La fille de Dracula

Actually I can be very positive about this movie, since it's a Jesus Franco movie that I didn't hated watching for a change. Still, it's far from being a great movie but it at least is watchable and even has some good moments in it.

Best thing about this movie is that it manages to create a good atmosphere. It's honestly a good looking movie and especially all of the sex sequences are filmed very well. Yes, it's a Jesus Franco movie, so it of course features quite a lot of nudity and sex in it. This time it involves girls only, so prepare yourself for some steamy lesbian moments. I'm actually getting real tired of these lesbian undertones in vampire movies but it's done quite well in this movie, so I have simply nothing to complain about, in this case.

The story is being somewhat pleasant and easy to follow, which is not something you could say for every Jesus Franco movie. Haven't said that, it's nothing too solid or original really. Even it's title is incredible formulaic but oh well, at least it still sounds good in French.

And this goes for the dialog as well. It's all better sounding in French and lets the actors come across as if they knew what they were doing. Still it's very obvious that most of the actor's voices got dubbed because they were non-French speaking ones. But this at least isn't anything too distracting and I don't know, it sort of adds to the charm of these sort of movies a well.

I'm not sure about it though that there is plenty for the horror/vampire lovers to enjoy. It's a movie that is more about its atmosphere really and not so much about its blood or scares. If this sound appealing enough to you, this movie is still worth checking out.

Not a great movie by any means but by normal Jesus Franco standards, it's definitely still a good and watchable enough movie.

5/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Daughter of Dracula (1972)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Luisa Karlstein (Britt Nichols) is called to the home of her dying mother who finally reveals the family secret. The secret that she has been hiding from her daughter is that they are a family a vampires. Soon Luisa is bitten by Count Karlstein (Howard Vernon) and before long more bodies begin to pile up.

Jess Franco's LA FILLE DE Dracula (aka Dracula'S DAUGHTER or DAUGHTER OF Dracula among others) isn't the best vampire film that the Spanish director did but there are enough interesting moments to make it worth watching if you're a fan of his. Obviously Franco calls for a very acquired taste and most people are going to hate his pictures with a passion. You either get them or you don't but there are a few that can be enjoyed by the more mainstream crowd but this here isn't one of them.

As is the case with a lot of the director's work, LA FILLE DE Dracula contains very little plot. In fact, you really can't make heads or tails out of a lot of it but this just lets the director build up at atmosphere, which is one of the high marks. I also thought the music score by Daniel White was extremely good and you've also got some great locations. Another plus is the beautiful Nichols who is very good in her role and we all know that the director knows how to film women. I also thought Vernon was fun in his part and Franco himself plays a small role.

There are several problems with this film including the pacing, which is certainly hit and miss. I'd also argue that a bit more of a story would have helped the picture because it does drag in spots. Finally, and perhaps most shockingly, the film really isn't as erotic as you'd hope and especially when you consider what VAMPYROS LESBOS was like. Still, if you're a fan of Franco you'll still want to check this out. Others should probably start somewhere else.

I watched Dracula's Daughter somtime ago and i found it to be a very good film. The film is directed by Jess Franco, who has made many films with sex and female nudity in them. The story is about a young woman(Britt Nichols) goes to visit her very ill grandmother. whilst on her death bed at her family estate, she tells her granddaughter a horrible curse that all the rest of her family are all vampires. The granddaughter decidses to move into the house with her cousin and her uncle.

Not long after moving in some of the local village people fall victims to her, the film includes quite a bit of female nudity, lesbianisam, and lesbian sex. I think that it is a very good made film that also features some good actors including (Howard Vernon) who plays Count Karstien. Also Jess Franco plays a part in the film. This film is a very rarely shown much. A very good film though..

Jess Franco's Dracula's Daughter is a bit of a combination of genre styles that were popular in 1972. Its part lesbian vampire film, part giallo and part sexploitation. In fairness it isn't all that successful in any of those sub-genres. The reason I guess is a common one when it comes to Franco and that's that it seems to have been knocked together too quickly for its own good. You can't help but think that there's the basis of a decent film here but it ultimately doesn't add up to a great deal.

