User reviews

I have just seen El vampiro during a Latin American Film festival held in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, where its protagonist German Robles was present as guest of honour.

El vampiro is imaginative rather than talkative and has imagery no American fifties vampire flick can match. The story, of course, is lame and predictable, and, as Latin movies go, there is a lot of supernatural hokum coming with it. The overriding presence of Robles, together with the humor and the menacing, beautiful atmosphere, make up for it.

Vampiric action is kept to a bare minimum and the man-to-bat-metamorphosis (and vice versa) challenges in no way the 1932 standard. Nevertheless, it is one of the classics of the genre.

If you want to know how a vampire lady looks when she tries very hard to look like a vampire lady - well, the film gives you ample chance. One last thing: the soundtrack, however primitive, is a revelation: good vampire music and sound effects culminate in the humorous ending, when the leading man's words are drowned by the departing train's whistle. Nearly perfect.

My first time seeing this solid Mexican horror film properly in its original language, as intended. It's certainly one of the finest of its genre, with German Robles in good form as Count Lavud, the Vampire. A pretty young woman travels to the eerie mansion of her ancestors, accompanied by a doctor (Abel Salazar). Something is not quite right when she learns that one of her aunts has just mysteriously died, and another aunt seems rather strange and exceptionally young. It turns out that the blood-sucking Lavud is behind it all, and Salazar has to take on the role of hero. I was very impressed with the consistency in set design, production values, and all-around creepiness and foggy atmosphere that helps make this winner a classic of its kind. Abel Salazar produced this himself, reportedly very keen on following in the step of the old Universals, and it pays off handsomely. *** out of ****

A young woman (Ariadna Welter) arrives at the isolated town of Negro Sierra at the same time as a wooden crate full of Hungarian soil and a happy-go-lucky salesman (co-producer Abel Salazar) after being summoned by her uncle to the sickbed of one of her aunts. Hitching a ride with the strange man who arrives to collect the crate, the pair arrive at her family's grand hacienda to find it in a state of disrepair and her aunt already apparently dead and buried. The woman's other aunt, however, seems unchanged since the girl's visit as a child and is strangely lacking a reflection…

El Vampiro was my first taste of Mexican horror, and for some reason I was expecting some low-budget, low-talent effort. While this flick from Fernando Mendez clearly doesn't have the kind of budget enjoyed by the contemporaneous Hammer films, it certainly is the work of a decent talent. Read most of the reviews on this page and you'll find one word that keeps popping up again and again: atmosphere. This film has got it to spare with good use of light and shadow - and lashings of misty smoke - giving it a real touch of class. The film doesn't exactly gallop along, but its never dull, and overcomes the drawback of a hero who initially seems irritating but actually ends up being quite likable.

The storyline follows pretty much the same template as the Hammer flicks: virginal heroine, in danger of seduction and/or death by suave but evil vampire, is saved by dashing, heroic type (even though the hero here has a touch of the comical about him). If you're not a fan of old horror films you're not likely to be impressed by this example of the genre: by today's standards it's very tame (even though it was rated 18 on the DVD), and unlikely to scare even a ten-year old.

...and probably the best one to date.

Surprisingly creepy and atmospheric black and white Vampire movie. This looked like the Coffin Joe series at times because it has excellent settings, music, and cinematography. On the other hand, the movie has some parts that were meant to be funny but that's just Mexican typical humor that maybe some others won't understand. The direction is truly memorable, it deserves a special mention because it is very stylish and atmospheric. For example, whenever the vampire is about to attack, you can clearly see advanced camera and lightning techniques (for it's time). The way the lightning focuses on Robles' face is creepy. The events are fast paced but in a suspenseful manner.

The vampire characterization is pretty good as our main hero (or villain?) is a sui generis Mexican vampire. Germàn Robles delivers a fantastic performance based on erotism, and creepiness. Believe me, he is a unique vampire, like none other you haven't seen. Once he said that he liked how this vampire is an erotic, dark character because he appears at night, 99.9% of his victims are women that use sexy lingerie, and he likes to possess souls through their blood. His presence is creepy enough.

