Der Vampir von Notre Dame

The way this movie is played out makes it more or a mystery than an horror really. It was also an early Italian horror production, so they were still mostly trying out some new stuff in this one. It was also the first one to involve the later to become legendary Italian horror director Mario Bava, who had some major influences on the future development of the genre.

The movie its title might be a bit misleading. It's not really your average vampire flick, featuring blood sucking villains. It features a vampire like creature but she hardly gets her hand dirty in this movie. the movie picks more a detective like approach, in which the police is investigating the strange disappearances and murders of young women. Nothing wrong with this approach of course but you sort of have to know what to expect, in order not to end up disappointed.

Can't always say that the story played out too well. They could had definitely done something better and more interesting with its premise at times. But like mentioned earlier, this was still being an early Italian horror production, from the time they were still searching for the right tone and balance. The movie is still lacking in its atmosphere, which is also one of the reasons why this movie doesn't really feel like an horror. It's definitely not an horrible movie, it's still being quite good to watch for most parts. It's a movie that knows to hold your interest and also still works out quite original, due to its unusual approach, for a movie of this sort.

Definitely a good movie but be sure what to expect from it.

7/10

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Paris is plagued by a murder spree. French reporter Pierre LaSalle (Dario Michaelis) is hot on the trail of what he thinks is a vampire killing off young strippers. LaSalle is also being courted to his dismay by his ex-lover, Giselle du Grand (Gianna Maria Canale - Goliath vs the Vampire), granddaughter of the mysterious Duchesse du Grand. Meanwhile, across town at the Institute of Experimental Surgery, the Duchesse is working with professor Julien du Grand (Antoine Balpêtré) to help develop artificial blood. Soon enough, reporter LaSalle gathers enough clues to confirm his crazy theory, and soon learns the truth about the Duchesse, the professor and even Giselle.

This film is the foundation of the short-lived Italian gothic horror sub-genre. Containing much of the elements of the classic American horror films of the 40s (dimly lit corridors, musty dungeons, mad doctors, rotting skeletons etc), this atmospheric production didn't do well in Italy. Only years later, after the success of the Hammer Studios (England) gothic horror revival, was this movie rediscovered and appreciated for what it was. Director of photography Mario Bava (Black Sunday, Lisa and the Devil) gives a great look to this Elisabeth Bathory-inspired tale, using low angle shots and highly contrasted lighting. Bava also took over direction when Freda left the set halfway through production. Look for a young Paul Müller (Nightmare Castle, Bram Stoker's Count Dracula) as the hired killer.

Vampiri, I (1956)

** (out of 4)

Riccardo Freda directed horror film about the police investigation into the discovery of several dead women whose bodies have been drained of blood. Today this film is best remembered as being the first Italian horror film of the sound era as well as being the first film directed by Mario Bava who took the chair after Freda walked away from the project. As with many other Gothic horror films, this one looks nice but while trying to create atmosphere, the director(S) seemed to have forgotten the story, which isn't too interesting. Like many others, the film also features way too much talk, which gets tiresome after a while. The cinematography by Bava is certainly the highlight. Paul Muller has a small role.

This one mainly works because of the amazing set direction and Gothic spaces. As it gets going it feels like a typical 1940s style murder mystery, with young women having gone missing, but hardly a horror movie at all. But when another girl disappears the search leads to an empty apartment building and then to the castle of a certain Countess du Grand, who happens to be enamored of the lead detective on the case. Though the castle appears to be of evil repute, the countess attracts guests to a ball, and the affections of another reporter. She is a mysterious figure, living in adulation of a portrait of the reporter's father, playing antique record players. The castle sets are stunning productions, drawing one into the horror that sustains her beauty (a storyline explored further in Eyes Without A Face, The Awful Dr Orloff, The Faceless Monster, Mill of the Stone Woman and Countess Dracula) . The movie literally gets gobbled up by the Gothic atmosphere of the castle, with its incredible gargoyles, elaborately Gothic crypt, secret passages, baroque cobwebs, pillars marked with demonic images, and a Sleeping Beauty tangle of vines on the grounds. The reliance on scenery alone to communicate a descent into a sadistic unconscious reminds one of Cocteaus Beauty and the Beast though the strategy was tried too in 40s Hollywood. When at last the mystery is discovered, here too the special effects are quite well done. Mario Bava was involved in the photography, just testing his fogbound vision of Gothic mystery, and it shows. After starting out all cops and robbers, this one ends up with a completely satisfying expression of pure demented horror.

This movie is absolutely stunning! It combines Freda's knack for perverse plotting with Bava's excellent, atmospheric cinematography to produce a story about the parasitic sickness of love more than anything else. I've read a few whiny 'goth' teenagers complaining about the film's lack of 'real vampiric moments.' What idiots! An aging scientist keeps the Duchess Du Grand young, although she can't stand his touch. To acquire young women needed for his serum, he keeps a junkie locked up and strung out. Meanwhile, the Duchess is in love with Pierre, a young reporter investigating a series of mysterious murders in which young women are being drained of their blood. Ah, love... The mood of the film perfectly balances neorealism with fantasy to create an expressionist fairy tale. The antagonistic relationship between the reporter and the police investigator and the above-mentioned junkie make this an influence on the giallo as well as the revival of gothic horror in Italy. Ignore DVD (Idiot) Savant and the Ann Rice geeks. The rediscovery of this movie ranks up there with Whale's Old Dark House. It is an absolute classic, and the print is excellent!