El vampiro

Another film I have watched as part of my Halloween marathon was EL VAMPIRO/THE VAMPIRE (1957), recently released by Mondo Macabro on R0 (PAL) DVD. As I have already written in an earlier post in this thread, I was not familiar with this title outside of Carlos Clarens' book on horror movies; the very positive 'Monsters At Play' online review, then, was the factor which drove me to purchase it - and I am glad I did!

Perhaps the most influential aspect of the film is that it presents us with what is probably the screen's first fanged vampire. I have no idea whether anyone at Hammer had watched this prior to making Dracula (1958) - Terence Fisher certainly said he deliberately avoided watching the Browning/Lugosi version so as not to let himself be influenced by it - but it's rather regrettable that the later film is given all the credit for it, when it is clearly not the case.

As a matter of fact, EL VAMPIRO was a bit like the bridge which lead the genre away from the Universal style and towards Hammer horror - the look of the film was certainly inspired by the former but here we have no cutaways during vital moments (one attack by the vampire on a small boy [!] is particularly vicious), while the busy climax (a' la Hammer's Dracula) only disappoints because Count Lavud is dispatched in the conventional manner typified by the Universal films!

The plot of the film offers no surprises and even incorporates a Poe-inspired subplot, involving a premature burial, for good measure. The special effects (the vampire turning into a bat or materializing out of nowhere, only to vanish into thin air again) are well done in spite of the modest budget, providing a few undeniably effective frissons. Despite its deliberate pace (not unusual with horror films dependent on atmosphere), the film is never boring; in fact, it is quite a treat. German Robles cuts a dashing figure (much like Christopher Lee, as opposed to the likes of Max Schreck or even Lugosi) but is appropriately menacing when the moment calls for it. He makes a perfect vampire count, though his screen-time is relatively brief; producer/actor Abel Salazar (a bumbling Van Helsing-type role) is no Cushing, however, but the film does not really suffer for it. The ladies are decorative if nothing more and, thankfully, very little footage is devoted to frightened villagers or sinister-looking acolytes. If I had to classify the film in comparison to other vampire movies, I would say that EL VAMPIRO is just a few notches below the 1931 Spanish Dracula (which is appropriate as it's the one I was most reminded of when watching it).

The film's presentation on DVD is unfortunately less-than-stellar: there is a constant hiss on the soundtrack which can become annoying and the print, while far from pristine, is certainly watchable; the 22-minute Documentary on Mexican horror films was quite interesting, although I suspect few of the films mentioned are really worth looking into apart from curiosity value (THE BRAINIAC, anyone?); the film's sequel, THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN (1958) - presented in the form of a photonovel (a nice touch) - looks a bit contrived but is, perhaps, a reasonably adequate follow-up to the original.

The other Mondo Macabro titles on DVD are even more obscure: ALUCARDA (1975), at least, looks intriguing - reminiscent of Alejandro Jodorowsky's work (it was in fact directed by Juan Lopez Moctezuma, producer of FANDO & LIS and EL TOPO) which, in view of the adult nature of the film, would probably not go past the local censors (!); AWAKENING OF THE BEAST (1970) - one of the 'Coffin Joe' films; BLOOD OF THE VIRGINS (1967); and DR. JEKYLL VERSUS THE WEREWOLF (1972) - one of the 'Waldemar Daninsky' films written by and starring Paul Naschy.

My first time seeing this solid Mexican horror film properly in its original language, as intended. It's certainly one of the finest of its genre, with German Robles in good form as Count Lavud, the Vampire. A pretty young woman travels to the eerie mansion of her ancestors, accompanied by a doctor (Abel Salazar). Something is not quite right when she learns that one of her aunts has just mysteriously died, and another aunt seems rather strange and exceptionally young. It turns out that the blood-sucking Lavud is behind it all, and Salazar has to take on the role of hero. I was very impressed with the consistency in set design, production values, and all-around creepiness and foggy atmosphere that helps make this winner a classic of its kind. Abel Salazar produced this himself, reportedly very keen on following in the step of the old Universals, and it pays off handsomely. *** out of ****

The Mexican horror film, "The Vampire" was followed by "The Vampire's Coffin". Of the two, "The Vampire" is a significantly better film and is still pretty watchable today--even if both films feature the crappiest looking wire effects in the history of vampire films!