As one of the reviewers said, this movie obviously inspired the Hammer vampire flicks. That makes me proud as I'm Mexican and I'm a big fan of Hammer.

This movie is heavily underrated to the point that only avid Horror fans from around the world know about it; not even Mexicans seem to recall this cult Horror movie.

Please, watch this movie and you will be pleased. Recommended for Vampire Horror fans, and Horror fans of Black and White movies.

Mexico made some great horror films in the fifties and sixties, and thanks to Casa Negra, we're now getting to enjoy some of them. Casa Negra set the bar high when they released the likes of The Black Pit of Dr M, The Curse of the Crying Woman and The Witch's Mirror, and while El Vampiro doesn't quite live up to the brilliance of those releases; it's still a more than decent little vampire flick and the atmosphere alone is likely to keep many horror fans entertained. The back of the box professes this film to be an influential classic; though to me it seemed like more of a Dracula rip-off. Anyway, as the title suggests; the film focuses on vampires, and in particular, Count Karol de Lavud. The Count has been surviving on the blood of young woman, and plans to get inside his brother's crypt to resurrect him too. The story picks up when a young girl named Martha returns to her once beautiful hometown to find it a graveyard. The vampire plans to drink her blood and add her to his list of immortal brides, and her only hope lies with the doctor who travelled with her and her butler...

The plot will be largely familiar to anyone who has seen the classic Dracula films, and that is likely to be everyone who goes to the trouble of seeing this film. However, it's easy to forgive the film for taking ideas from Bram Stoker's tale as the film does manage to stay interesting despite the familiarity of it all, and while it largely lacks substance; the film does continually look very nice, the shots of the smoke filled streets being the best that the film has to offer. The role of the vampire is taken by Germán Robles, who does well with it. He's no Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee, but he's easy to believe in the role and looks sinister enough, which is the most important thing. A problematic element of his performance, however, is the fact that he doesn't ever pose much of a threat - which is a pretty big problem. Director Fernando Méndez would go on to direct one of the best films that Casa Negra released in The Black Pit of Dr M, as well as the disappointing The Living Coffin. Overall, I can't say that this is the best Mexican horror film you're ever likely to see; but it is worth seeing and I can recommend it.

Someone at Hammer studios likely saw El Vampiro before beginning the Christopher Lee vampire movies. German Robles plays the quintessential vampire, the aristocratic, natty, sensual Count Lavud (Mr. Duval). Robles would further refine his vampire in the subsequent role as the vampire Nostradamus. In many ways this movie is like a black and white precursor to the Christopher Lee vampire films. (In fact, it predates by a year those of Lee at Hammer.) The dark threatening broody atmosphere, with its swirling fog, eerie woods, stark decaying dreary structures is similar to that of the Hammer films, some of Roger Corman's, and (of course)the earlier Universal pictures. A foreboding tension keeps the viewer on edge. Abel Salazar, the producer, does a decent job in the role of the doctor who helps the heroine, Marta, played by the beautiful Ariadna Welter, attempt to stay away from Lavud's fangs and control. Marta has returned to her ancestral home in the Sierra Negra (Black Sierra) Mountains. Her beautiful aunt, Eloisa, played by Cuban born Carmen Montejo, has not aged since Marta last saw her, having succumbed to the charm of Lavud--a fate Lavud wishes for Marta. As an earlier commentator noted, this apparently is the first screen vampire with fangs. These are put to good use in one scene with his transformation to and from a bat and then attack on a small boy, which scene is riveting. The music matches the atmosphere--foreboding. The film has rather good production values for the Mexican vampire genre (really for all vampire movies). The DVD (PAL only format) from Mundo Macabro is in Spanish (with and without English subtitles) and in dubbed English and is superior to the VHS version from I.S. Filmworks (available only in dubbed English). This film is not chatty; subtitles are easy to follow and not intrusive. Neither version is in widescreen. The DVD has somewhat better technical quality than the VHS. Shock Therapy Cinema also has released a very good copy in Spanish with English subtitles in Dolby 2.0 DVD. Technical quality is superb. Other, noncommercial DVDs, in Spanish, with and without English subtitles, and dubbed can be found. Horror Theatre Video has both the Spanish with English subtitles and the dubbed English in quite good technical quality in DVD-R. Thomas_McKeon Thomas J McKeon Indianapolis USA

