Sangre de vírgenes

South America isn't best known for producing films; but there were a handful of decent horror films coming out of places like Mexico and Brazil in the fifties, sixties and seventies. Argentina is one of the less well known for producing horror; although they did deliver The Curious Dr. Humpp in 1971, and also this film in 1967. Blood of the Virgins (not to be confused with the probably superior Harald Reinl film from the same year) is not a great film by any means and I can certainly understand why it doesn't exactly have a strong fan base as it could have been a lot better, but it is at least a decent way to waste seventy five minutes. The film starts by focusing on two lovers; Ofelia and an eerie stranger named Gustavo. Ofelia is due to be married to a suitor and naturally her lover doesn't take too kindly to that so, being a vampire, he decides to kill the husband and turn Ofelia into a vampire so the pair can spend all eternity together. We then cut to 1960 where a bunch of dumb kids take shelter in an abandoned lodge after breaking down.

The start of the film actually seemed like the opening to a really interesting vampire movie; so it's a real shame that writer and director Emilio Vieyra got lazy and decided to go with the old 'bunch of kids' routine rather than focusing on the far more interesting story of Ofelia and her vampire lover. I guess he figured that the kids would sell better and that's a shame as the film becomes completely routine after the first fifteen minutes. The atmosphere is good at the start of the film too as the director keeps things nicely shrouded in mystery, but this too evaporates after the film moves into its second stage. Naturally, the acting is nothing to write home about and nobody particularly impresses for doing anything over than delivering a camp performance. There's a fair bit of gore, which is nice except for the fact that it all looks very cheap and fake. Overall, I probably would have better things to say about this film if the opening fifteen minutes were stretched out over the seventy five minute running time; but nevertheless, Blood of the Virgins is just about worth a look for horror fans.

Buxom blonde Ofelia (Susana Beltrán) is pressured by her family into marrying Eduardo, even though she loves Gustavo (Walter Kliche). What she doesn't know is that the man she really loves is actually a vampire. On Ofelia's wedding night, Gustavo sneaks into the marital bedroom as Eduardo is getting busy with his new wife, stabs the man through the neck with a dagger, and ends Ofelia's life by draining her of blood.

Later, when Ofelia has been buried, Gustavo goes to her grave to see her rise from the dead as a bloodsucker. The pair are reunited. Cue groovy, animated, psychedelic titles…

Titles over, we are introduced to a group of hippies/beatniks who are on holiday, sightseeing, skiing and attending swinging parties where the women take off their clothes to jiggle their bits. While driving down a remote road, the gang's van runs out of fuel, leaving them stranded, cold and miles from their destination. Fortunately, one of the them is familiar with the area and knows of an abandoned lodge not too far away, so the group head for shelter, unaware that vampire Gustavo and his big-breasted 'bride' are lurking nearby, waiting to feed.

Directed by Argentinian Emilio Vieyra, who also gave us the bizarre cult classic The Curious Case of Dr. Humpp (1969), and the rather entertaining oddity The Deadly Organ (1967), Blood of the Virgins is packed with wild visuals, jazzy music, soft-core sex, a smattering of gore, and hot women with large breasts (Vieyra might not be able to tell a seagull from a bat, but his good taste in women is in no doubt—as well as Beltrán, there's also gorgeous brunette Gloria Prat as Laura, one of the vamps' victims), all of which makes it a reasonable time-waster despite the rather routine plot and some atrocious acting.

The worst aspect of this film is most definitely the tired script. For starters, the basic plot involves a group of young people running out of petrol and having to spend the night in a creepy house (not very original). It then turns out that the house is populated by vampires (not that you wouldn't have guessed that from the title of the film). It doesn't get any better after that either.

But the film does have a certain charm. The obligatory (for a 1967 horror film that is) sex and drugs scene at the beginning of the film is good fun (love that music!). The lead female vampire is very attractive and as such is destined to be seen naked at some point in the film. The surreal use of a seagull filmed through a red filter as a cheap alternative to a bat also adds to the charm of the film.

Overall, it's a recommended film if you're a fan of vampire films and haven't yet seen the genre done Argentinian-style.

Zzzzzzzzzzz

How many ways can you write off yet another foreign vampire film whose main concern seems to be how many girls in gowns, fangs and breasts it can offer during its running time? Hey, this isn't a bad thing in itself -- but nothing else of any substance is happening here, and this is an easily passable snoozer from Argentina that you can use to help you sleep, if need be. The only things saving this from being rated a total BOMB - aside from the aforementioned babes, that is - would be an artsy credits sequence at the beginning and a couple of well executed kill sequences to open one eyelid for in between naps. * out of ****

A group of obnoxious swingers are touring the vamp's area when their hippie van collapses,leaving them to spend an unforgettable and seemingly unlivable evening at the Count's lodge.The Count has kept an unwilling yet equally undead bride in his clutches and the blood begins to flow...I kind of enjoyed this trashy little flick,however there are some incredibly dull and boring spots.The acting is very bad,the atmosphere is non-existent,but if you are a fan of exploitation flicks,who enjoys watching bare breasts of some fine looking Argentinian ladies you may want to give this blood-sucker a try.Cinematically we're treated to numerous topless Go-Go dancers who wiggle wildly to cool-school jazz while inserts of sea gulls double for vampire bats.Vieyra's genre credits include:"The Deadly Organ",the mind-blowing "Curious Dr. Humpp" and of course "Blood of the Virgins".My generous rating:6 out of 10.