A woman's aunt has died and she's traveled for the funeral. However, what she doesn't know is that she's walking into a trap by the vampire, Count Lavud (also known as Duval). It's up to her new male friend to help her--as well as very unlikely help from beyond the grave!

While I'd never call this film especially good, it's quite atmospheric and worth seeing if you like the genre. But, you have to ignore all the obvious wires supporting the bats as well as the wire on the sword that Lavud tries to use on our hero near the end. And, like the sequel, this vampire is no Dracula. Drac was incredibly strong and rather smart-- this one is neither, though he does have style. And, he tells everyone he comes from the land of Baconia....ummm...bacon!!

I had heard a lot about this Mexican horror classic and cult film by Fernando Méndez: that it was a remarkable B&W production, that it established the vampire genre in México, that it was the first movie in which the vampire had fangs and –most of all- that it was intentionally funny in parts. I had seen its sequel, "El ataúd del vampiro" (The Vampire's Coffin) when I was 8 years old, of which I have a vague memory. Now, after 47 years of its release, I've finally seen "El vampiro" and to my surprise it is better than what I expected. Producer Abel Salazar knew what he was getting into –as probably did Luis Buñuel when he made "Abismos de pasión", adapting Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights"- and decided not only to approach the tale of an Hungarian vampire in México with humor, but to play the leading part of the doctor with comic touches, as a cynic and fearful hero. Beautiful Ariadne Welter (Tyrone Power's once sister-in-law, sometimes credited as Ariadna) is the young heroine who returns to her family hacienda in Sierra Negra (Black Sierra) and meets Salazar on her way, while they are followed by her aunt (Cuban soap opera superstar Carmen Montejo), a spinster under the spell of Count Duval (Germán Robles), the local vampire. The initial situation reminded me of the Hammer Films production "Kiss of the Vampire", which was made a few years later: a young woman being observed and chosen to be part of the undead, though in this case the open setting is darker and in obvious decay. What was surprising to me was the plot's twists, which seem quite original for its time and probably not yet equaled, mainly the introduction of a woman buried alive (Alicia Montoya) –whose appearance predates Myrna Fahey in Roger Corman's "The Fall of the House of Usher"- who protects the heroine and has a decidedly active part in the conclusion. Although screenwriter Ramón Obón takes many elements from Bram Stoker's classic novel, he introduces clever touches, immensely helped by Rosalío Solano's cinematography, Gustavo César Carrión's eerie score and Méndez' firm direction. As a research, it's also interesting to see another movie by Méndez, "Ladrón de cadáveres", which paved the way for a unique Mexican cross of genres: the wrestler and horror films.

Mexico made some great horror films in the fifties and sixties, and thanks to Casa Negra, we're now getting to enjoy some of them. Casa Negra set the bar high when they released the likes of The Black Pit of Dr M, The Curse of the Crying Woman and The Witch's Mirror, and while El Vampiro doesn't quite live up to the brilliance of those releases; it's still a more than decent little vampire flick and the atmosphere alone is likely to keep many horror fans entertained. The back of the box professes this film to be an influential classic; though to me it seemed like more of a Dracula rip-off. Anyway, as the title suggests; the film focuses on vampires, and in particular, Count Karol de Lavud. The Count has been surviving on the blood of young woman, and plans to get inside his brother's crypt to resurrect him too. The story picks up when a young girl named Martha returns to her once beautiful hometown to find it a graveyard. The vampire plans to drink her blood and add her to his list of immortal brides, and her only hope lies with the doctor who travelled with her and her butler...

The plot will be largely familiar to anyone who has seen the classic Dracula films, and that is likely to be everyone who goes to the trouble of seeing this film. However, it's easy to forgive the film for taking ideas from Bram Stoker's tale as the film does manage to stay interesting despite the familiarity of it all, and while it largely lacks substance; the film does continually look very nice, the shots of the smoke filled streets being the best that the film has to offer. The role of the vampire is taken by Germán Robles, who does well with it. He's no Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee, but he's easy to believe in the role and looks sinister enough, which is the most important thing. A problematic element of his performance, however, is the fact that he doesn't ever pose much of a threat - which is a pretty big problem. Director Fernando Méndez would go on to direct one of the best films that Casa Negra released in The Black Pit of Dr M, as well as the disappointing The Living Coffin. Overall, I can't say that this is the best Mexican horror film you're ever likely to see; but it is worth seeing and I can recommend it.