Les Passions des vampires

RELEASED IN 1970 and directed by Roy Ward Baker, "The Vampire Lovers" is a Hammer horror based on Irish novelist Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla," which was published in 1872 and predated Bram Stoker's "Dracula" by 25 years. The story concerns a family of vampires, the Karnsteins, who prey on people in Austria by finding an excuse to leave their daughter at a rich manor. She then proceeds to patiently seduce the nubile woman of the abode as she drinks the blood of local peasant lassies and whomever else.

The main antagonist, Carmilla/Marcilla Karnstein, is played by Ingrid Pitt, who's effective, but a little too long-in-the-tooth for the role. While she prefers to prey on wealthy nubile girls and there are overt Sapphic undertones, she's just as willing to suck the blood of dudes when it suits her diabolic purposes. Her pretense of passionate romantic love is just that as she's intrinsically evil and referred to as a "devil" elsewhere in the movie. Make no mistake, she's solely out to find and feed off victims.

While vampires are fantastical, Carmilla is figurative of evil women who purpose to seduce or convert people and destroy them. This IS real life and I've seen it happen several times. The tale isn't for immature audiences because it's too convoluted, dramatic, weighty and mature. I saw it 15 years ago and wasn't impressed but, seeing it again, I now grasp it and it's virtually revelatory.

The female cast is superb, rounded out by: Madeline Smith (Emma), Pippa Steel (Laura), Kate O'Mara (The Governess, aka Mme. Perrodot), Janet Key (Gretchin, the maid), Kirsten Lindholm (the blonde vampire in the opening; also shown later), Olga James (Village Girl), Joanna Shelley (Woodman's Daughter) and Dawn Addams (The Countess/Karnstein matriarch). There's a little bit of tasteful top nudity and Pitt is shown totally nude on two occasions in a classy manner. She's a beautiful woman, for sure, but she doesn't trip my trigger.

As far as the male cast goes, Peter Cushing has a side role and Jon Finch is on hand as the gallant hunk. There are others.

FYI: "The Vampire Lovers" is the first part of the so-called Karnstein Trilogy, which includes the quasi-sequel "Lust for a Vampire" (1971) and the prequel "Twins of Evil" (1971).

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 31 minutes and was shot in Hertfordshire, England.

GRADE: B+/B

_The Vampire Lovers_ is one of the most faithful adaptations of a story I have ever seen in a major production. Based on J. Sheridan LeFanu's _Carmilla_, Baker's film captures the essence of evil wrapped in feminine beauty. Ingrid Pitt plays Mircalla with great restraint; her character comes off cold and deceptive, but still driven by a need for love. The action is well timed and choreographed, and the nudity, though a bit gratutious at times, is photographed sensitively and with great appreciation for the actresses.

Yes, this is something of a guilty pleasure because of the leads' beauty, but if one looks beyond the titilation, the story, photography, and performances in _The Vampire Lovers_ hold up very well indeed! 8 out of 10.

This film gets a lot of ribbing for the casual nudity that bedecks it. Not fair. This film is in many ways another Hammer classic with its good solid acting, its lush photography and costuming, and general sense of horror. It is based in part on Sheridan Le Fanu's classic female vampire story Carmilla about a young girl that befriends other young girls only to vampirize them. Ingrid Pitt plays the toothy(and toothsome) vampire wench in all her busty splendour. She is magnificent on the screen and oozes sex appeal. Yes, she goes topless as do her female co-stars....but although one sees that these scenes feel forced...they do not detract from the film(and for me they enhanced it greatly). The rest of the cast is good with Peter Cushing as a general in a small role and Harvey Hall as a servant standing out. The best part of the film for me is the eerie graveyard of the Castle Karnstein that we are introduced to in the prologue and again visited to in the epilogue. It really sets the mood of the story and was a pretty inspired rendition of the Carmilla tale.

I tend to like the classic horror films of Hammer, Universal, and American International, and "Vampire Lovers" is an esteemed favorite. There are many elements skillfully blended in this fine production, but the central appeal is Ingrid Pitt who breathes passionate, undead life into her role. Her impressive acting ability is matched by her smoldering screen presence and beauty. She is perfectly cast in this role. Wow, did the people who made this movie ever know what they were doing. The costumery, the lighting and photography, the staging, the acting and direction, all combine seamlessly for a stunning spectacle to be savored over and over again. This is the movie that single-handedly minted the "lesbian vampire" as a major cinematic motif, and set the standard for comparison that later entries in this genre would forever be judged by. I doubt we would ever have had such films as "Vampyres," "Vampyros Lesbos" or various Jean Rollin movies (not to mention Hammer's other Karnstein trilogy entries) without this film. And this movie could never have been as good without Ingrid Pitt. Her command of acting nuance is really something. Check out her facial expression when she's in the broken-down coach and Laura, all excited, tells her: "You're to stay with us!"

Seeing the upper nudity in a Hammer film came as a small surprise, since all the other Hammer movies I had seen are the edited versions on American TV. Mind you, I'm NOT complaining about getting to view the breasts of Ingrid Pitt.

VAMPIRE LOVERS is pretty typical of Hammer's other erotic horror movies, and as such, is pretty good. It's not real scary despite a few sudden scenes, but generates enough atmosphere to be worthwhile. It was also strange to finally see Peter Cushing playing a vampire killer who's NOT Dr. Van Helsing.

As I understand it, there are other films in this series (all of which were based on the historically evil woman Carmella, rumored to have bathed in the blood of her victims because she thought it would keep her young), which might explain why at least one character (a villainous male vampire) is never destroyed. In fact, he's never really explained.

My only complaint is some of the young actresses, though pretty and willing to show some skin, all look alike. There faces are similar, as are their bodies. Minor complaint though.