The Mexican horror film, "The Vampire" was followed by "The Vampire's Coffin". Of the two, "The Vampire" is a significantly better film and is still pretty watchable today--even if both films feature the crappiest looking wire effects in the history of vampire films!

A woman's aunt has died and she's traveled for the funeral. However, what she doesn't know is that she's walking into a trap by the vampire, Count Lavud (also known as Duval). It's up to her new male friend to help her--as well as very unlikely help from beyond the grave!

While I'd never call this film especially good, it's quite atmospheric and worth seeing if you like the genre. But, you have to ignore all the obvious wires supporting the bats as well as the wire on the sword that Lavud tries to use on our hero near the end. And, like the sequel, this vampire is no Dracula. Drac was incredibly strong and rather smart-- this one is neither, though he does have style. And, he tells everyone he comes from the land of Baconia....ummm...bacon!!

I had heard a lot about this Mexican horror classic and cult film by Fernando Méndez: that it was a remarkable B&W production, that it established the vampire genre in México, that it was the first movie in which the vampire had fangs and –most of all- that it was intentionally funny in parts. I had seen its sequel, "El ataúd del vampiro" (The Vampire's Coffin) when I was 8 years old, of which I have a vague memory. Now, after 47 years of its release, I've finally seen "El vampiro" and to my surprise it is better than what I expected. Producer Abel Salazar knew what he was getting into –as probably did Luis Buñuel when he made "Abismos de pasión", adapting Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights"- and decided not only to approach the tale of an Hungarian vampire in México with humor, but to play the leading part of the doctor with comic touches, as a cynic and fearful hero. Beautiful Ariadne Welter (Tyrone Power's once sister-in-law, sometimes credited as Ariadna) is the young heroine who returns to her family hacienda in Sierra Negra (Black Sierra) and meets Salazar on her way, while they are followed by her aunt (Cuban soap opera superstar Carmen Montejo), a spinster under the spell of Count Duval (Germán Robles), the local vampire. The initial situation reminded me of the Hammer Films production "Kiss of the Vampire", which was made a few years later: a young woman being observed and chosen to be part of the undead, though in this case the open setting is darker and in obvious decay. What was surprising to me was the plot's twists, which seem quite original for its time and probably not yet equaled, mainly the introduction of a woman buried alive (Alicia Montoya) –whose appearance predates Myrna Fahey in Roger Corman's "The Fall of the House of Usher"- who protects the heroine and has a decidedly active part in the conclusion. Although screenwriter Ramón Obón takes many elements from Bram Stoker's classic novel, he introduces clever touches, immensely helped by Rosalío Solano's cinematography, Gustavo César Carrión's eerie score and Méndez' firm direction. As a research, it's also interesting to see another movie by Méndez, "Ladrón de cadáveres", which paved the way for a unique Mexican cross of genres: the wrestler and horror films.

Another film I have watched as part of my Halloween marathon was EL VAMPIRO/THE VAMPIRE (1957), recently released by Mondo Macabro on R0 (PAL) DVD. As I have already written in an earlier post in this thread, I was not familiar with this title outside of Carlos Clarens' book on horror movies; the very positive 'Monsters At Play' online review, then, was the factor which drove me to purchase it - and I am glad I did!

