I don't know if this one can be considered "great," but it's certainly one of the weirdest vampire films you'll find. It's called Blood for Dracula.
Where do you start with this one? In 1973, the director, Paul Morrissey, had just completed Flesh for Frankenstein, a truly bizarre piece of cinema, and began shooting on this film immediately afterwards, with many of the same lead actors. Udo Kier and Arno Juerging from Germany play Dracula and his manservant Anton, respectively. Brooklyn's own Joe Dallesandro is the "hero" of the film, Mario the handyman.
This Dracula bears almost no resemblance to any cinematic vampire. Kier plays him as a sickly, lethargic shut-in. The reason for his weakness? He can only survive if he drinks the blood of a virgin (or as he says it, "wer-gin"), and there aren't enough to go around in Transylvania in the 1920s. Meaning, he's quickly on his way to a permanent coffin. So, Anton packs him into a touring car (along with his coffin, which rides on the top) and heads for Italy, where, supposedly, the Catholic Church demands a girl remain a virgin until her wedding night. Sure. That'll work.
An impoverished landowning family, the di Fiores, hear about this traveling Romanian nobleman and hope that one of their four daughters will snag Dracula. Problem is, the handyman, Mario, is such a stud, he's already deflowered the two middle daughters and is eyeing the youngest. The oldest seems to be considered a spinster.
That's your basic set-up. I should point out that this film is less of a horror film and more of a dark, slightly sadistic comedy, with a heavy layer of social commentary.
Morrissey decided to use the vampire Dracula as an allegory for a man out of time, figuratively and literally. A throwback to a more noble era, he can't survive in our "modern" era with its loose sexual morality. Thus, not much time is devoted to his vampirism beyond him needing virgin blood (and the disgusting consequences if her doesn't get it). He goes around in daylight, doesn't always sleep in a coffin and can handle crucifixes, though he hates them.
It bear mentioning that Dracula himself is actually the second-nicest person we see in the film. Compared to almost everyone else, he practically gallant. He's only trying to survive, and clearly takes no pleasure in killing. Skip ahead a few years, and he'd be whining about his curse.
By contrast, his "servant" Anton is clearly the man in charge. Anton is domineering, scheming, and above all, treacherous. Our "hero," Mario, is a foul-mouthed, violent, misogynistic pig of a man. He's also a Communist, always railing against the upper-class. Thus, his liaisons with the middle daughters are clearly--both by his words and actions--what we would today call "hate-fucking." And his solution to "save" the youngest daughter (she's 14) from Dracula is to rape her, which he's wanted an excuse to do anyway. The two daughters offered up to Dracula (played, respectively by the lovely Dominique Darel and Stefania Casini) are spiteful, mean-spirited, greedy bitches who mistreat everyone around them. They're also libidinous to the point where, if Mario is not available, they'll get it on with each other. Their mother, the Marchesa, is only interested in money, and their father, the master of the estate, is totally out of touch with reality. He's also a compulsive gambler, which is why the family is so desperate for money in the first place. Only the eldest daughter is normal and nice. It's essentially a mirror-universe version of the classic vampire story.
Also, since Morrissey was friends with the painter Andy Warhol, this film was released in some markets as Andy Warhol's Dracula to cash in on his name. That's how the film was often known until in was rediscovered in the early 2000s.
Udo Kier is the real fireworks of this show. Much of the humor comes from his overwrought, Peter Lorre-style hamming and line readings, made even funnier by his thick German accent. When he says, "Ze blaad of zese whores is keelink me," it supposed to be a serious lament on Dracula's part. But I dare you not to laugh.
Because of the film's title confusion, and it's extreme sex and violence, this film was heavily censored upon release in America. It was given an "X" rating (today's NC-17) and chopped to pieces (Foreshadowing!) to get an "R." And for a long time, that was the only way you could see it on the third-rate video labels that carried it. A cameo by Roman Polanski was completely gone. In 1999, the film was finally restored in an uncut, widescreen version, alongside its counterpart, which put an end to a lot of fruitless searches for me!
Here it is:
And, just for fun, here's the other:
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