AN EROTIC VAMPIRE IN PARIS
& THE PURGATORY BLUES
Erotic Vampire in Paris Collection
U.S.A. | 2002, 2001
Directors:
Donald Farmer, John Bacchus
Starring
Misty Mundae, Tina Krause
Fanny Terjeki, Debbie Rochon
Michael R. Thomas, Julie Strain
Color, B&W | Not Rated
An Erotic Vampire in Paris: 79 Min.
The Purgatory Blues: 90 Min.
Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC | 2-disc set)
Seduction Cinema
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Review by
Doug Red

Vampire:8
Purgatory:6
: DVD:6
SNEAK PREVIEW | DVD Release Date: May 17, 2011
NOTE: DVD Rating is for entire 3-film set
Misty Mundae, AKA Erin Brown, has established quite a stealthy back-alley career outside the mainstream. Starting out with the ultra-low budget storytellers of Factory 2000, Misty quickly became the go-to starlet for a number of no-budget filmmakers looking to make straight-to-DVD films that featured copious nudity and often a broad sense of humor to match, because not only did she have girl next door looks and a willingness to exhibit her charms au naturale, she could deliver a winning performance as well. After long years bravely battling against wacky plots in the flesh-fuelled entertainment trenches, Misty gained a tiny yet sexy toehold in the outer fringes of the mainstream world, with roles in low-budget, non-nudie cutie horror films and a well-received Master of Horror episode. Erin has in more recent years moved away from the Misty Mundae moniker for loftier creative horizons, but the name is resurrected on occasions such as when she returned as Misty in 2009's indy horror Sculpture, and she continues to support the work she did during this busy period while continuing acting work as Erin Brown.
    With Erin no longer active as Misty, E.I.'s Seduction Cinema wisely began to release various individual films and film compilations that form the Misty Mundae legacy for her continuing throng of fans and admirers, a practice that is being continued by the release of 2011's An Erotic Vampire In Paris Collection. These are not films from the main bulk of Misty's first era of filmmaking, titles like SpiderBabe or Play-Mate of the Apes which had spoofing and light comedy on their mind along with the usual softcore canoodling. No, these films were from Misty's dawn as an icon, in roles that helped show just why her fans find her a delight.
    2002's An Erotic Vampire In Paris (also known as The Vampire of Notre Dame) is very early in the Misty-as-star film canon, being an American/French co-production with some of the original folks behind Factory 2000. The story of Erotic Vampire concerns two different people and the events that transpire when they meet: Isabelle (Tina Krause, under the name "Mia Copia") is a strong-willed French vampire who is seen seducing, then feasting on a photographer, and young Caroline (Mundae) who goes to Paris to find her mother's grave and is suffering from the melancholy of youth. After Caroline is attacked, robbed, and nearly assaulted by a Frenchman with a fast tongue and faster hands, she encounters Isabelle and they have an instant chemistry. Taking in the sad American victim, Isabelle soon offers to share her life for a time, but for a price. Before very long a birthday-suited Caroline is eating a meal out of a plate the ground on all fours like a pet, then sharing a bed and a lover's embrace with Isabelle. Will Caroline find her place in the world, and true love? Will Isabelle be able to resist feasting on Caroline before she finds out her true nature? Will Caroline reject the creature of darkness or embrace the soul within? Will revenge be taken on Caroline's robber? Will their Parisian stalker (Factory 2000's Billy Hellfire) ever find their flat? The film answers these questions and more (like exactly how many people can fit comfortably in a tiny Parisian bathtub at one time).
    For Misty fans more familiar with her later output, Erotic Vampire is quite a departure from the established Mundae Parody Canon. There is no tongue in cheek in this film, or broad riffs on popular culture, or fart jokes. Instead, this is a serious, moody, and erotic film that has munch more in common with the films of the late Jean Rollin and his haunted world of vampire women searching the world for mysterious things that only they know of, dark things that speak to the eternal. The film is shot on video, but it is photographed as carefully as a low-budget film like this can be done, and it's all the better for it. The nudity is prolific and the women are beautiful, with the Russ Meyer-esqe titanic proportions of the dark and earthy Tina Krause contrasting well with the lithe, slight, and pale Misty and her cutie charm. Both lead actresses give great performances too, establishing believable characters and a relatable sensual chemistry which give the films conclusion a greater emotional depth than 99% of the other films of a similar style. It's the kind of film that everybody involved should be justifiable proud of, because it is the best Jean Rollin film the auteur himself never made.
