La fille de Dracula

French language erotic horror, filmed in Portugal by prolific Spanish director Jess Franco. He wastes no time in getting down to his trademark female, full frontal nudity, we are treated to this within the first few minutes. And there is plenty more throughout the movie, this is more erotic than horror, in fact the latter is pretty lame. Howard Vernon appears as one of the most pointless Draculas ever, I don't recall him even leaving his coffin! He looks very camp, more spoof than scary. We also get a mysterious, unknown character, a voyeur, giving the movie a confusing touch of giallo. But it's not all bad. The sex scenes are well filmed, in particular one that has two beautiful women making lesbian love whilst a man plays piano in another room in the house. The sets and scenery are good, this movie is easy on the eye, and Franco himself plays one of the main characters. Despite a somewhat confusing (probably rushed) plot and a very abrupt ending as a Franco fan I found some pleasure in this one, certainly not his best film but far better than his worst.

Some actresses are able to somewhat save some bad movies with their mesmerizing beauty, but this lesbian soft-porn, clumsily masked as horror about Dracula, is so bad that it couldn't be saved even by sex scene between Jessica Alba and Charlize Theron. I could get over the fact that vampires in the movie don't have any issues with daylight, but if somebody told me that a scene in which camera slides down the naked body of a beautiful woman could be boring I would think he's crazy. If you are a fan of horror, Dracula or good soft-porn, avoid this misery in a wide arc, but if you want to watch five minutes of to blur zoomed tongue and a nipple this is the right movie for you.

3/10

Personally, I happen to be a great fan of the prolific Spanish Horror/Exploitation deity Jess Franco. The man's impressive repertoire of about 200 film doubtlessly includes masterpieces as well as crap, and everything in-between. Though his very best films ("The Awful Dr. Orlof", "Miss Muerte") range back to the 60s, the early 70s are maybe the most 'typical' period in Franco's oeuvre, as the film he made then were already very sleazy, but still very elegant, and had not yet descended into the cheapness of the majority (but not all) of his 80s offerings. His arguably most famous film, "Vampyros Lesbos" (1971) is from that time, as are other lesbian vampire/erotic Horror gems, such as "Christina, Princesse De L'Erotisme" (1973), or this film, "La Fille de Dracula" (aka. "Dracula's Daughter") of 1972. This is a rather typical example for Erotic Horror by Franco from the early 70s: Supremely elegant, eerie, wonderfully photographed and full of sleaze, lesbianism and gorgeous naked women, very weird, and not exactly focused on a logical plot.

The film begins with a beautiful young woman who strips naked in order to take a bath. She is thereby watched, and later attacked by an unseen, but obviously female vampire... Castle Karlstein: On her deathbed, the old Baroness Karlstein tells a morbid family-secret to her beautifully young daughter Luisa (Britt Nichols)... Soon thereafter, Luisa starts doing lesbian stuff with her cousin Karine (Anne Libert), while more dead bodies pile up around the castle...

The family name 'Karlstein' is obviously a reference to 'Karnstein', the vampire family name in the Sheridan Le Fanu's pioneering lesbian vampire novel "Carmilla" on which countless European Horror productions are based. I'm not sure why they changed the name; the novel is from 1872, so copyright issues couldn't be the reason. Avoiding a close association with the British Hammer Studio's Karnstein trilogy might be the reason; but then, Jess Franco never was afraid to steal names and titles in order to cash in.

The ravishing redhead Britt Nichols is a joy to look at, as are the other female cast members. This wouldn't be a Franco flick if any of the female cast members didn't get naked at some point. There is plenty of lesbianism and sleaze, and the cast includes the best of Franco's typical ensemble cast. Apart from Britt Nichols and Anne Libert, the female cast also includes director Franco's muse and later wife Lina Romay. The male cast includes Franco-regulars Luis Barboo and Alberto Dalbés, and his favorite actor, the great Howard Vernon, who is wasted in a role with hardly any screen time. Franco, who often did cameos in his films, has a bigger role than usual in this film.

Franco's photography and settings are almost always elegant, and in this film in particular. The outdoor scenes were beautifully done in Portugal and Spain, especially the coastal village where most of the film was shot is a wonderful location. The score consists of Franco-typical tunes ranging somewhere between jazzy and eerie. The film has its genuinely gloomy and atmospheric sequences. Sadly, one must say that there are several lengthy periods in-between the atmosphere and sleaze. The film is bizarre, but sometimes also very confused and lacking any logic. Nonetheless, "La Fille de Dracula" is an overall enjoyable and atmospheric wholesome which is especially recommendable for its gorgeous female cast-members. 6.5/10

Daughter of Dracula (1972)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Luisa Karlstein (Britt Nichols) is called to the home of her dying mother who finally reveals the family secret. The secret that she has been hiding from her daughter is that they are a family a vampires. Soon Luisa is bitten by Count Karlstein (Howard Vernon) and before long more bodies begin to pile up.

Jess Franco's LA FILLE DE Dracula (aka Dracula'S DAUGHTER or DAUGHTER OF Dracula among others) isn't the best vampire film that the Spanish director did but there are enough interesting moments to make it worth watching if you're a fan of his. Obviously Franco calls for a very acquired taste and most people are going to hate his pictures with a passion. You either get them or you don't but there are a few that can be enjoyed by the more mainstream crowd but this here isn't one of them.

As is the case with a lot of the director's work, LA FILLE DE Dracula contains very little plot. In fact, you really can't make heads or tails out of a lot of it but this just lets the director build up at atmosphere, which is one of the high marks. I also thought the music score by Daniel White was extremely good and you've also got some great locations. Another plus is the beautiful Nichols who is very good in her role and we all know that the director knows how to film women. I also thought Vernon was fun in his part and Franco himself plays a small role.

There are several problems with this film including the pacing, which is certainly hit and miss. I'd also argue that a bit more of a story would have helped the picture because it does drag in spots. Finally, and perhaps most shockingly, the film really isn't as erotic as you'd hope and especially when you consider what VAMPYROS LESBOS was like. Still, if you're a fan of Franco you'll still want to check this out. Others should probably start somewhere else.

A women is murdered in her bath by a sinister individual dressed in black. In a manor-house near the scene of the crime, Baroness Karlstein wakes up with a start. She is gravely ill and is only awaiting the arrival of her granddaughter Luisa before dying. When Luisa arrives, her grandmother tells her of the curse that has haunted the family for generations, revealing that the first Baron Karlstein was a vampire, and gives her the key to the chapel. Luisa decides to move into the manor with her uncle Baron Max Karlstein and her cousin, Karine. The only fly in the ointment is the presence of the highly intelligent caretaker, Cyril Jefferson...

This movie was more improvised than well done. It is a very curious film and also very boring. Howard Vernon, as a sort of count Dracula, is only here to justify the title of the film. His scenes are too short, just lying in his coffin, eyes open are showing off his teeth.. Fun in a way...

Britt Nichols is very beautiful as always, and her lesbian scenes with Anne Libert are the best you can get from LA FILLE DE Dracula. But, there are too many tight close-ups to really enjoy it! Some captivating unreal atmosphere kept me watching from beginning to end... But, as always with most of Jess Franco films, you must be a bit of a masochist to enjoy these piece of...cinema!