Vampyres

The American Cinemateque gave a hundred or so lucky viewers the opportunity to watch what is likely to be the only surviving 35MM print of this film. Having seen dozens and dozens of Vampire-themed pictures, VAMPYRES certainly rates as one of the better little-seen titles in the sub-genre. Erotic, atmospheric and genuinely creepy, this film deserves fuller treatment in genre cinema studies. It is certainly the most 'oral' of all vampire pictures (you'll fully comprehend what I mean when you see it). A perfect double bill with the similarly themed (and even better) DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS.

Have you ever been bored of either the pathetic shot-on-video goth fantasies that seem to clog up the shelves, or even good old Jess Franco's cool but boring sleaze epics? This film is pretty much alone in the Lesbian Vampire genre in that it has real zeal - the girls really seem to get into their roles and the result is the most erotic non-porn feature I've ever seen. Excellent stuff.

Vampyres is a truly atypical genre film. The girls have no fangs, their victims do not become vampires, and theirs is not so much an aversion to sunlight as a dislike. It eschews traditional bloodsucker conventions in favor of atmosphere and eroticism, and the result, though English in origin, seems more like one of the Continental horror films being made at the same time--probably thanks to Spanish director Jose Larraz.

Marianne Morris and Anulka are gorgeous and sadly sympathetic as the two undead lovers. Though slowly paced, there is an ample amount of suspense and a great deal of gore, as the beautiful ladies lick the spurting blood from the open wounds of their victims. The film also contains some of the most incredibly erotic sex scenes in any horror film (please see the uncut X-rated version). Add a Gothic mansion, plenty of lush autumnal scenery, and poetic shots of the vamps running through a graveyard at dawn, and you get a thoroughly beautiful motion picture that you won't soon forget.

Okay...this film's not for everyone. It's filled with 70's-style Euro-trash lesbian and hetero sex, loads of gore, and was shot in three weeks on a rather, ahem...modest budget, by a director who could barely speak English. The script was probably 30 pages long. But there's something afoot here. It's not un-artful, it has flashes of real chills, and it's dripping in subtext, something today's Jason/Freddy/et.al. films sorely lack. The relationship between the male protagonist, who suspects the woman making love to him is a vampire, and the vampire herself, who chooses to slowly drain him of blood rather than kill him outright like her other victims, is bizarrely moving (and kinky) on a few levels. This film won't make you forget, say, the Christopher Lee Hammer films...but it will be hard to forget in and of itself and for its own hard-earned merits.

Murder, mystery, and a soft-core vampire lesbian scene, all in the first sixty seconds. Alright, I'm just going to say it right here and now, I'm giving this one a ten. Our story begins in a dark, eerie castle in England. Inside, two hot ladies are loving on each other, the party is soon spoiled, by a mysterious figure, who shoots them dead. Now, after the title, we get the idea that it's years later, and for whatever reason, the hot ladies, Fran and Miriam, are now hot vampyres, hot vampyres who hitch rides on the side of the country road, only to lure their victims back to their lair, in the castle, to be loved on, and of course, to be drained of all blood. We got sex scenes, bloody, erotic killings, Pleasant, country scenery, and some more sex scenes, I do believe this is my all-time favorite British Horror film. Vampyres is amazing on many different levels. Our two leading ladies, are portrayed brilliantly by Marianne Morris and Anulka Dziubinska, and the subtle score is positively haunting. In this film, the atmosphere rules, it really feels like you're witnessing a dream, at least on VHS it does, not so much on DVD. That roaring sound, along with the overcast sky is just captivating. Yet another fine example of a low-budget adding to the horror vibe. One of the many problems with todays horror is that they lay everything out for you, leaving nothing for the imagination, that is not the case with Vampyres, if anything, they leave out too much, several occurrences are never explained at all, which, would probably irritate most, but if looked at it the right way, should just keep you on your toes. Ultimately, Vampyres is just beautiful, grim horror for true fans of the genre, which also happens to include some really decent sex scenes. Especially recommended to those who prefer their horror dark and hot. Jess Franco never did anything half this good. 10/10