Mircalla, l'amante immortale

Like THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN (1970), this is one of the most reviled Hammer efforts - but, again, I found it not that bad after all! Still, being one of the countless vampire-themed outings from the studio, it does feel like a tired rehash of better films; actually, it happens to be the middle part of Hammer's "Karnstein Trilogy" (inspired by J. Sheridan Le Fanu's classic short story "Carmilla") - if, admittedly, the least of them. As was the case with THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970) and would be again with TWINS OF EVIL (1971), the main behind-the-scenes credits weren't the usual Hammer stalwarts: producers Harry Fine and Michael Style, screenwriter Tudor Gates and composer Harry Robinson. While the latter's score is appropriately grandiose for the most part, the love song - apparently inserted without director Sangster's consent, or even knowledge - is a total embarrassment!

It starts off well enough: all-too-typical material, to be sure, but very atmospheric (Carmilla's reincarnation, for instance, or the scene where hero Michael Johnson is surprised at the dilapidated Karnstein Castle by three cloaked female figures he takes to be vampires) and reasonably entertaining for all that. Other effective moments include: Carmilla's botched seduction of the Suzanna Leigh character; a couple of falls down a well, rendered stylized by the use of slow-motion; and the climax with the vampires trapped inside their flaming castle (lit by the inevitable torch-bearing villagers).

However, following the demise half-way through of top-billed Ralph Bates (yet another impressive turn from Hammer's candidate to replace Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee), the film slowly falls apart; reportedly, Cushing was supposed to have played the scholar/would-be vampire disciple - but I can't help feeling he'd have been both too old and ill-suited for the role. Similarly, Sangster replaced Terence Fisher: it would have been interesting to see Hammer's top director tackle "Carmilla" - but I wonder how he'd have handled the erotic aspects of the story. With its full-frontal nudity and scenes of lesbian love-making, THE VAMPIRE LOVERS had been credited with pushing the boundaries of permissiveness in Hammer horror - and this certainly follows in that tradition, with the script coming up with every possible excuse to have its scrumptious female cast disrobe!

The film does suffer from the lack of a star cast or even those familiar Hammer faces (other than Bates, that is): there's no denying that leading lady Yutte Stensgaard looks great throughout but, ultimately, she makes for an inadequate vampire (since she's depicted as being more pathetic than evil); Suzanna Leigh, then, is an equally attractive heroine; Barbara Jefford and Mike Raven, however, don't exactly ignite the screen as the Karnstein descendants (he was an especially poor choice and Hammer apparently realized this, to the extent that they had his voice dubbed by Valentine Dyall - while close-ups of Christopher Lee's eyes were roped in to 'aid' his character display the requisite fierceness!); Helen Christie is unintentionally funny as the headmistress of the school (where a good deal of the action takes place), who breaks down at ill-fated Police Inspector Harvey Hall's interrogation after a girl goes missing - which she fails to report immediately so as not to damage the school's reputation!

In the Audio Commentary, Sangster explains how he was dismissed by the producers (with whom he never saw eye to eye) during the editing stage. Suzanna Leigh spends more time discussing her career (in particular the actress' brief stint in Hollywood) than her contribution to the film proper, also mentioning her role in an episode of Hammer's JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN (1968-9) TV series - that, incidentally, was entirely filmed in Malta - and, at one point, even describes an out-of-body experience she went through in the mid-70s! However, Leigh does recall the atmosphere on the set of LUST FOR A VAMPIRE as being somewhat tense - with the troupe divided into two camps (one of which was snobbish about the profession, while the other kept a good-humored attitude towards the whole thing). Curiously, no mention is made at all of the film's literary origins - or, for that matter, the fact that it formed part of Hammer's Karnstein trilogy!

With just a few minor changes here and there, "Lust for a Vampire" easily could have been a progressive and even groundbreaking porno-movie! The title is already a-okay, don't you agree? Well so are the settings, locations and female casting choices! The film is largely set in a private school for girls in their late teenage years, and the only conditions of entrance here seem to be luscious behavior and having at least a D-cup. All the male characters are typically weak-minded losers whose actions are exclusively instructed by hormones and even the sensual music emphases the erotic atmosphere. The only thing missing is hardcore sex, in fact. But it's also still somewhat a Gothic Hammer horror movie, loosely based on the works of Sheridan Le Fanu and revolving on the notorious Camilla Karnstein myths. It's the second entry in Hammer's trilogy on the subject matter and unquestionably worse than both "The Vampire Lovers" and "Twins of Evil". This is possibly due to the cast & crew that worked on the film, though. Every avid horror fan (or, at least, avid HAMMER fan) knows that director Jimmy Sangster is not on the same quality level as Terence Fisher, Ralph Bates is no Peter Cushing and Mike Raven is just a pathetic imitator of the almighty Christopher Lee. But still, "Lust of a Vampire" lacks something else. Like a coherent script for example, or Gothic sequences that completely lack suspense. The downright stunningly beautiful Danish actress Yutte Stensgaard stars as Mircalla Herritzen, the indescribably sexy reincarnation of malicious vampire queen Carmilla Karnstein. Simultaneously with her arrival in a little town that lies near a spooky castle, other town girls turn up murdered with suspicious teeth marks in their necks. Tourist and writer Richard LeStrange decides to investigate the events, but he can't resist the gorgeousness of Mircalla's flesh. There are quite a lot of gory moments and (for their time) nasty make-up effects, but if you're hoping for genuine frights you better look elsewhere. In case you're already satisfied with some neatly morbid set pieces and a truckload of authentic sleaze, "Lust for a Vampire" is warmly recommended.

