Jean Rollin films always surprise me. This one absolutely floored me. The plot in 1 sentence: Two young lovers find themselves trapped in a cemetery overnight.

What follows is neither horror nor thriller, though Rollin’s body of work (half dozen vampire films and a bunch of zombie flicks) might lead you to expect that. What you get instead is a very poetic vision of love & death and how the two intertwine in a mysterious otherworldly setting that’s neither supernatural nor realism. Like all Rollin films it’s best approached as a dream. But I’d say this is the most uncluttered film he’s ever made. Two actors and a graveyard (which becomes the 3rd character by its presence).

And like all Rollin films, this was booed and abused mercilessly by audiences and critics alike, only to find traction some 50 years later, after Rollin’s death, as a visionary work of art. Thanks to Kino for acquiring & remastering Rollin’s catalog.

This film is so far ahead of its time, and yet it’s completely unpretentious. Maybe that’s why it was hated by critics during the 1960s-70s French New Wave period: it wasn’t full of self-important philosophies & social statements. (French critics also snubbed the great Jacques Tati for the same reason.) But for my money it’s one of Rollin’s best, and it may be my favorite French film of the 70s just because it’s so honest & simple.

Unfortunately according to interviews with Rollin’s associates, the critical thrashing for The Iron Rose was what broke him. He sank into a deep depression and soon began ‘selling out’ to producers demanding blood, guts & porn. Although his later films were just as artistic, distinct & personal, I don’t think any was as straightforward poetic as this.