The vampire part of the story is never developed very clearly and there aren't any actual scary horror moments. In fact poor Howard Vernon plays Count Dracula but never even gets to get out of his coffin. I haven't really got any good idea why this is so but that's just the way it is. Similarly, the giallo thread is sort of there but at no point does Franco go to the trouble of generating any actual suspense (does he ever?) so it really doesn't add an awful lot and ultimately promises more than it delivers. While from a sexploitation perspective I can't say it was too erotic, the titillation is strictly forgettable. Sometimes Franco really needs a great leading lady like Soledad Miranda to make this kind of stuff work but he doesn't have anyone of that high calibre here unfortunately.

It's not a complete wash out though. There is some decent photography at times, and the locations are pretty nice. While the typical Franco weirdness is always sort of interesting to watch. This is not one of his better films. Having said that it sure isn't one of his worst either. I guess ultimately it's one that can only really be recommended to Franco fans; for everyone else, enter at your own risk.

Personally, I happen to be a great fan of the prolific Spanish Horror/Exploitation deity Jess Franco. The man's impressive repertoire of about 200 film doubtlessly includes masterpieces as well as crap, and everything in-between. Though his very best films ("The Awful Dr. Orlof", "Miss Muerte") range back to the 60s, the early 70s are maybe the most 'typical' period in Franco's oeuvre, as the film he made then were already very sleazy, but still very elegant, and had not yet descended into the cheapness of the majority (but not all) of his 80s offerings. His arguably most famous film, "Vampyros Lesbos" (1971) is from that time, as are other lesbian vampire/erotic Horror gems, such as "Christina, Princesse De L'Erotisme" (1973), or this film, "La Fille de Dracula" (aka. "Dracula's Daughter") of 1972. This is a rather typical example for Erotic Horror by Franco from the early 70s: Supremely elegant, eerie, wonderfully photographed and full of sleaze, lesbianism and gorgeous naked women, very weird, and not exactly focused on a logical plot.

The film begins with a beautiful young woman who strips naked in order to take a bath. She is thereby watched, and later attacked by an unseen, but obviously female vampire... Castle Karlstein: On her deathbed, the old Baroness Karlstein tells a morbid family-secret to her beautifully young daughter Luisa (Britt Nichols)... Soon thereafter, Luisa starts doing lesbian stuff with her cousin Karine (Anne Libert), while more dead bodies pile up around the castle...

The family name 'Karlstein' is obviously a reference to 'Karnstein', the vampire family name in the Sheridan Le Fanu's pioneering lesbian vampire novel "Carmilla" on which countless European Horror productions are based. I'm not sure why they changed the name; the novel is from 1872, so copyright issues couldn't be the reason. Avoiding a close association with the British Hammer Studio's Karnstein trilogy might be the reason; but then, Jess Franco never was afraid to steal names and titles in order to cash in.

The ravishing redhead Britt Nichols is a joy to look at, as are the other female cast members. This wouldn't be a Franco flick if any of the female cast members didn't get naked at some point. There is plenty of lesbianism and sleaze, and the cast includes the best of Franco's typical ensemble cast. Apart from Britt Nichols and Anne Libert, the female cast also includes director Franco's muse and later wife Lina Romay. The male cast includes Franco-regulars Luis Barboo and Alberto Dalbés, and his favorite actor, the great Howard Vernon, who is wasted in a role with hardly any screen time. Franco, who often did cameos in his films, has a bigger role than usual in this film.

Franco's photography and settings are almost always elegant, and in this film in particular. The outdoor scenes were beautifully done in Portugal and Spain, especially the coastal village where most of the film was shot is a wonderful location. The score consists of Franco-typical tunes ranging somewhere between jazzy and eerie. The film has its genuinely gloomy and atmospheric sequences. Sadly, one must say that there are several lengthy periods in-between the atmosphere and sleaze. The film is bizarre, but sometimes also very confused and lacking any logic. Nonetheless, "La Fille de Dracula" is an overall enjoyable and atmospheric wholesome which is especially recommendable for its gorgeous female cast-members. 6.5/10