In 1830 a renowned occult novelist called Richard Le' Strange (Johnson)is taken on to teach English at an exclusive finishing school for young girls in Styria. He falls in love with one of his pupils, the beautiful Mircalla (Stensgaard), but gradually discovers that she may well be the reincarnation of the evil vampire Carmilla Karnstein. Meanwhile in the village that neighbors the school, the locals are living in the grip of fear because it is forty years to the day since the vampiric Karnstein family reincarnated themselves in search of blood and village girls have been going missing.

Hammer's adaptation of Sheridan Le' Fanu's THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970) had been successful enough to warrant a sequel, therefore Tudor Gates who had scripted the former was duly approached to script the next one. The result was a rather unsavoury brew of vampirism and lesbianism and veteran Hammer producer-writer Jimmy Sangster who was responsible for such Hammer classics as THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, Dracula and THE NANNY was brought in to direct. It was his second outing behind the camera having made his directorial debut in 1970 with Hammer's spoof THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN. This went out on a double bill with Roy Ward Baker's SCARS OF Dracula and only did average business. Whereas Sangster had enjoyed the experience of directing the Frankenstein spoof, he apparently hated LUST FOR A VAMPIRE along with his star Ralph Bates. He and Bates were apparently horrified at the preview screening when they discovered a cheesy pop song had been inserted called STRANGE LOVE sung by an unknown Tracy over the love scene between Johnson and Stensgaard.

Viewed today, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE certainly has it's flaws, for a start there is the inept casting of BBC Radio One disc-jockey Mike Raven as Count Karnstein. His voice was dubbed to make him sound like Christopher Lee and in the reincarnation sequence, a close up of Lee's bloodshot eyes from Dracula HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE was used instead of making Raven wear the red tinted contacts and doing a close up on him. Raven also appeared in Amicus's Jekyll and Hyde film I MONSTER (1971). The film also lacks a convincing hero, Johnson's Richard Le' Strange is little more than a boozy womaniser who is content to chase after a schoolgirl and the basic premise is somewhat crude. The film also shares sets with SCARS OF Dracula, Hammer fanatics will no doubt recognise the somewhat impoverished looking castle set from that picture. Yet there is still some fun to be had here, Bates gives a strong performance as the schoolmaster who lusts after Carmilla and wishes to sell his soul to the devil and Sangster stages the shock scenes with some style, especially the scene in the ruined castle where Carmilla is brought back to life.

LUST FOR A VAMPIRE wasn't all that successful, but Hammer managed to squeeze in a third outing for the Karnstein's, TWINS OF EVIL, which is in it's own right a better film by far.

"Lust for a Vampire" is the second film in Hammer Studios' "Carmilla" trilogy, also including "The Vampire Lovers" and "Twins of Evil". It's indicative of the direction in which the studio was heading during this time, playing up the sex appeal just as much as the horror content. It also has the added attraction of a tragic, different sort of love story. It's not prime Hammer, but it's certainly watchable, thanks to its blood letting, period atmosphere, and bevy of beautiful women.

The nefarious Karnstein family resurrect the legendary Carmilla - or "Mircalla", in this instance - and she takes up residence at a girls' finishing school in 1830 Austria. Shortly thereafter, a successful author named Richard Lestrange (Michael Johnson) comes to the country, and contrives himself into a teaching position at the school. There he makes the acquaintance of a weak willed instructor, Giles Barton (Ralph Bates), and falls in love with Ms. Mircalla (ravishing blonde Yutte Stensgaard), while some of the local girls go missing.

The title is very apt for this sort of story. The script by Tudor Gates is weak, and not all that interesting, while the direction of frequent Hammer screenwriter Jimmy Sangster is okay if not inspired. One major highlight is the Richard / Carmilla lovemaking scene, but many viewers will be just as happy with the topless shots of some of the actresses. Overall, this all feels pretty familiar, including the finale.

The cast is good. Bates is amusing in a change of pace mousy part, complete with glasses and bad wig. Johnson is likable as the romantic lead. Suzanna Leigh has the right amount of spirit as school employee Janet Playfair. Barbara Jefford is commanding as the conniving Countess. Mike Raven, as the Count, was presumably hired due to a resemblance to Hammer regular Sir Christopher Lee, and he's just sort of there (he's even dubbed, by the distinctively voiced Valentine Dyall). Helen Christie, as ineffective headmistress Miss Simpson, and Harvey Hall, as the understandably angry Inspector Heinrich, are very fine in support.

Viewers who've seen the other films in this trilogy will likely also enjoy this one.

Seven out of 10.

This definitely isn't the best Carmilla film (though the uncut version, unseen in the US, is highly erotic), yet it has a huge cult following largely due to the presence of Yutte Stensgaard. There are few one-hit wonder actresses in any genre who inspire such......lust. The edited US versions make this just another Hammer vampire film, the unedited version is definitely worth a look.