Perhaps the most influential aspect of the film is that it presents us with what is probably the screen's first fanged vampire. I have no idea whether anyone at Hammer had watched this prior to making Dracula (1958) - Terence Fisher certainly said he deliberately avoided watching the Browning/Lugosi version so as not to let himself be influenced by it - but it's rather regrettable that the later film is given all the credit for it, when it is clearly not the case.

As a matter of fact, EL VAMPIRO was a bit like the bridge which lead the genre away from the Universal style and towards Hammer horror - the look of the film was certainly inspired by the former but here we have no cutaways during vital moments (one attack by the vampire on a small boy [!] is particularly vicious), while the busy climax (a' la Hammer's Dracula) only disappoints because Count Lavud is dispatched in the conventional manner typified by the Universal films!

The plot of the film offers no surprises and even incorporates a Poe-inspired subplot, involving a premature burial, for good measure. The special effects (the vampire turning into a bat or materializing out of nowhere, only to vanish into thin air again) are well done in spite of the modest budget, providing a few undeniably effective frissons. Despite its deliberate pace (not unusual with horror films dependent on atmosphere), the film is never boring; in fact, it is quite a treat. German Robles cuts a dashing figure (much like Christopher Lee, as opposed to the likes of Max Schreck or even Lugosi) but is appropriately menacing when the moment calls for it. He makes a perfect vampire count, though his screen-time is relatively brief; producer/actor Abel Salazar (a bumbling Van Helsing-type role) is no Cushing, however, but the film does not really suffer for it. The ladies are decorative if nothing more and, thankfully, very little footage is devoted to frightened villagers or sinister-looking acolytes. If I had to classify the film in comparison to other vampire movies, I would say that EL VAMPIRO is just a few notches below the 1931 Spanish Dracula (which is appropriate as it's the one I was most reminded of when watching it).

The film's presentation on DVD is unfortunately less-than-stellar: there is a constant hiss on the soundtrack which can become annoying and the print, while far from pristine, is certainly watchable; the 22-minute Documentary on Mexican horror films was quite interesting, although I suspect few of the films mentioned are really worth looking into apart from curiosity value (THE BRAINIAC, anyone?); the film's sequel, THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN (1958) - presented in the form of a photonovel (a nice touch) - looks a bit contrived but is, perhaps, a reasonably adequate follow-up to the original.

The other Mondo Macabro titles on DVD are even more obscure: ALUCARDA (1975), at least, looks intriguing - reminiscent of Alejandro Jodorowsky's work (it was in fact directed by Juan Lopez Moctezuma, producer of FANDO & LIS and EL TOPO) which, in view of the adult nature of the film, would probably not go past the local censors (!); AWAKENING OF THE BEAST (1970) - one of the 'Coffin Joe' films; BLOOD OF THE VIRGINS (1967); and DR. JEKYLL VERSUS THE WEREWOLF (1972) - one of the 'Waldemar Daninsky' films written by and starring Paul Naschy.

From what I can gather, this film kickstarted the Mexican horror genre. And its not a bad place to start. Released a year before Hammer's Dracula movie, this one could hardly be described of being influenced by the famous old British studio, quite the contrary, as this feels very much like a movie of influence itself. It was in fact one of the very first horror movies to clearly show the vampire incisor teeth and bite marks. Its story has a young woman travel to her ancestral home, only to discover one of her aunts is dead and the other hasn't aged for about thirty years! Could a vampire maybe be responsible?

The story is none-too-interesting but that's almost par for the course in this type of gothic horror outing and this one does benefit from its Mexican setting which ensures it is more distinctive than most. It also displays a great deal of attention to atmospherics and detailed set design. So, with these plus points added to its early placing in vampire cinema, this makes this one a definite watch for anyone with a strong interest in the films of this sub-genre.

