Blood of the Tribades

This is no doubt, a very weird movie that pays homage to Rollin, Franco, Vadim, and other Euro outcast cinema. I love how it mixes a little of the melodrama of Hammer in as well. The story without spoilers...not that it matters a whole lot for a movie like this is that these women vampires have forgotten everything and they are being hunted by men for plaguing them, except they aren't actually doing it. The leader of the men is a demagogue using religion and political pressure to blame everyone he can. Sound familiar? This movie is basically like Hitler fights the vampires and they rise up against him. Except it is not Hitler, it's Grando. And wow is Seth Chatfield's over- the-top performance as Hitler, I mean Grando, really fun and solid! The two lead women are exceptional as well. Also, so many penises. 9/10 because I wanted it to be longer. Not the penises. The movie.

Living in a remote village, a secret group of women discovers that their religious sect is coming under attack by a vicious section of men determined to impose their puritanical values upon the free-spirited group and forcing two women to decide how to proceed when they don't agree with the outcome.

There was quite a lot to enjoy with this one. Among it's more notable elements are the fine and worthwhile social commentary that takes center stage in the film. The idea of the male society intent on hunting down the girls for refusing to follow in their footsteps as the girls go against their religious practices with vampiric tendencies speaks to the imposition of a male-dominated social hierarchy. The men are cursed with disease and physical deformities even though they follow the belief that they're righteous in the eyes of their religion and set out to stamp out the girls for daring to go against their domineering mindset which brings about their need for the women to stand up for their lifestyle. This empowerment dealing with the women being on the virtuous side and more relatable than the psychotic group of men is made all the better with their troubles we see them going through, giving this a great setup at play. As well, there's also plenty to like with the film's old-school Gothic horror aesthetic. Focusing on the Victorian England village-style feel, the old-world look and feel here are quite apparent which helps to tie into the older values imposed by the film. With brick-and-stone walkways and bridges, ornate flowery dresses and a general aesthetic that flows through the continuous notions of being out in the middle of the forest or a small clearing, the idea of the Gothic archetypes that are some commonly employed in these efforts is quite strong. The stylistic choices that emerge here, from scenes of the girls going through the massive landscape as tiny figures or color-coding the group to stick together add to the overall setting and atmosphere of this one taking place in the old-world, which adds to the film's strengths. The film's other great quality is the strong exploitation mindset at play within this one. The puritanical group at the forefront of their struggles is quite proactive, starting with several impressive scenes of their rank hunting down the various members of the vampire cult not only in their homes but outside in the forest, near the village grounds and an impressive raid on their meeting place where the girls are overwhelmed and slaughtered in pretty brutal manners. As well, their habit of stripping their members naked and flogging them for misdeeds or failure to complete their missions continues that nicely, much like the brutal kills and continuous nudity from both genders that skews slightly more toward the males in a fantastic show of equality. Overall, these are what manages to make the film quite enjoyable. The film does have a few minor missteps that aren't too damaging or detrimental at all. The main issue here is that the majority of the film's dialogue-free scenes force far more imposition and guess-work to be done to understand what's going on which tends to cause some confusion over what's happening. The lack of traditional means of killing vampires, since this one seems to utilize any form of method that would kill a mortal as also being able to kill a vampire even though the usual wooden stakes are also utilized, are just one such example as well as the idea that both sects are imploring the same being as the one everyone is trying to appease so it comes off with little to no sense as for what's going on. While these are hardly detrimental factors, they are what knock this one down somewhat.

Rated Unrated/NC-17: Continuous Full Male and Female Nudity, Graphic Violence and Language.

The overall tone of the film is set within the first few minutes. What you see is what you get. It's a throwback film in many ways to the 70s Euro art-house lesbian vampire genre. The setting is colorful and captivating - and coupled with the terrific score, they work to really set the mood and atmosphere. It's obvious the cast and crew worked hard to create a fully-realized world that would resonate with fans of the genre. So, if you're a fan of indie films, vampires, lesbians, Hammer Films horror, 70s era films - or just looking for something competent, refreshing, and containing scenes of blood and sensual sexiness - go ahead and settle in, sit back, and give it a whirl.

See it. See it soon. A wonderful piece of connoisseur-trash-art-core. It is hard to capture the feeling of an era and a specific style of filmmaking, but the team behind "Blood of the Tribades" manages to re-create and expand the genre of 1970s lesbian vampire film. Hooray! Blood! Sex! History! Gender theory!

This was a really fun 70s throwback that extended beyond the movies it pays homage to by adding more modern politics. Great performances, even if there are those intentionally (I think) stiff moments to match the older style. Either way, very entertaining and strange movie. If you dig 70s vampires, this is for you!