A movie is a flop, another one is the same, so he starts with "commercial" movies but few improves and then it remains only the porn. We know, Jean Rollin since few years started to shot commercial movies, soft-core for the accuracy, downplaying his art, his visions and trying to distance himself from these movies signing them as Michel Gentil as in 1973's "Jeunes Filles Impudiques" and in "Tout Le Monde en deux " of 1974.

The further step commercial/economic arrives in 1975 with this "Phantasmes" a porn movie. We not write about porn cinema, as well as Rollin uses a pseudonym in about ten hard core movies  a part this one. And we follow the exception, and we talk about "Phantasmes".

The first question is why he signs with his real name. The answer is because he tries to create (as he says in this interview by Peter Blumenstock appeared on "Video Watchdog # 31") something artistic, a porn with a story. The honorable attempt fails miserably because the audience doesn't want stories wants just sex.

So Rollin lives, after this movie, his experience in the world of porn with detachment, signing movies as Michel Gentil or Robert Xavier, looking disillusioned his works but with great respect for the porn industry and for the artists, sometimes he have fun and above all he discovers the artistic side of Brigitte Lahaie who directs in "Sensuelles Vibrations " in 1976 and who convinces to work out of the porn genre .

In "Phantasmes" we can see many things of Rollin's cinema. An abandoned castle, a sinister man, perhaps a friend of Satan and the Castel twins. The story is very simple and is about a man who kidnap young women and imprisoned in his castle, in search of love.

Easy plot and a series of gothic of images, chained and abused women who give birth to a porn horror who has interesting ideas. The direction is not good, the cast instead it should be noted in addition to the Castle twins  for Monica Swinn and  for a cameo of Rollin.

Technical Specifications

Original title: Phantasmes

Alternative Titles : Les fantasies d'Isabelle , pornographic Phantasme (France) , Once Upon a Virgin (UK) , Tvillingarnas övererotiska sexlekar (Sweden) , Seduction of Amy ( USA) , The Seduction of Amy (USA Alternative )

Directed by: Jean Rollin

Cast: Jean Pierre Bouyxou , Catherine Castel , Marie- Pierre Castel , Alban Ceray , Corinne Lemoine , Monica Swinn , Manuella Marino , Greg Masters

Country: France

Year: 1975

Duration: 88 '

Production Company: Impex Films , Les Films ABC