Jean Rollin’s 1982 masterpiece, The Living Dead Girl, is one that makes me cry every time.

This is one of Rollin’s non-vampire films but it still features the themes for which Rollin was famous.  You’ve got a gothic castle.  You’ve got the beautiful French countryside.  You have two female friends, one of whom is haunted by her memories of the way things used to be and the other is horrified by what her present has become.  It’s one of Rollin’s most heartfelt films and also one of his saddest.

Helene (Mairna Pierro) sits in her office in Paris, thinking about her childhood friend, Catherine Valmont (Françoise Blanchard).  Catherine died two years ago and, as far as Helene knows, is still in the coffin that sits in the crypt of her family’s estate.  When her phone rings, Helene answers.  At the other end, no one speaks.  But Helene can hear the sound of a music box playing, a music box that once belonged to Catherine.

Yes, Catherine is once again alive.  She was brought back to life by ….. well, it’s not really explained.  It has something to do with some toxic chemicals that were accidentally spilled by two incompetent thieves who broke into the crypt.  The chemicals returned Catherine to a sort of life, except now she’s a silent zombie who needs to feast on blood to survive.  Though Catherine has hazy memories of her past, she’s not sure who she is and why she’s suddenly been brought back into the modern world.  Catherine promptly kills the two thieves.  She also proceeds to kill a real estate agent and her boyfriend.  It’s not that Catherine wants to kill.  Instead, it’s what she has to do in order to survive.  She’s like a cat pouncing on a bird.  It’s all instinct.

By the time Helene arrives at the castle, there’s already quite a mess that needs to be cleaned up.  But it doesn’t matter to Helene that she’s got four dead bodies of which to dispose.  Instead, she’s just happy that her friend has come back to life!  Even though Catherine is miserable at the thought of being one of the living dead, Helene is happy that her friend has returned to her and is willing to do whatever has to be done to keep her alive.  Helene even tries to offer Catherine a dead bird but Catherine shakes her head.  She needs human blood.  Fortunately, there is a village….

It’s a sad and deeply sentimental film.  Ignore the bloodletting.  Pay not attention to the toxic chemicals.  Overlook the zombiefication.  This is a film about friendship and the love that only best friends can share.  Admittedly, Helene can be seen as being a selfish character.  As much as Catherine wishes that she could return to the peace of death, Helene refuses to let her go.  But, at the same time, who hasn’t had a friend who they would do anything for?  If I came back as living dead girl, I might not enjoy having to drink blood but I’d love the friends who kept me supplied.

Rollin’s direction is heartfelt and, as was often the case with his best films, unapologetically mixes sentiment with gore.  Mairna Pierro and Francoise Blanchard give two of the best performances that Rollin ever captured on film.  Admittedly, there is a somewhat distracting subplot about two annoying American tourists but what would you expect from a director as wonderfully French as Jean Rollin?

From beginning to end, The Living Dead Girl is one of Rollin’s best and a personal favorite of mine.