Producer Abel Salazar and lead German Robles, the most indelible stars of Mexico's horror genre, captured the imagination with 1957's "The Vampire" ("El Vampiro") and its sequel "The Vampire's Coffin," plus "The Brainiac" and "The Living Head" (in addition, Robles played a vampire in "El Castillo de los Monstruos" before a quartet of Nostradamus features: "The Curse of Nostradamus," "The Monsters Demolisher," "The Genie of Darkness" and "The Blood of Nostradamus"). Far more prolific as an actor, Salazar helped spearhead the K. Gordon Murray invasion north of the border with six more titles of varied interest: "The Man and the Monster," "The World of the Vampires," "The Witch's Mirror," "The Brainiac," "The Living Head" and "The Curse of the Crying Woman." "The Vampire" may have come first, the filmmakers admittedly inspired by Bela Lugosi's interpretation ('Dracula set on a hacienda'), but even viewed during its time can only rank as average, the obviously low budget revealing itself with the nonexistent man-into-bat sequences, at least cleverly cutting from the vampire ready to leap into the air to a shot of a bat on a wire. Ramon Obon's script supplies the atmosphere but tends to drag with its excess of dialogue, despite the likability of Salazar as the amateur vampire hunter, and especially ingenue Adriadne Welter, who also returns for the sequel (lesser roles to come in "The Brainiac" and "100 Cries of Terror"). Set in Sierra Negra, pretty young Martha arrives to visit her ailing Aunt Mary (Alicia Montoya) at family estate The Sycamores, accompanied by traveling salesman Henry, actually a doctor summoned to examine Mary, whom we see entombed in the crypt before they finally arrive, her sister the black clad Aunt Eloise (Carmen Montejo) not present due to her undead state (attacked in the pre credits sequence and now serving the master). The property has been terribly run down for years, Aunt Mary terrified by a vampire's curse to claim her for a victim, Count Lavud (German Robles) finally emerging at the 24 minute mark to receive a coffin filled with his native soil from Baconia, firmly ensconced in Mexico where his brother had perished a hundred years ago and is now ready for revival in two moons. His ultimate goal is to purchase The Sycamores from the delectable Martha, to the extent that she becomes his latest target for a living blood bank (he only needs two attacks to make her his undead mistress), only her pesky Aunt Mary simply refuses to stay dead and in fact proves to be the one who finds the Count's lair to drive a lengthy stake through his heart (the sequel picks up where this leaves off). Director Fernando Mendez ("The Vampire's Coffin," "The Black Pit of Dr. M," "The Living Coffin") gets by with a few rickety sets and the staging does feature some nice shots of the Count magically appearing in a beam of light, the attacks featuring not only bared fangs (before even Christopher Lee for Hammer) but the bloodsucker shown to bite his victims on the neck, even a young boy doesn't get spared. Its most egregious error is in giving little screen time to the central menace, Robles also shortchanged in the sequel, in which his Count just doesn't convey much menace, requiring a sword off the wall to duel the would be hero to a standstill. It's no carbon copy of Bela's triumph and is quite different in tone yet there are enough charms to carry it through, and remains superior to "The Vampire's Coffin."

This is probably the best Mexican vampire movie. The sets are great(Azteca Studio).The atmosphere is dank with swirling fog and mist. A young girl returns to her childhood home with a doctor she met on a train. The doctor holds a secret. The girl's family has an aunt under the spell of the vampire. The Count sets his sights on Marta and plans to resurrect his long dead brother. The mood and the music are fantastic. Only thing keeping this from a 10 is the cheesy dubbed dialogue. Hard to find but well worth it.

