Dans les griffes du vampire

This western is one of the strangest in movie history and its weirdness is only surpassed by the infamous "Terror of Tiny Town"-- the first (and only) all-midget western! After all, this is a western about...VAMPIRES!!!

When the film begins, there is the usual sort of plot--a local baddie is trying to take control of surrounding ranches. However, what you come to realize is that that potential range war is actually being orchestrated by a third party. Drake Robey is in actuality a vampire and is using his vampirey skills to create chaos. However, along the way he finds himself falling for a local hottie. The only thing standing between her is the local preacher...the only one who has learned Robey's dark secret.

This is just one strange mash-up--vampires AND cowboys! Strange...but also reasonably interesting and worth seeing despite a few actors who aren't exactly talented. See this one...just to see one of the most unique films to come out of Hollywood.

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Edward Dein; Produced by Joseph Gershenson for Universal-International Pictures release. Screenplay by Edward and Mildred Dein; Photography by Ellis Carter; Edited by George Gittens; Music by Irving Gertz. Starring: Eric Fleming, Michael Pate, Kathleen Crowley, Edward Binns, John Hoyt, Bruce Gordon and Jimmy Murphy.

The first combo Western-horror film, in which a vampire, dressed in black, terrorizes the West in the guise of a gunfighter and is faced-down by an iron-willed man of the cloth. Transference of the vampire legend is well-done and Pate is exceptionally good as the fast-draw Drac.

Glad I found this. A vampire western, might possibly be the first ever of it's kind. A pretty run of the mill Western story-line with a bloodsucking demon added for good measure. The acting and script are nothing great but enough to keep you amused. For lovers of horror, this really is a must see.

Whilst no one could lay claim to this film being a classic, it is unusual and entertaining enough to warrant viewing, and deserves credit for being different to the norm. Obviously shot on a very limited budget, it is nevertheless smartly scripted, and has a dark and brooding atmosphere which is helped enormously by the black and white photography. Whilst some of the acting is not exactly top-drawer, the film benefits greatly from an excellent performance by Michael Pate, whose menacing presence as the vampire, Drake Robey, still manages to elicit a certain degree of sympathy with the character's plight. It would also be unfair to overlook Eric Fleming's earnest portrayal of the brave preacher. He brings the correct degree of upright integrity to the character, and the film is certainly better for having these two actors in tow. This rarely seen film is worth catching, and is very much novel of its kind.

I've always liked this movie: it takes a theme that could easily have been preposterous (a vampire Western?) and handles it with restraint, dignity, a nice feel for its two respective folklores, and deep, handsome B&W photography. It's an easy step from natural to supernatural for that classic Western icon, the mysterious, black-clad gunslinger who rides into town by night, and the rest of the movie is just as comfortable a blend. The laconic vampire, Drake Robey ("The dead don't bother me, ma'am, it's the living that give me trouble") is a noble monster who first preys on, then falls for the feisty rancher heroine, and there's a neat iconic scene involving a bullet mounted with Preacher Dan's precious fragment of the True Cross. Really a classy little movie and most unfairly overlooked - I can't believe this is the first comment on it!