The Zombie Collection The Living Dead Girl / The Reincarnation of Isabel / The Night of the Hunted 2003 Horror Movie Review

I desperately wanted to try one of these euro-horror films that are so highly regarded by many, so I decided to splurge and buy this set rather than just one or two of them(which cost a lot more individually than in this 3-pack).  Trying to find reviews for these films were very difficult so I thought I’d try to help those out that are curious about these films too.  All films are english subtitled, supposedly uncut, and in their original theatrical aspect ratios.  So here we go:

Living Dead Girl—i’ve read this is considered Jean Rollin’s best film.  I can’t vouch for that, but it is pretty good.  Some girl comes back to life after a chemical accident and needs blood to stay ‘alive’ which her best friend provides for her.  It has decent performances and decent pacing(it was kinda slow, but i didn’t get really bored at any point), but it wasn’t very scary or erotic(no major sex/love scene, the lesbian relationship is only hinted at).  It is rather bloody but not really too gory.  (trailer, filmography, mini-gallery)

Reincarnation of Isabel—Poorly made film about some girl being killed because she was accused of being a witch.  She comes back later to seek vengeance on those that killed her(i think, it’s slightly confusing).  Anyway, there is a decent sleaze factor in this one, but again, no major sex scene(more like a few major ‘tease’ scenes).  Also has very little atmosphere, no real scares or blood, gore, etc.  In fact, if it weren’t for the sleaze factor, this would be kinda hard to sit through(would make for a good MST3K episode though).  (no extras worth mentioning)

Night of the Hunted—atmospherically surreal Jean Rollin film.  Plot has something to do with some ‘patients’ in a high rise losing their memory due to some ‘illness’ and two of the girls trying to escape.  I’ve read reviews complaining it’s too confusing and extremely cheap looking.  The sets are sparse, but it adds to the surreal nature of the proceedings(besides, who’s to say these rooms don’t naturally look this way).  As for the confusion, it’s not really confusing at all mainly because one character in the film explans almost everything at the end of the movie(if it’s still confusing…it’s because of the holes in the script).  The film is not really scary, bloody(ok,one scene), or gory; disturbing, intriguing, and weird are more appropriate.  As for the sex, there’s an extended love scene, a rape scene, and a brief sex-turns-deadly scene.  The extras say there is a trailer(there is), and two “strong, previously unseen sex scenes”.  These two must’ve been incorporated into the film, cause i saw no option to view them separately on the menu screen.

Overall, Living Dead Girl is arguably the best made of the 3 and can be considered a horror movie.  Reincarnation of Isabel is arguably the poorest made but yet has the highest sleaze factor and falls under the witchcraft genre.  But my personal favorite would have to be the sci-fi-ish, surreal nightmare Night of the Hunted(though none of these 3 could actually be considered zombie films, at least, in the Romero-sense anyway).  As a package, it costs a lot less to buy than buying them individually.  However, I really can’t strongly recommend a purchase of any one of these titles.  But if you are a fan of these types of films,  it’s still worth a late night rental for some cheap thrills.  To be honest, I’m glad i saw them, but i’m not exactly glad i paid for all three of them(perhaps more extras would have helped…that or better films!).  Btw, I’m not completely ignorant of this genre as i’ve seen Vampyres(check that one out), Daughters of Darkness, The Beast, Immoral Tales, and a few too many Jess Franco films by way of comparison.