Fernando Méndez' "El Vampiro" is atmospheric and competently made 50's Mexican horror, but it isn't nearly as mesmerizing as some of the contemporary genre-achievements coming from that same country, like "The Black Pit of Dr. M" (also directed by Méndez) and "Curse of the Crying Woman". This is mainly because the premise of the film hasn't got anything truly original to offer. Like the title implies already, it's a standard vampire tale with a plot revolving on a Hungarian count surviving on the blood of local Mexican women and hoping to resurrect his long lost brother from the dead. To achieve this, Count de Lavud needs to get inside the family vault of the Gonzalez' hacienda. He already seduced aunt Eloisa and made her one of his immortal brides, and when the beautiful niece Martha returns to the family mansion after several years, the count plans to take over her will as well. Martha's only hope for rescue lies with her mysterious traveling partner, a doctor of some sort, and her devoted uncle Emilio. The Gothic decors and the incredibly stylish black & white photography are a true lust for the eye, but the film is too talkative and lacking moments of genuine suspense. Multiple other reviewers around here seem convinced that this movie, and lead actor Germán Robles' performance in particular, severely influenced Hammer Studios before they came up with their interpretation of Dracula. Perhaps this is true, judging by the extended close-ups of Robles' penetrating stare, but still Christopher Lee portrays a much more petrifying and memorable monster. The entire middle section of the film drags a little and Méndez spends too much time on the relationship between Martha and Dr. Enrique. There are, however, hints at one really inventive sub plot in the script, involving a prematurely buried other aunt, but that particular storyline isn't properly elaborated like it should have. It's a shame about the story, but "El Vampiro" is nevertheless recommended viewing if it were for the sinister atmosphere and ominous set pieces alone.

A brand new Box-Set of Mexico's Vampire pictures just came out in Brazil, "El Vampiro" was the first one on Mexican marketplace that gained a sequel in the next year, we couldn't say that such productions were the forerunner at all of Hammer's movies, actually all foreigner features were based on the Universal's Dracula starred by Bella Lugosi, it was the beginning of whole thing, here we can see many elements borrowed from the original, however it displayed some fresh stuffs, the vampires employed telepathy, indeed in early scenes they are able to appears from out of nowhere, rarely seen before, plus mostly of their victims died at first bite, too unusual.

The story takes place at Mexico countryside where the young pretty girl Marta Gonzales (Ariadna Welter) was invited by her aunt & uncle that ought coming faster to the farm, she arrives there on a delayed train, thus nobody is there to pick her, she meets a traveling salesman Enrique (Abel Salazar) in the same plight, due an odd curse has been occurred on this place the small village is almost empty, they luckily get a ride at Count Duval's wagon that was there to bring a strange box from Hungary, soon they arrives at the decaying Hacienda, which the Count intents to acquire by all means, sadly Marta receives the bad news over the untimely decease of her beloved aunt Maria Teresa, also stayed baffled by meets her another auntie Eloisa (Carmen Montejo) still so young.

Actually Henrique is a doctor and was requested there by Emilio (Jiménez) to certify the mental health of his sister Maria Teresa (Alice Montoya), that night the Vampire strikes again at Marta's neck, nonetheless a sudden twist will changes everything, the picture has a gothic atmosphere, the mist is perennial, apart the underground sets is poorly made, the storyline is enough auspicious to erase some possible flaws, the Vampire played masterly by Germán Robles is mainstream, across the border a worthy effort from Mexico, worthywhile a look.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 2021 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5.

After watching the abysmal The Aztec Mummy and Curse of the Aztec Mummy, I almost swore off Mexican horror movies entirely, but I'm glad I didn't. El Vampiro isn't groundbreaking, being heavily influenced by Universal's classic vampire films, but its familiarity makes it a cosy watch, the film delivering a lot of the things I enjoy about old gothic vampire films: a neglected, cobweb-strewn house in the middle of nowhere, swirling mist, a dingy old crypt, rubber vampire bats on visible wires, and hidden passageways.

Ariadne Welter plays Marta Gonzalez, who travels back to her family's hacienda to find that her beloved aunt María (Alicia Montoya) has recently died and been interred in the family crypt; she also learns that her other aunt, Eloisa (Carmen Montejo) wishes to sell the property to neighbour Duval (Germán Robles). Little does she realise Eloisa is in league with Duval, a vampire who is hoping to resurrect his long dead brother whose body also lies in the crypt.

