a plague. Now her only hope lies with a blind girl and beautiful blond actress, porn star, Rollin regular, Brigitte-I always get naked- Lahaie.

Now I mention atmosphere a lot because 1. It is a element I really like in horror. And 2. It’s what you more often get in Euro-Horror, as apposed to all the bullshit quick jump scare tactics you get in American horror. Believe me there is plenty of it here. The visual imagery is beautifully shot, the decaying village, the occasional fog and howling winds, the country side, the--–looks to Fall---shooting locations are amazing leaving the film seething with the sense of modern gothic doom. I can’t get enough of this stuff. Compliment by the catchy synth score that for the most part is non existent. Which is another plus as it gives the festivities a more realistic feel as this one moves right along.

Also important to this type of film is the violence and gore. And its all good here with ample amounts of blood letting. It’s a French film for Christ sakes and they love blood; back then and most defiantly now. [See: Haute Tension, Inside, Frontier[s], etc.] The zombie makeup and gore f/x are a bit crude by today’s standards but still hold up today and certainly get the job done. And what the hell. The nudity is always a plus for heterosexual males and the all important lesbian crowd. Considered by many [myself included] to be Rollin’s best film.

This one was very hard to get a hold of back in the day. In fact I never saw this one before picking it up on Synapse Special Edition DVD some years ago and I can’t find anything to complain about here. The 1.66:1 anamorphic transfer taken from the 35mm negatives is very clean with nice colors and totally UNCUT. This also bares the original French Language track with optional and very readable English subs but only mono sound. Xtras are a bit slim with Video interview with Jean Rollin & Brigitte-I always get naked- Lahaie, Original Theatrical Trailer, Photo Slide Show, Director Bio & Filmography and liner notes by Nigel J. Burrell. If you like really great classic horror films this is a must have.