As with their previous Rollin releases (like Requiem for a Vampire / review here) Encore Films continues to show the oft forgotten director much love with their exceptionally well put together release of (what can only be described as) the director's most accessible work, Living Dead Girl. Ultra gory, but still as respectable and lyrical as his other efforts, Living Dead Girl is a great starting point for an introduction to Rollin's wealth or work.

After a chemical spill, Catherine (Francoise Blanchard) mysteriously rises from her tomb and succumbs to the fact that she needs human blood to survive. Catherine, despite her lack of memory, manages a call to her dear childhood friend Helene (Marina Pierro) who has since been grieving over Catherine's passing. Helene is distraught yet marginally phased by the resurrection of her deceased friend and helps to provide the victims necessary for Catherine's...how should we say...survival. In many ways, this film is just like every other 'living dead' film you've ever seen. Throwaway characters meant for mincemeat and cliche plot points drive this film right into a ditch. However, this is Rollin we are talking about. We want to see vampires playing the piano in a graveyard, or a long shot in front of a castle as a naked woman, bloodied to the bone fills Rollin's canvas with grotesque yet beautiful imagery. And then there's the tragic character of Catherine. Confused by her sudden burst of life, after giving into the pain and need for blood to survive, she slowly becomes disgusted with what she's become. Never has there been a more sympathetic flesh eater put to film.

Both violent and disturbingly gorgeous, Living Dead Girl is as good an excuse as any to dive into Rollin's library. As noted earlier, Living Dead Girl is easily one of the directors most approachable works, especially for the uninitiated. Fans of the auteur will no doubt be pleased with the work that Encore has put into this release as well. The film, extras and packaging all come together seamlessly to form an incredibly beautiful special edition set.

Image quality is a real stunner and easily eclipses any other edition I've encountered. The previous Image release was not anamorphic and had all kinds of weird artifacts and noise issues. The images below are probably to small to really show any of these abnormalities, I've really only included them as a point of reference for image shape (anamorphic vs. non) and color. Sharp colors and barely any evidence of print damage are highlighted by nice readable subs and a nearly crystal clear mono audio track on Encore's DVD edition.

Encore Films on the left, Image Entertainment on the right.

When I praise this special edition, it's not because of one individual element but how a lot of these things manage to come together. While the extras may not be quite as heavy as one would expect for a 3-disc set (almost all of Encore's releases are like this, essentially one disc special editions needlessly spread over two), it's these extras along with the overall presentation (and look of the set) that really impresses me here. The discs are housed in a beautiful, gate-fold design package that contains an equally impressive 62-page booklet that features lots of pics and text provided by Rollin himself. While the first two DVD's include the feature film and its accompanying extras, the third disc is a CD of the films' soundtrack.

In addition to the feature, disc one also includes an introduction from the Living Dead Girl herself, Francoise Blanchard (she's still quite stunning BTW) and a trailer. Disc two houses interviews with Francoise Blanchard (22 min), an interview with actor Jean-Pierre Bouyxou (30 min) and an interview with composer Phillipe D'aram (16 min) all of which are in French with optional English subtitles. Other extras include a partial audio commentary with Francoise Blanchard (about 35 min) in French with optional English subtitles as well and an alternate scene introduced by Jean Rollin while a slideshow of stills rounds things off.

When you consider the package as a whole, I cannot bestow enough praise on the work that Encore Films has done here. As a Rollin fan myself, I'm glad to see his films being given this type of treatment on home video. Fans of Rollin's work, or even those with a passing interest would be well advised to check in with Encore Films and their impressive line of Rollin films on DVD. Particularly, Living Dead Girl - which is a great place to start. Highly recommended.

Vist Encore Films for more info or Xploited Cinema to buy.