Seddok, l'erede di Satana

When the opening credits end on ATOM AGE VAMPIRE, there is a sloppy jump cut to the opening scene (A bathrobe clad showgirl returning to her dressing room) This tells us the film has been heavily censored. This is an Italian film, being released here in the states. When somebody opens their mouth, horrific dubbing, best suited for a bad porno film, takes over the scene. The showgirl (the strangely beautiful Susanne Loret. She has this hard look to her face. With her blonde peek-a-boo hairdo, she resembles a crazed Veronica Lake) survives an auto accident that scars her face. In a last ditch effort, she goes to a mad doctor, who makes good on his promise on restoring her face. You can probably figure out what happens in this somewhat predictable sci-fi offering. The one thing that shines thru the censoring and dubbing is this movie moves at a rapid pace. It should be re-made with the same haunting and disturbing qualities.

The stripper Jeanette Moreneau (Susanne Loret) is dumped by her boyfriend Pierre Mornet (Sergio Fantoni) and she drives her car to talk to him. However, she has a car accident and the left side of her face is completely disfigured by horrible scars. She is approached in the hospital by Monique Riviere (Franca Parisi), who is the assistant and lover of Professor Alberto Levin (Alberto Lupo), and she tells Jeanette that her face can be restored.

Jeanette secretly goes to the professor's house and is treated by him, using a process that depends on the cells that Prof. Levin, who is also a monster that strangles his victim, removes from the women that he kills. While treating Jeanette, Prof. Levin falls in an unrequited love for her and kills Monique. Meanwhile, the police inspector that is investigating the mysterious murders, suspects of Prof. Levin.

"Seddok, l'Erede di Satana" (meaning "Seddok, the Heir of Satan"), a.k.a. "Atom Age Vampire", is a trash Italian horror film that combines "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" with Georges Franju's "Les Yeux Sans Visage" and the vampire of the messy American title. The result is a predictable film, with one actress that recalls Sophia Loren and the other that recalls Madonna. But anyway, it is entertaining and worths be watched. I saw the 87 minutes version and by the way, who is Seddok? My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

"An exotic dancer has a terrible automobile accident and, as a result, is horribly scarred, on her face. Hoping for a miracle treatment, the dancer visits a scientist who has had marvelous results in restoring patient's (sic) appearances, and is cured of her scars. Unfortunately, there are some terrible side-effects from the procedure … the scientist must use unethical methods to try and make the cure permanent. With suspicions (growing, and) the dancer's boyfriend and the authorities closing in…" according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Inappropriately re-produced as "Atom Age Vampire"; this is actually an adaptation of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", with some other horrific clichés, quite neatly layered into the mix. Mad scientist Alberto Lupo (as Alberto Levin), unappreciated Franca Parisi (as Monique), and lackey Roberto Bertea (as Sacha) are an intriguing set-up. Horribly dubbed (although, the voices are good), and painfully predictable; it very obviously wouldn't be a completely awful film, in its unaltered Italian version.

**** Atom Age Vampire (1960) Anton Giulio Majano ~ Alberto Lupo, Susanne Loret, Sergio Fantoni

I love Italian horror, but this one just didn't have the punch that I am used to with Fulci or Bava. The premise was good, but it didn't deliver completely.

It was interesting anyway as a girl (Susanne Loret) gets disfigured in an auto accident and a mad scientist doctor (Alberto Lupo) promises to make her beautiful again.

The Doctor and his assistant work on the girl, but the results are only temporary and they are out of serum. That's when the Doctor's secret is revealed and he goes into action attacking young girls to keep his treasured beauty alive. The first to go is his assistant.

He has a way of transforming himself into a Mr. Hyde and back to Dr. Jeckyl. The girls old boyfriend and the police are hot on his tail.

Interesting tale, but Fulci would have done it better.

This is a good example of how distributors can ruin a movie. I have watched the 103 min original Italian widescreen version on DVD, entitled "Seddok, l'erede di Satana" ("Seddok, the heir of Satan"), which is a nice old-fashioned b/w horror flick based on a Frankenstein variation, with dialogs explaining the characters very well. But the movie was cut by a quarter of an hour for the export cinema version, ridiculously retitled "Seddok, der Würger mit den Teufelskrallen" ("Seddok, the strangler with the devil's claws"), and then it was cut by another quarter of an hour for video release. The fragment of what is used to be ended up under the title "Atom Age Vampire", and everybody complains how poor it is - well, if you tried getting the complete picture (both referring to widescreen format and its running time), you probably would have a better impression, although it can't be denied it is rather slow moving, and they wouldn't get away with this 'scientific' explanation of skin restoration anymore.