The Escapees — The Escapees ( Blu Ray/ UHD)
The Escapees is an early 80’s film from Jean Rollin, who is most known for his arty and fleshy vampire films. This lesser-known film has nothing to do with bloodsuckers or horror- instead what we have is a down-beat drama based on two young women who escape from a mental hospital, with light touches of action/ gore- though these largely sit towards the end of the proceedings. It features some thoughtful dialogue and moody/ arty shots- though if you're looking for normal genre fare Rollin, you’ll feel more than a little underwhelmed. Here from Powerhouse, as part of their reissue of all of the director's work is a new release of the film- coming as either a UHD or Blu-Ray disc- taking in a 4k scan of the film, a new commentary track, and a few more extras.
The Escapees (aka Les Paumées Du Petit Matin, The Runaways) is from the year 1981. It was directed/ co-written by Rollin, and co-written by Jacques Ralf- who wrote dialogue for another Rollin film The Living Dead Girl (1982). It was Rollin’s 33rd film, coming after Zombie Lake (1981), and The Night Of The Hunted(1980).
The hour and forty-five-minute film starts off like it’s going to be either an unnerving thriller or a horror film. As we see footage of a young woman steadily rocking back and forth on a rocking chair outside. We are told by the workers of the mental hospital that she came in a few days ago, and has been rocking since- her name is Marie (Christiane Coppé).
We then switch to inside the hospital- and see another young woman Michelle (Laurence Dubas) who is kicking & fighting with staff- so she is twisted around and pushed into a straitjacket. Then pushed into a room with just a sheetless bed in, conveniently the window of the room is open- so she shouts out at Marie, who looks up- then comes into the room to untie her…clearly the place has great/ believable security!.
The pair chat briefly and we find out the once silent Marie doesn’t like people, and the more worldly/take-no-nonsense Michelle who has been in and out of hospitals, care homes and prisons. The pair agree to break out of the hospital- and again seemingly this is done with great ease.
As the film unfolds the pair hooking with a travelling dance troupe, meet a group of sailors/ bikers from the nearby port, and hang out in the bar of largish/ Manish fortune teller Louise(Louise Dhour). With Brigitte Lahaie appearing in the last quarter- getting naked, and the film is finished off with a little gunplay/ blood, and grimly moody resolve.
The film has a fair bit of rather floating dialogue, regarding outsiders, the romanticism of the sea, and philosophical statements. The cast is, I guess passable, and at points, you do quite believe the bond between the two young women.
I went into The Escapees not knowing what to expect- but I guess I thought there was going to be some sort of horror element or even a dark arty thriller tone- but this is just a drama. Yes, you of course have the Rollin trope of two female characters and light artiness- with a few nicely moody, if decidedly melancholic shots. So it’s fine for what it is, but not much like the rest of the French director's more known/ respected work
This new release features two slightly different versions of the film- Les Échappées, Jean Rollin’s original version; and Les Paumées du petit matin, the alternative version with re-ordered scenes- they have fairly similar runtimes. Each is given a 4k scan- these look well-defined and crisp.
Moving onto the extras, and the wholly new extras we have a commentary track from film expert Tim Lucas. He starts off by talking about how the film to hand sat between two better-made Rollin films The Night Of The Hunted and The Living Dead Girl, and he mentions the film was a collaboration between two French companies Les ABC Films( who had worked with the director in the past) and Impex Films. He points out actors as they appear, and we find out both lead actresses had any formal acting experience- been picked purely for their looks/ how they worked together. He talks about the film being a fable, and the use of two women/ twins in the film, which of course is a trope used in many of Rollin's films. We find out the film never played in cinema-going straight to VHS. He talks about the film's title not being great, and that the soundtrack was created by Philippe D'Aram- who scored a few of the director's films. He comments on the beach location, and how it’s now changed. Later on, he talks about character tropes in the film, and some of the more interesting dialogue in the film. He talks about how the film didn’t seemingly have an editor- commenting on scenes where this is clear. And more- another decent track from Lucas.
There’s A Secret Room(34.55) with finds genre commentator/ author Stephen Thrower discussing the film. He starts off by talking about how the film is very much a secret room or passage within Rollin’s filmography. We find out the film was filmed in early 1981- he believes before April due to the lack of leaves on trees, and the snow on the ground in some scenes. He talks about the original title of the film been The She Killers/ The Female Killers. He talks about Rollin being unhappy with the film, rejecting the initial script as he felt there was too much dialogue, and many scenes were overwritten. He talks about the films cast, which includes actors who were in other Rollin films, and touches on locations. He also talks about how the film is one of the director's film that has a real sense of suspense. All in all another excellent featurette from Mr Thrower.
On the archive/semi-new side, we have the following. One Day in Paris (29.20) a new presentation of an in-depth 2008 interview with Rollin in which he discusses The Escapees and his other films. Quant à Louise (4.41): regular Rollin collaborators Natalie Perrey and Jean-Pierre Bouyxou remember actor Louise Dhour. Monsieur Loup et la folie (8.46): a previously unseen interview with Jean-Loup Philippe, in which the actor discusses his work as a writer and his friendship with Rollin. And Image gallery: promotional and publicity material, and behind-the-scenes photography
The finished release comes with an eighty-page booklet with a new essay by Lucas Balbo, archival writing on the film by Jean Rollin, an archival interview with the director, an archival interview with composer Philippe D’Aram, a tribute to Rollin by fantastique cinema expert Nicolas Stanzick, and full film credits
In finishing I’d say how much you get from The Escapees is down to what your expectations are- if your after a Rollin horror film, you be squarely disappointed. But if you are interested in seeing how he uses typical tropes/ elements/ tones in a more dramatic setting, or are a Rollin Completist- this is well worth picking up.