Vampyros Lesbos: Die Erbin des Dracula

Vampyros Lesbos (1970)

*** (out of 4)

Jess Franco's cult classic has a real estate worker (Ewa Stromberg) going to visit a mysterious woman (Soledad Miranda) who just happens to be a vampire. Soon the two enter a deadly mix of sex and violence. This is my third viewing of the film and I enjoyed it more this time than ever before. I watched the newer print of this film and the colors are downright beautiful and quite striking to look at. The film works on many levels but the biggest one is the terrific surreal nature that Franco creates. If you need action or a quick moving film then this certainly isn't for you. If you prefer something that takes its time to deliver then this is a wonderful selection. The jazz score adds a lot to the atmosphere and the locations are easy to look out. The best thing about this movie is the performance by Miranda who sadly was killed shortly after finishing this film. Her quite and calm performance makes her character one of the most memorable of all Euro horror. The way she quietly glides through the film also helps the atmosphere. Supporting players Dennis Price, Paul Muller and Franco himself do nice jobs as well. This is a perfect little gem that manages to be very dreamlike and haunting at the same time. The biggest downfall are all the zoom shots, which normally don't bother me but they're very distracting here.

After missing it a couple of times on TV (one of them in the guise of the shorter and 'clothed' Spanish version) and thinking about picking up the DVD in either region on several occasions, I finally managed to sit down and watch (via the now-OOP R1 DVD from Synapse) what is perhaps Jess Franco's best-known film. Not having been particularly bowled over by either of the two Soledad Miranda films I had watched until now – EUGENIE DE SADE (1970; though this is one I need to watch again) and SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY (1970) – I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed VAMPYROS LESBOS. The reasons for this are many and varied and, all in all, I'd say it is without a doubt one of Franco's most enduring – and impressive – works.

As most of you probably know already, the film is based on nothing less than that vampiric chestnut – Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' – which Franco had already filmed a year before and in which VAMPYROS' leading lady, Soledad Miranda, had also appeared! Not having watched that particular adaptation, I cannot say which 'version' is the more successful – but, in the case of VAMPYROS LESBOS, Franco certainly imbues it with an overwhelming visual style (which goes hand in hand with a bizarre and intoxicating soundtrack) that almost encourages one to overlook its deficiencies which, being a Franco film, it could hardly fail to be without!

From the very first shot, the film weaves a haunting and dream-like mood (which is, for the most part, effortlessly sustained throughout) that is as indescribable as it is hard to shake off. Frankly, this is what Franco is all about to me: counting Luis Bunuel as my favorite film-maker, I cannot but admire the ingenuity (coupled sometimes with naivete) with which Franco pulls off this surreal 'trip' of a film –memorable images abound in VAMPYROS LESBOS, many of them allegorical, elliptical, or just plain weird – that, in its own way, also manages to be a remarkably effective spin on Stoker's 'old' vampire tale. In fact, the film's updating/jettisoning of the 'established' vampire myths (a modern beach-house replacing the old family castle and decked out with fish-nets rather than cobwebs; instead of sunlight having a deadly effect on the vampire, we get to admire her while sunbathing and skinny-dipping – though the method of disposing of her remains through incredibly violent means) is surely one of its most endearing aspects. Apart from this, not only is the vampire herself (like the nymphomaniac in SINNER [1972] driven through rape towards lesbianism) as much taken with her victim as one expects it to be the other way around, but also we have what passes for the traditional 'vampire hunter' (Dennis Price's Dr. Seward) actively wanting to go to 'the other side' (the confrontation scene between the two, which takes place in the lobby of his clinic, is masterfully handled – except for one embarrassingly amateurish moment when Price is made to slink down the stairs when he should be running for his life!), whereas the vampire's henchman (named Morpho, no less) is not the expected creepy-looking hulk – if still a mute – but rather a lanky thug in a suit, sporting cool shades and a pistol (not to mention being secretly enamored of his Mistress)! And then there's Jess Franco himself, in a quite revealing bit, as a crazed sadist (foreshadowing perhaps his Vogel of EXORCISM [1974])…

Of course, the film would not have worked quite as well without the beguiling presence of Soledad Miranda who dominates every scene she's in, be it the various tantalizing night-club acts (surely among the finest set-pieces in a Franco film, and several of them feature this type of scene – though we are never told quite why she should be doing them, being a Countess and all!) that we see her perform or the utterly graceful and totally natural manner in which she lures our understandably confused heroine (Ewa Stroemberg) into her particular 'way of life', away from her boyfriend and the routine which governs her 'normal' existence. As has been promised by the title, we get to see a lot of female nudity – a Franco trademark, if ever there was one – but since the plot deals with an obsessive relationship (not only Miranda and Stroemberg's but also Heidrun Kussin's Renfield-like 'infatuation' with the former), it does not feel over-emphasized here and, in any case, is really quite tame considering the director's standards of even a few years later.

