L'héritière de Dracula

'Vampyros Lesbos' is one of the high points of 1970s exploitation movies. This movie has something for everybody! Vampires, gratuitous nudity (especially memorable from the stunningly beautiful and ill fated Soledad Miranda), violence, pretentious symbolism, some aesthetically pleasing scenery and camera work, all bound together by one of the most unique genre-busting rock scores ever, chock full of fuzz guitars and electric sitar.

The legendary Jess Franco has made more cult movies than the mind can conceive of, but this must surely stand out as one of the most artistically successful of his career. 'Vampyros Lesbos' manages to juggle sex, art, trash and horror, and impresses on every level. A truly wondrous movie! Don't miss this one (uncut, natch) if you get the chance!

In Istanbul, the lawyer of Simpson & Simpson Linda Westinghouse (Ewa Stromberg) has erotic dreams with a strange woman every night and her analyst Dr. Alwin Seward (Denis Price) suggests her to find another lover. Linda is assigned to resolve an inheritance issue with the Hungarian Countess Nadine Oskudar (Soledad Miranda) that has inherited a real estate from Count Dracula. Linda leaves her boyfriend Omar (Victor Feliman) in the Istanbul Hilton and travels to the Kadidados Island. While waiting for transportation in the continent, Linda is advised by a local that the island would be a place of death and insanity and she should not travel to there. However, she does not pay attention to the man and meets Countess Oskudar that is a lesbian vampire fascinated by Linda. The Countess drinks the blood of Linda and she has amnesia and is sent to a mental institution where Dr, Steiner (Paul Muller) who is also a vampire expert, treats her and puts an advertisement in the newspapers. Omar finds Linda and Dr. Steiner teaches her how to kill a vampire. Linda has to be very powerful to resist the spell of Countess Oskudar that has a crush on her and destroy the vampire.

"Vampiros Lesbos" is an erotic and cult version of Bram Stoker's Dracula by Jesus Franco. The story is very similar to the classic novel of 1897, but instead of Count Dracula, the vampire is a sexy female that was raped by Dracula centuries ago and does not like man. The lead actresses Ewa Stromberg and Soledad Miranda are very beautiful and undress practically in every scene. The film is very entertaining and funny. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Vampiras Lésbicas" ("Lesbian Vampires")

Vampyros Lesbos (1970)

*** (out of 4)

Jess Franco's cult classic has a real estate worker (Ewa Stromberg) going to visit a mysterious woman (Soledad Miranda) who just happens to be a vampire. Soon the two enter a deadly mix of sex and violence. This is my third viewing of the film and I enjoyed it more this time than ever before. I watched the newer print of this film and the colors are downright beautiful and quite striking to look at. The film works on many levels but the biggest one is the terrific surreal nature that Franco creates. If you need action or a quick moving film then this certainly isn't for you. If you prefer something that takes its time to deliver then this is a wonderful selection. The jazz score adds a lot to the atmosphere and the locations are easy to look out. The best thing about this movie is the performance by Miranda who sadly was killed shortly after finishing this film. Her quite and calm performance makes her character one of the most memorable of all Euro horror. The way she quietly glides through the film also helps the atmosphere. Supporting players Dennis Price, Paul Muller and Franco himself do nice jobs as well. This is a perfect little gem that manages to be very dreamlike and haunting at the same time. The biggest downfall are all the zoom shots, which normally don't bother me but they're very distracting here.

Linda Westinghouse(Ewa Stromberg)travels to a small island in Turkey to help Countess Nadine Carody(beautiful Soledad Miranda)complete an inheritance from Dracula's.The Countess turns out to be someone appearing in her dreams.But the Countess is a vampire and seduces Linda and drinks her blood."Las Vampiras"/"Vampyros Lesbos" is really a soft-core lesbian take on "Dracula".The film is filled with hallucinatory atmosphere and sensuality,so fans of violent exploitation may be disappointed.Jesus Franco plays a creepy hotel worker who likes to take women down into the basement.The soundtrack is pretty groovy-I liked it a lot.Overall,"Vampyros Lesbos" is a masterpiece and a must-see for fans of sleazy horror.

This has got to be one of the most surreal films ever made. The film brilliantly combines weird art-house imagery with sexadelic soft-core to create a genuinly original film, full of strange gothic colours and futuristic, freefall visuals. The eerie soundtrack of spacey synths and sexy piano sleeze brilliantly captures Linda's confusion as she enters the world of the mysterious Countess. This film is quite unlike anything else you have seen before.