Director Fernando Méndez maintains a decent pace throughout, and delivers bags of gloomy atmosphere, while his unashamed use of numerous hokey vampire movie cliches ensures that El Vampiro is a fun film from start to finish. The cast are great, Robles suitably menacing as the evil count, Welter making for a decent damsel in distress, and Abel Salazar likeable as Dr. Enrique, whose house call turns into a fight against evil (the upside is that he gets the girl in the end).

Pretty Marta (Ariadna Welta) returns to her ancestral home, only to discover that her beloved aunt is dead, and the once grand estate is greatly dilapidated. The forbidding atmosphere is drenched in dismal doom, her other aunt appears strangely youthful, suggesting something monstrous is afoot! The blood-chilling horror escalates following the arrival of darkly mysterious Count Lavud. With engaging performances, evocative, eerily cobwebbed sets, a charming protagonist, with German Robles making for a mesmerizingly malign revenant! Compelling, immaculately staged Gothic horror, The Vampire is a scintillatingly spooky South American shocker well worth sinking your teeth into.

THE BRAINIAC himself, Abel Salazar, gets to play the likable, witty doctor hero in this solid gothic chiller from Mexico. One of the first movies ever to show a traditional style vampire's fangs onscreen (unless you "count" the silent NOSFERATU), THE VAMPIRE (or EL VAMPIRO) also began the noteworthy horror career of vampire actor German Robles, here cast as the evil Count Lavud, who sleeps in a coffin with an automatic lid and wears a suit that looks like he borrowed it from Bela Lugosi's Dracula. The story is efficiently told and features many of the classic elements of the best gothic fiction, such as the innocent heroine who returns to her childhood home (here a hacienda) to find it a sad, neglected ruin, the mysterious aunt who's clearly up to something, the vaguely threatening stranger with an eye on the family property, and the ghostly black-robed figure of unknown loyalty. The atmospherically lit, dust-and-cobweb-covered sets and stylishly shadowy night scenes make this a visual treat, and the mood of impending danger from beyond the grave is well sustained. Lavud spells his name backward to become "Duval", a trick he must have gotten from watching Lon Chaney introduce himself as "Alucard" in SON OF DRACULA. He plans to turn the heroine into a soulless undead slave and to resurrect a second master bloodsucker, a relative who was destroyed by the townspeople a century before. Despite all the bits cribbed from Universal's old vampire films, this one still has enough flair and good moments to stand on its own merits. Its greatest flaw could well be its special effects, which accomplish man-into-bat transformations with simple "stop and start the camera" tricks in the manner later used regularly on TV comedies like BEWITCHED and I DREAM OF JEANNIE. The technique was already looking pretty outdated by 1957 standards. But THE VAMPIRE does a lot of things right, and it's impossible to dislike a movie that trowels on the atmosphere the way this one does. It's also the only vampire film I've ever seen in which an undead creature of the night is defeated simply by getting strangled with someone's bare hands, as well as the only one I can recall in which the Dracula type character goes right on talking even after he's turned into a huge furry bat! The actors all all good, especially Salazar and Robles, and the music is appropriately bombastic. Check it out! Followed by the sequel THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN.

EL VAMPIRO is Director Fernando Mendez' atmosheric horror film about Count Karol de Lavud (German Robles), and his bloodsucking reign of terror. Two strangers (Ariadne Welter and Abel Salazar) meet at a train station, and venture together into a town where the locals do not leave their homes after dark. They wind up at the woman's crumbling, ancestral mansion, where an ally of de Lavud awaits.

It is soon revealed that the Count has a master plan that could make him invincible.

Those who have never seen this are missing out on one of the best, most macabre vampire films of all time. Mr. Robles is right up there with Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee, playing Lavud as a monster displaying an elegance that barely holds back a bestial bloodlust. Carmen Montejo is fantastic as Eloisa, de Lavud's sinister servant / partner in crime.

A good story with a classic finale...