    2001's The Purgatory Blues is an added bonus on the Erotic Vampire disc, but it is actually a feature-length film in its own right. The plot involves Jack (director John Bacchus under the name "Zachary Winston Snygg"), a 30-something ne'er do well drug addict wastrel who gets kicked out of his family home due to using some kind of intravenous drug by his dad (the late Michael R. Thomas in a well-delivered straight performance). Staying at a cheap no-tell motel, he does an impulsive act of knocking out one of the occupants of the next apartment whose abuse of his wife was interfering with his DT-troubled sleep. Still in a semi-drug stupor the next day, Jack is drinking and busting his nut against a wall when the person he knocked out earlier shoots him from behind, ending his earthly existence... or does it? It turns out that Jack has been transported to some kind of afterlife, an afterlife where the people living there are trapped in an eternal high school nightmare with zombie football games that end in carnage, and never ending detention rooms. Eventually Jack encounters a head demon (the frequently topless, statuesque, and tartly funny Julie Strain) who gives him a deal to get out of this high school hell: if Jack can convince one good soul to do an evil act, then he can return to life. He's given a strict limit of time, and sent back to earth to complete his mission. The luckless Jack appears on earth in the body of a cow, much to the strange delight of some local farmers who try to cage Jack to bill him in sideshows at the Devil Cow Boy. After a few awkward false starts, Jack concentrates his corrupting efforts on Martha (cult babe Debbie Rochon) who is the wife of the man who killed Jack in the first place. If Jack can just convince her to kill her husband, she'll have committed murder but gotten rid of a waste of humanity, and Jack will be safe..
    Misty Mundae's participation in Purgatory Blues is really just an extended cameo as Jack's prostitute friend, who he pretends is his girlfriend (but who does have a pleasant nude hallucination scene). Seduction Cinema regular Darian Cane also has a cameo as one of the spirits in the hellish high school, and there are a few topples succubus-type women who appear when Julie Strain is on camera as her visual Greek chorus. The main thrust of the story in Purgatory Blues is the story of Jack and Martha, and that may be why this film is included as an extra and not headlining a DVD of its own — Seduction Cinema's stock in trade is lovely ladies undressed in various scenarios, and this film is more concerned with the story of an average guy trying to save his soul with doesn't allow for the wall-to-wall nudity typical for their productions. However, Purgatory as a film is no small accomplishment and has much higher entertainment value that the average feature stuck on a DVD as an extra, which include funny and unexpected "Beetlejuice on a shoestring budget" jokes, interesting ideas about the afterlife that stretch the low budget, and a fine performance by Debbie Rochon (who unfortunately keeps her clothes on but that fits her character). The main weakness in the film is that the last five minutes are nowhere near as clever as the rest of the film and just flat out don't work as well as what the preceding film warranted — it goes out with a M. Night Shyamalan clumsy-twist whimper instead of the bang I expected. It's still well worth a look for any fan or any aspiring filmmaker to see what can be done with talent, a video camera, some actresses willing to give a little nudity to the cause, and about fifteen dollars worth of props.
An Erotic Vampire In Paris and Purgatory Blues make up the second disc of Seduction Cinema's An Erotic Vampire In Paris Collection. Disc 1 contains a re-issue of An Erotic Werewolf In London (previously reviewed by EC in its 2008 stand-alone form). All films are presented 1:33 fullframe, which is exactly the way they were intended. Since these films were shot on video, they do look it, but the image is about as clean as video can get. Audio was actually quite clear with the music mix; dialogue was usually captured on-location but always understandable. Besides the featured extra of Purgatory Blues, this disc has two other extras. The Making An Erotic Vampire In Paris featurette features Billy Hellfire and Misty reminiscing about the making of the film, where you get to find out a little about how it came about. Your admiration will only grow when you realize just how frantic and fast the film was completed. Revelations abound, including the fact that Tina Krause didn't realize she would have girl-on-girl love scenes — something she had never done before — until she arrived for filming, and that Misty got the producers to pay for her to stay a few more days in Paris to actually see the city. The other extra is Behind the Scenes of an Erotic Vampire, raw footage with the camera rolling as they set up various shots for the film. It's charming to see the dedicated people behind the film all working together and congenially facing an impossible filming schedule, and it's a nice peek behind the curtains of a time and place with a group of people who come across as being very much like regular, likable people having fun making a film. The footage is largely involving the pre-tub scene, some of the tub scene, and some live on the streets of Paris footage combined with a cast meal in a tiny bistro. 4/17/11
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