Continuing from last time, I'm reviewing some of my all-time favorite vampire movies, from classics to cult favorites. And one of the more important ones is The Vampire Lovers. We're going to jump across to pond to Merry Old England (or should I say, scary old England?) for this one.
Hammer Films, the British film studio that reinvented the Gothic horror genre in the late 1950's was still going strong. In 1970 alone, they released two Dracula films starring Christopher Lee, along with this one.
The Vampire Lovers is, so far, the most faithful film adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 vampire story, Carmilla. There have been many that used the character's name or had some connection, but this one tells sticks mostly to the original story.
Ingrid Pitt, vampire sex symbol extraordinaire, plays Carmilla Karnstein, a lesbian vampire. Her family were once a force of bloodsuckers, but she seems to be the only one left. While sweet, charming and at times vulnerable to her chosen female victims, she is a dangerous predator. The scenes where she attempts to corrupt and seduce her intended victims were daring for the time, due to a loosening of film censorship in the Western world. While perhaps tame and even quaint by modern standards, they retain much of their eroticism today.
Peter Cushing, in a supporting role, plays a twist on his established vampire-hunter character in this film. Having lost a loved one to the vampire, he's out to get her before she victimizes anyone else. Where his Van Helsing merely fought the forces of evil out of a sense of duty, this time, it's personal.
Scream!Factory, the horror subset of Shout!Factory, has released a special edition Blu-ray that gives us the most complete version of this cornerstone film. Despite some age, the picture plays very well. And the sound is even better. An audio commentary track with director Roy Ward Baker, scriptwriter Tudor Gates and Ms. Pitt herself is included, along with a featurette titled Femme Fantastique: Resurrecting The Vampire Lovers, an except of Ingrid Pitt reading the novel Carmilla, and an interview with the film's second female lead, Madeleine Smith.
Get it now
if you dare!
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