Gebissen wird nur nachts - das Happening der Vampire

Pia Degermark looks great throughout. She wears various costumes as she plays the dual role of a modern day baroness and a vampire ancestor who returns from the dead. She also appears nude for those who are not in to costumes.

Overall this is a very goofy movie with a lot of lame comedy. Still though Pia is breathtaking and worth a look just for that.

Have a taste for blood… well let me throw in a side tray of goofy humour and seedy sexual activity. The (post-hippie stage) early 70s "The Vampire Happening" is a playfully sexy low-budget German produced horror spoof that sinks its teeth into the vampire genre. While not always on the mark with the gags (where sometimes the script didn't throw up enough or just repeated the gimmicks or rowdiness), as the fangs could have use a sharpen, but it remains rather diverting because of the idiotic silliness and free flowing skin.

Hollywood star Betty Williams, but her real name countess Von Robenstein has made her way to her newly inherited castle in Transylvania. Upon checking it out, she decides to stay. Unknowingly to her, Claramonde Catani her great grandmother is kept in a tomb in the castle and happens to be a vampire. They look so alike except for the colour of their hair and that of their nail polish, but Catani constantly switches identities with her granddaughter who confuses her anxious servant Josef and the town's folk.

The robust story is pure ham, digging up every opportunity to poke fun at the vampire conventions and the superstitious framework. The film's closing half focusing on the swinging orgy party filled with vampires and a special guest --- Count Dracula himself (a terrifically amusing mock turn by Ferdy Mayne) takes the icing. It's exploitative in its revealing, if tempting visuals (don't count the cheap, charming make-up) and the clumsy script is constantly cheeky with its innuendos. Pia Degermark is a complete hoot, as she's seductively saucy in her dual roles Williams / Catani. She's a prowess! Yvor Murillo is fitting as the bumbling comic servant Josef and Thomas Hunter is acceptable as William's lover. Director Freddie Francis does a surefooted job, if nothing overly special, but the choice of locations bathe nicely in a Gothic ambiance despite the modern setting. Liked the illustrated opening credits.

For its genre (eurotrash horror comedy) this is a wonderful example. It's funny, lame, and absurd in a "Oh God no" way. I recommend everyone who has a flexible sense of humour should watch this. I think the best thing about this film is its sweetly good natured cheekiness. There's no nastiness in it at all and if you get a cheap grainy version, so much the better! it simply adds to the ambiance. I love this film (and I'm not a complete idiot I love European silent film especially German and Nosferatu 1922 is my favourite movie of all time and I admire Paul Wegener as an intellectual and an actor)so, hopefully having established some "not complete idiot" credentials, take my tip, a bottle of red wine, and an appreciation for good natured nonsense, and you have yourself a great film! Go The Vampire Happening!!! (Oh, and the Martin (Luther!) monk joke is dead cheeky.

This movie was the last of four movies showcasing the beauty of Pia Degermark; a Swedish actress from the 1960s. She was the classic beauty in the Swedish movie "Elvira Madigan"- a movie that won quite a few awards on the international scene and made her a well known actress on her initial outing at age 18. This movie came out in 1967 and though set in the 19th century actually reflected the changing attitudes and mores of Western Society during the "golden age" of the youth movement.

She had a very strong supporting role a couple of years later in the movie "The Looking Glass War"; a realistic view of espionage during that period. Her role as "The Girl" in that movie was very strong and she showed her acting strength alongside that of a young Anthony Hopkins!

"The Vampire Happening" is a much more lighthearted movie than Elvira Madigan or The Looking Glass War or the seldom seen "A Brief Season" . She had just married a wealthy Italian industrialist who was also a noted film producer, and he wanted to show off his "trophy wife." And, she wanted to show off herself; hence the large amount of nudity. In her case it was pretty much only topless nudity- of historical interest are the scenes in the torture chamber where a nude female is subjected to medieval punishment. These scenes were brushing against the censor standards of that age. Though Sweden (Degermark's home country) had allowed some "artistic" female nudity in its own films for a few years prior to that the films had generally not been distributed in the "unrated" format outside of that country. This film was one of the first distributed films showing the torture of a nude woman; as well as giving a substantial glance at her pubic region (not usually allowed back then- you could show breasts and butts only and were glad you show even that much!). They got away with showing the realistic torture scenes in this movie as they were depicted in a fairly "lighthearted " manner and in a day dream sequence. Nevertheless, this film is sometimes mentioned as a ground breaker in what it did show (sex and somewhat realistic torture of a nude woman).

Anyway, when you see this movie you really see a young bride during and enjoying the honeymoon phase of her marriage and that along is reason enough to view it. It is a lighthearted romp and if you find a technical mistake somewhere in it please be advised that probably nobody else really cares!! It brings up great memories for people who were teenagers during this time (like me). Of note is one of the final scenes in the movie that takes place in an airport- no metal detectors or X-Ray machines, no lines, and a beautiful architectural setting! Like the rest of the movie, it is a nostalgic look back at a golden age!

"The Vampire Happening" follows an American actress who inherits a Transylvanian castle that belonged to her countess ancestor. Upon going to visit her newfound property, she not only unleashes the dead, but utter chaos, debauchery, and vampiric shenanigans on the local town.

This is a film that I'd been curious about seeing for a number of years, but had put on the back burner for two reasons: first, it's incredibly difficult to get a hold of; and second, I wasn't sure I'd like it. The scenario sounds intriguing enough, but vampire horror is not my favorite subgenera, and with the comedic angle, I just wasn't sure. Boy, was I wrong.

Let's be clear: this is not a "good" film by any stretch of the imagination, but it most definitely hits all the right notes for a niche audience. It is essentially a no-budget vampire comedy that is crude and absurd—however, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't an absolute joy to watch. Its most striking element is most definitely its Gothic atmosphere, accentuated by some relatively solid cinematography. The sets look like they were cribbed straight from a Hammer horror film from the early sixties, which is probably intentional, but the kitsch factor of it all is what makes it so much fun to watch.

The film is about as frightening as a "Scooby Doo" episode, and the humor is completely off-kilter, but there is a strange charm to it all as it balances humor with the macabre. It pokes fun at the subgenera with a sprightly approach, and edges on satire throughout. The cast is made up of multiple international actors and actresses, who spend most of the film half-nude and in various blasphemous scenarios, with Swedish actress Pia Degermark at the helm, playing a dual role as the vampy twentieth-century actress, and her grand-matron counterpart. Degermark is the highlight here, and most of the show is stolen by her.

Overall, I found "The Vampire Happening" to be far better than the reputation that precedes it. It is among the ranks of Jess Franco's most absurd work, and is a delightfully kitschy, Gothic odyssey. It is not a masterwork, nor does it posture itself as one—it's a lovingly satirical re-imagining of the contemporary vampire movie, loaded with bloodletting, tacky set pieces, nudity, and utter blasphemy—which somehow found its way into my heart (and my bloodstream). 8/10.