The film's basic plot is wafer-thin ('padded' by numerous repeated actions and images) which, coupled with its necessarily languid pace, induces a sense of drowsiness in the viewer; this, however, is not a detriment to the film at all, as this quality is also to be found in the work of even the major art-house film-makers (I felt entranced in much the same way, for example, while watching Robert Bresson's A MAN ESCAPED [1956] recently – a film possibly admired by Franco himself, seeing that it's referenced at the start of THE DIABOLICAL DOCTOR Z [1965]).

For those of you who are interested, I would like to point you in the direction of an excellent analytical study of the film – which lies at the heart of a lengthy article about five Jess Franco movies from the 1970s – written by Maximilian Le Cain that was published in the 'Senses of Cinema' online journal. Here's the relevant link:

http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/03/27/jess_franco.html

Immediately after watching the DVD, to my horror I discovered that both VAMPYROS LESBOS and SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY are to be re-issued next year (by a different company, Image) and that these will most probably use the reportedly superior transfers that were available for Second Sight's impossibly expensive (for my tastes, being blind purchases and all) R2 discs. Well, I'm actually thankful I paid less than $12 (shipping included) for VAMPYROS whereas I managed to acquire ECSTASY in a perfectly acceptable VHS dub. Depending on the extras – not that Image has shown itself too generous in this department thus far, at least where Franco is concerned – I may eventually upgrade these two fun Franco flicks featuring the lovely, talented (and ultimately tragic) legend that was Soledad Miranda!

In Istanbul, the lawyer of Simpson & Simpson Linda Westinghouse (Ewa Stromberg) has erotic dreams with a strange woman every night and her analyst Dr. Alwin Seward (Denis Price) suggests her to find another lover. Linda is assigned to resolve an inheritance issue with the Hungarian Countess Nadine Oskudar (Soledad Miranda) that has inherited a real estate from Count Dracula. Linda leaves her boyfriend Omar (Victor Feliman) in the Istanbul Hilton and travels to the Kadidados Island. While waiting for transportation in the continent, Linda is advised by a local that the island would be a place of death and insanity and she should not travel to there. However, she does not pay attention to the man and meets Countess Oskudar that is a lesbian vampire fascinated by Linda. The Countess drinks the blood of Linda and she has amnesia and is sent to a mental institution where Dr, Steiner (Paul Muller) who is also a vampire expert, treats her and puts an advertisement in the newspapers. Omar finds Linda and Dr. Steiner teaches her how to kill a vampire. Linda has to be very powerful to resist the spell of Countess Oskudar that has a crush on her and destroy the vampire.

"Vampiros Lesbos" is an erotic and cult version of Bram Stoker's Dracula by Jesus Franco. The story is very similar to the classic novel of 1897, but instead of Count Dracula, the vampire is a sexy female that was raped by Dracula centuries ago and does not like man. The lead actresses Ewa Stromberg and Soledad Miranda are very beautiful and undress practically in every scene. The film is very entertaining and funny. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Vampiras Lésbicas" ("Lesbian Vampires")

I was very curious to see this film after having heard so many things about it! And indeed, "Vampyros Lesbos" even exceeded my expectations! Loaded with symbolic language, an almost dream-like atmosphere, unusual camera angles, a fantastic score and some Franco typical lesbian soft sex the Spanish director created an absolute masterpiece of Europe´s early 1970s sleazy cinema. Both main actresses Soledad Miranda and Ewa Strömberg are excellent in the lead and maybe one of the hottest lesbian couples ever brought on the screen. Some people may find it boring, cheap and eventless, but "Las Vampiras" is not a film you should watch about story or suspense! It is a brilliant mixture of art and trash, and I was truly surprised what great film it is after having seen so many different works of the director. This gem is a pure trip into surreality: Wonderful! Psychedelic! Watch it and LIVE!

This eurohorror classic by Jess Franco stars Soledad Miranda as Countess Nadine Carody, a wealthy recluse who strips at a club in Istanbul. Ewa Strömberg plays a woman who is strangely drawn to the Countess. Nadine appears in Linda's dreams, beckoning her. Linda is then sent to the Nadine's island on a business assignment. The film follows the course of the strange romance between Linda and Nadine. Linda falls under Nadine's spell and a living nightmare soon begins. This film mixes dream and reality in a terrific way. Franco appears as Memmet, a sadistic killer. Soledad is absolutely fantastic in this movie. She's very low-key, yet totally captivating all the same. You'll wish you could be possessed by her! Franco's direction involves crazy zoom shots, interspersed footage of insects (with a scorpion that perhaps is meant to mirror the Countess), and a funky pop-art style. The psychedelic music used throughout the movie was written by Manfred Hübler and Siegfried Schwab. Despite its European success, Vampyros Lesbos never received distribution in the United States. It was long considered the Holy Grail of the European lesbian vampire genre. It was a renaissance in interest in Jess Franco, as well as the chart-topping success of the soundtrack in the '90s, that brought the film back into attention. A must-see for anyone into Soledad Miranda, Jess Franco, or vampire movies!