The Vampire Lovers (1970) (Blu-ray Review)
Directed By: Roy Ward Baker
Starring: Ingrid Pitt, George Cole, Kate O’Mara
Rated: R/Region: A/1X85/1080p/Number of disc: 1
Available from Scream Factory
The Countess is called away to tend a sick friend and imposes on the General to accept her daughter Marcilla as a houseguest. Some of the villagers begin dying, however, and the General’s daughter Laura soon gets weak and pale, but Marcilla is there to comfort her. The villagers begin whispering about vampires as Marcilla finds another family on which to impose herself. The pattern repeats as Emma gets ill, but the General cannot rest, and seeks the advice of Baron Hartog, who once dealt a decisive blow against a family of vampires. Well, almost.
This film from Hammer is one of those that starts out really strong with very eerie shots and scenes, somewhat slows down in the middle, but then comes back for a strong finish. Along the way we have decapitations and a whole heck of a lot of nudity. I don’t know about you, but that spells a good time for me when I’m kicked back to watch a movie. The ingredients to this well-made film are vampires, pretty women, and some spot on acting that really helps to bring the story along. Of course Hammer films were always known for very strong acting and that is of course still the case here in this cool vampire story.
Like I noted above, it is a film that at times packs a slower pace. This is a movie that does deliver, but you have to stick with it. I think it packs enough classic vampire lore and beautiful women to hold most horror fans attention. I also would like to point out that we have a very nice transfer that doesn’t always pop off the screen, but does show us some fine details in some very grim places. Overall I’d say the setting as a whole helps drive home the creepy Gothic feel of the movie and if you dig Hammer stuff you’ll surely did this. There is a lot of classic vampire movies, but this one holds its own very.
– Feature Length Commentary with Roy Ward Baker (Director), Tudor Gates (Writer) and Ingrid Pitt (Carmilla) moderated by Jonathan Sothcott.
– Excerpts from the novella Carmilla, that inspired the film, read by Ingrid Pitt
– Original Theatrical Trailer
– New Interview with Madeline Smith (Emma)
– New Interviews with Hammer Films Scholars
– Original Radio Spot
