by Garon Cockrell
If you dare…taste the deadly passion of the
blood-nymphs! Or if you prefer, lesbian
vampires. Also Hammer. So I’m pretty sure you’ve stopped reading
this already.
The Vampire Lovers
The Film:
The Vampire Lovers is an adaptation of the J. Sheridan La
Fanu’s novella Carmilla and tells the story of a female vampire (vampiress?)
stalking a village in eighteenth century Europe and the group of men tracking
her down. Putting aside that social
commentary for a moment, you might find yourself enjoying this one. It’s got plenty of nudity if that’s what you
are interested in. It’s wonderfully shot
and acted and is a nice addition to the vampire oeuvre.
That said it is about lesbian vampires so you’ll get plenty
of that too. Of course they are quite
beautiful.
The Disc:
The film was released in 1970 and Scream Factory has given
us a stunning transfer. The colors
explode off the screen. It looks brand new but still has that classic Hammer
atmosphere and feeling. It’s a
testament to Scream Factory that they give 100% on all of their titles,
including a lesbian vampire cult film that a lot people may never have even
heard of. It’s definitely one worth
checking out.
The Features:
- Feature Length Commentary with Roy Ward Baker (Director), Tudor Gates (Writer) and Ingrid Pitt (Carmilla) moderated by Jonathan Sothcott
- Excerpts from the novella Carmilla, that inspired the film, read by Ingrid Pitt
- Interview with Madeline Smith (Emma)
- Interviews with Hammer Films Scholars
- Radio Spot
The Specs:
- 1080p High Definition Widescreen (1.78.1)
- DTS HD Master Audio Mono
- Original Release: 1970
- Runtime: 91 minutes
- Rating: R
Final Grades:
Story: A / Great
original tale about sexy vampiresses on the hunt and Peter Cushing on the
prowl
Presentation: A / Gorgeous picture. A really wonderful transfer.
Scare Factor: B /
It’s not very scary. It’s a little
creepy but it’s more of an erotic sort of creep fest. I don’t think you’ll be looking over your
shoulder while you’re watching.
Gore Factor: B / Not
very much gore at all. There is a little
bit of cringe but Id barely call it gore.
Repeat view-ability:
B / It’s a good film worth repeating.
I’m sure there are people out there who will find PLENTY of reasons to
watch it again.
Add The Vampire Lovers to your collection, click HERE!
Check out yesterday's Scream Review, TerrorVision!
