Le Monstre au masque

When the opening credits end on ATOM AGE VAMPIRE, there is a sloppy jump cut to the opening scene (A bathrobe clad showgirl returning to her dressing room) This tells us the film has been heavily censored. This is an Italian film, being released here in the states. When somebody opens their mouth, horrific dubbing, best suited for a bad porno film, takes over the scene. The showgirl (the strangely beautiful Susanne Loret. She has this hard look to her face. With her blonde peek-a-boo hairdo, she resembles a crazed Veronica Lake) survives an auto accident that scars her face. In a last ditch effort, she goes to a mad doctor, who makes good on his promise on restoring her face. You can probably figure out what happens in this somewhat predictable sci-fi offering. The one thing that shines thru the censoring and dubbing is this movie moves at a rapid pace. It should be re-made with the same haunting and disturbing qualities.

Like a previous poster mentioned, I also purchased this film for about 50 cents (USD). I wasn't expecting much from a DVD film that didn't even cost one dollar. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise! The change sequences from human to monster were amazingly well done for the time and the acting and dubbing to English were not bad either. Also, the late 50s early 60s black and white look and feel to the film was a plus. Many of the Italian made horror films I've seen from this era have a certain atmosphere and charm to them that is fascinating to watch. They often have a more bizarre or off beat story then USA made horror films of the same period. That's refreshing if you are a horror film fan like me and see lots of these movies hoping for something a little different. If you have the chance to view it, this film is well worth your time.

A crazed Professor Levin goes to rather bizarre and extreme lengths to ensure his formerly disfigured young girlfriend remains beautiful, desirable and under his control.

This Italian Science Fiction/Horror epic is really quite silly thanks in large part due to the English dubbing and likely editing. But the film does work somewhat on a soap opera level and has some better than average transformation sequences. Actually it's quite entertaining but not always for good reasons. Still it was better than I was expecting.

A young singer/dancer has a car accident and loses her good looks to several large scars on one side of her face. She is soon visited by a lady with a solution to her facial problem just as she contemplates suicide with a revolver. The lady takes her to a doctor working out of a lab in his basement that has come up with a drug/serum that will make her face all better and supposedly cause the young, beautiful girl to fall in love with him. Nothing real special here at all. The film is very Italian and cheaply-made, but it does have some nice camera work here and there. The acting leads are all hams(prosciutto)and way over the top in terms of believability. The fellow playing the policeman does do a fine job amidst the bacon around him! The film has a somewhat grainy quality and some poorly lit scenes, but atmosphere is created through the lens. Although the serum must have some component from a living-turned-recently-dead woman, the scientific premises used in the film are very big flights of fancy. I laughed quite a bit at the serious turn the film tries to make explaining that the doctor's work sprung from his experiences in Hiroshima/Nagasaki. The lines are uttered with little conviction and carry virtually no plausibility in them. Though a bad movie in many ways, one could do far worse as a means of entertaining oneself on a cold evening.

"An exotic dancer has a terrible automobile accident and, as a result, is horribly scarred, on her face. Hoping for a miracle treatment, the dancer visits a scientist who has had marvelous results in restoring patient's (sic) appearances, and is cured of her scars. Unfortunately, there are some terrible side-effects from the procedure … the scientist must use unethical methods to try and make the cure permanent. With suspicions (growing, and) the dancer's boyfriend and the authorities closing in…" according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Inappropriately re-produced as "Atom Age Vampire"; this is actually an adaptation of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", with some other horrific clichés, quite neatly layered into the mix. Mad scientist Alberto Lupo (as Alberto Levin), unappreciated Franca Parisi (as Monique), and lackey Roberto Bertea (as Sacha) are an intriguing set-up. Horribly dubbed (although, the voices are good), and painfully predictable; it very obviously wouldn't be a completely awful film, in its unaltered Italian version.

**** Atom Age Vampire (1960) Anton Giulio Majano ~ Alberto Lupo, Susanne Loret, Sergio Fantoni