ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Bezenby I've had this film in my collection for yonks, so I thought I'd get round to watching. Please note, I like my euro films loud and quick and full of gore, and although this film had gore, the loud and quick parts were sadly lacking. PLOT? Wine = being a zombie. That's that. There's this French chick trying to get to her fiancé and basically we're here to watch her try and get there, and the outcome of what happens there, like. But you're a busy person. You don't want the f*ckin plot, because you know it already. You're question is, is it any good.Answer: Kind of. It's nowhere near as horrible as Zombie Lake, and does contain moments of greatness, but there's an awful lot of places in the film where everything slows to a crawl just because our heroine is very slow on the uptake. I paid three pound for it. It was worth it. I think I paid 11 pound for zombie Lake, and have been unable to stay awake through it long enough to review it.

MARIO GAUCI Though not up to Rollin's ROSE OF IRON (1972) or THE LIVING DEAD GIRL (1981), this is still pretty good - forming with the latter and ZOMBIE LAKE (1980; which I haven't watched) a very loose trilogy.Still, it's not strictly a zombie film (as the 'monsters' here aren't flesh-eaters and don't even rise from the dead!) - though it carries much the same kind of menace as LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE (1974), also largely set in the countryside and displaying a concern for ecology in the modern world. As with many of Rollin's work, this is actually more of a hypnotic mood-piece with very little dialogue: languorous, often lyrical and undeniably haunting. In this respect, the dreamy cinematography (which is sometimes out-of-focus) and the simple yet agreeable score (despite the admittedly grim subject matter) emerge as indelible assets to its ultimate quality.The film is quite gory and the ending downbeat, but Marie-Georges Pascal's bewildered heroine generates genuine audience sympathy - even if it's a fetching yet duplicitous Brigitte Lahaie (inexplicably unaffected by the plague which is ravaging the village) who steals the show with her brief but striking role!

The_Void French director Jean Rollin is best known for his messy erotic vampire films, but Zombie Lake aside; he's actually a lot better at zombie films. Along with The Living Dead Girl, The Grapes of Death represents one of the few successes for the cult director. This zombie film stands out for its morbid and surreal atmosphere, and for the fact that, as zombie films go, this one is quite original. The title doesn't suggest a good film, but it refers to the movie's main plot point; namely, the fact that it's the French tradition of distilling wine that is to blame for the zombie outbreak. It's points like this that make the film profoundly French and despite the fact that France doesn't seem like the ideal country for a zombie outbreak; the plot and location blend together rather nicely. Naturally, the main character is female; and we follow her as she makes her way to her home town of Roubles; a wine producing estate. The journey turns awry when a man infected with the zombie virus boards the train, and our heroine finds her travel companion dead...and that's just the start of it! The plot takes the familiar Night of the Living Dead style idea of the living trying to stay clear of the dead, but Rollin makes the film his own with a fine variety of weird and wonderful characters, and it usually turns out that these are more dangerous than the zombie hoards. The rural setting provides a nice base for a zombie movie, as it's quite different from the usual urban setting, and this also blends well with Rollin's morbid atmosphere. The film is also very surreal, and the director continually gives the viewer the impression that there's something nasty lurking just around the corner. Many of Rollin's films feel cheap and nasty, but this one doesn't; the cinematography is beautiful, and the acting isn't too bad either; both of which give the film a higher quality feel than the plot, by rights, should have. The only time there's a lapse in quality is the awful commentary on French politics towards the end…but it's not enough to spoil it entirely. The film is quite erotic, and even though it's quite different to his usual stuff; you can still tell that it's Rollin in the director's chair. The ending is really good, and comes as quite a surprise; and I've got to say that I loved the final message; I agree, beer is superior to wine. Recommended!

davendes It takes a very certain type of horror fan to appreciate 99% of Jean Rollins' work, and for better or worse, I'm not one of them. However, most rules have an exception and "Grapes" is an excellent example of such.Rather than following his usual blueprint of dreamy atmosphere, barely existent plots, sleepwalker-like acting and an abundance of useless lesbian activity, Rollin goes directly for the throat this trip. The plot is straight forward, the acting excellent, and action starts quickly and only lets up in time for a downbeat conclusion. The wine-induced "zombies" are quite effective with nasty oozing sores and an unrelenting nature for the worst cases, and a quirky onset of mania for those in the less severe stages. The one thing Rollin does (thankfully) carry over is his eye for polarity; the french landscape is beautiful but filled with impending, hazy dread. And- No worthless sex scenes! This wonderful film is a true odd-ball in Rollin's canon. It's easily his most accessible and gory film to date. If you're looking for an entry point to his films, this really isn't a place to start since it's SO different from the rest. But- If you've seen the man's other work and didn't care for it, give this one a chance. I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.(Note- Synapse's DVD release is nothing short of stunning. The print is flaw-free and bursting with sharpness and color. This may very well be the best transfer of any obscure '70's film I've viewed yet. And I've seen a lot of 'em!)