TWO ORPHAN VAMPIRES (1997) (Indicator Series Blu-ray Review)

TWO ORPHAN VAMPIRES (1997)

 (Les Deux orphelines vampires) 

Limited Edition Blu-ray 

Label: Powerhouse Films

Region Code: Region-Free

Duration: 107 Minutes 11 Seconds 

Rating: Unrated 

Audio: French or English PCM 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1) 

Director: Jean Rollin

Cast: Alexandra Pic, Isabelle Teboul, Bernard Charnace, Natalie Perrey, Brigitte Lahaie, Tina Aumont

A late-era entry from director Jean Rollin (The Shiver of the Vampires) the low-budget Two Orphan Vampires (Les Deux orphelines vampires) found the French filmmaker returning to his vampire roots for the first time in over twenty years with a film based on characters from a series of novels he penned in the 90's about a pair of orphaned vampires. By day pretty orphans Louise (Alexandra Pic) and Henriette (Isabelle Teboul) appear to be the picture of innocence, dubbed "blind angels" at their orphanage they are seemingly blind, but when darkness falls their sight secretly returns and their predatory bloodsucking nature kicks in, unbeknownst to the orphanages kindly Mother Superior (Anne Duguel) and Sister Martha (Natalie Perrey, Night of the Hunted)

As the story continues the girls go on night time adventures prowling the streets and city cemeteries where they stalk and kill victims in search of blood; including a woman (Brigitte Lahaie, Faceless) after hours at the circus, another woman at a cemetery after dark, and a painter on a bridge, and draining a dog at the cemetery, as well as encountering other creatures of the night that include a bat-winged woman Venus (Veronique Dajouti, Killing Car), a she-wolf (Nathalie Kersanty), a ghoul (Tina Aumont, Torso). At a certain point they are adopted by kindly Dr. Dennary (Bernard Charnace), an eye-specialist interested in treating their blindness, believing it to be psychosomatic, but sooner than later the doctor discovers they're secret and it doesn't end well for him. 

Having just watched The Shiver of the Vampire (1971) - considered one of Rollin's finest - I have to say that this was a bit of a disappointment to me. The saving grace here is the performances from Pic and Teboul as the orphan vampires, they're gleeful turn from playful innocence to predatory vamps is the truly best part of film, but the slow-pace and the lack of Rollin's patented artful lensing and nudity left me dissatisfied. Now there is some blood-drinking and a brief bit of nudity, but it's just not enough to keep my interest in this relatively chaste Rollin flick, especially coming off the psychedelic macabre of Shiver I found the pedestrian blue-tinted visuals here quite unimpressive. Again, all is not lost, Pic and Teboul are terrific in their roles, the balance of innocence and evil is fun, and their rapport with each other while recounting the potential of having been Aztec goddesses in past lives is interesting stuff, but the movie as a whole not so much. 

Audio/Video: Two Orphan Vampires (1997) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Powerhouse Films/Indicator Series in 1080p HD framed in 1.66:1 widescreen. The 16mm film grain is nicely resolved and looks naturally course throughout; it has that inherent 16mm fuzziness to it, and the day-for-night blue-tinting employed saps depth, clarity and detail to a degree, but the non-filtered scene in daylight looks quite pleasing by comparison. Audio comes by way of French or English PCM 1.0 Mono with newly translated optional English subtitles for both the English and French language audio options. Both tracks are solid and deliver the good, it's not the most robust track but it is clean and free of issues. 

Extras start off with a new Audio commentary with critics and authors David Flint and Adrian J Smith does good working putting the film into context of Rollin's later era work, and it's exploring it's themes. We also get a handful of archival extras ported over from past releases, these include the 43-min Memories of a Blue World (2012) documentary by Rollin’s personal assistant, Daniel Gouyette, featuring interviews with actor Isabelle Teboul, assistant director Jean-Noël Delamarre, composer Philippe D’Aram, and others. Other newly-edited archival extras include 

35-min Infinite Dreams interview with Rollin, the 14-min Bonded by Blood interview with the actor Alexandra Pic, the 11-min Eyesight to the Blind interview with Isabelle Teboul, the the 4-min The Smoking Vampires from 2002 featuring actors Pic and Teboul revisiting the Père Lachaise Cemetery filming location. The last of the archival interviews is the 8-min Livres de sang with Rollin who gives a tour of his living room showing off his collection of his own novels and films. The disc is buttoned-up with the 2-min Original Theatrical Trailer, Production and Publicity Material Gallery, and a New York Location Photography Gallery. 

We were only sent a "check disc" for the sake of this review without any packaging extras, but the retail copies will include Limited Edition Exclusive 80-Page Book with a new essay by Patricia MacCormack, an archival introduction by Jean Rollin, an archival production report by Peter Blumenstock, an archival interview with Brigitte Lahaie, an extract from Rollin’s source novel, and full film credits  Like the release of The Shiver of the Vampires this limited edition release is limited to 10,000 numbered units (6,000 4K UHDs and 4,000 Blu-rays) for both the UK and US markets.

Special Features: 
- Brand-new 4K restoration from the original negative by Powerhouse Films
- Original French and English mono soundtracks
- Audio commentary with critics and authors David Flint and Adrian J Smith (2023)
- Memories of a Blue World (2012, 43 mins): documentary on the making of Two Orphan Vampires by Rollin’s personal assistant, Daniel Gouyette, featuring interviews with actor Isabelle Teboul, assistant director Jean-Noël Delamarre, composer Philippe D’Aram, and others
- Infinite Dreams (2023, 35 mins): extensive, newly edited archival interview with Rollin exploring the themes of Two Orphan Vampires and his wider oeuvre
- Bonded by Blood (2023, 14 mins): newly edited archival interview with the actor Alexandra Pic
- Eyesight to the Blind (2023, 11 mins): newly edited archival interview with Isabelle Teboul
- The Smoking Vampires (2023, 4 mins): actors Pic and Teboul revisit the Père Lachaise Cemetery filming location in 2002
- Livres de sang (2023, 8 mins): Rollin gives a tour of his living room displaying the books he has written and awards he has received
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 min) 
- Production and Publicity Material Gallery (84 Images) 

- New York Location Photography Gallery (84 Images) 
- New and improved English translation subtitles for the French soundtrack
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Patricia MacCormack, an archival introduction by Jean Rollin, an archival production report by Peter Blumenstock, an archival interview with Brigitte Lahaie, an extract from Rollin’s source novel, and full film credits
- Limited edition of 10,000 numbered units (6,000 4K UHDs and 4,000 Blu-rays) for the UK and US

Jean Rollin's Two Orphan Vampires failed to enthrall me like The Shiver of the Vampires, I found it a bit drab and overlong but I give the two young stars a lot of credit for their excellent performances. Regardless of my thoughts on the film the new Blu-ray from Indicator looks and sounds rock solid, and the extras are plentiful, and if you are a fan of the film or just curious this limited edition release looks aces.  

Screenshots from the Indicator Series Blu-ray: 

Extras: