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Vampyres | Year: 1975 Classification: Horror Directed: - José Ramón Larraz Bosoms and bloodshed, a potent combination! VAMPYRES (UK 1974): A motorist (Murray Brown) is lured to an isolated country house inhabited by two beautiful young women (Marianne Morris and Anulka) and becomes enmeshed in their free-spirited sexual lifestyle, but his hosts turn out to be vampires with a frenzied thirst for human blood... Taking its cue from the lesbian vampire cycle initiated by maverick director Jean Rollin in France, and consolidated by the success of Hammer's 'Carmilla' series in the UK, Jose Ramon Larraz' daring shocker VAMPYRES pushed the concept of Adult Horror much further than British censors were prepared to tolerate in 1974, and his film was cut by almost three minutes on its original British release. It isn't difficult to see why! Using its Gothic theme as the pretext for as much nudity, sex and bloodshed as the film's short running time will allow, Larraz (who wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym 'D. Daubeney') uses these commercial elements as mere backdrop to a languid meditation on life, death and the impulses - sexual and otherwise - which affirm the human condition. Shot on location at a picturesque country house during the Autumn of 1973, Harry Waxman's haunting cinematography conjures an atmosphere of grim foreboding, in which the desolate countryside - bleak and beautiful in equal measure - seems to foreshadow a whirlwind of impending horror (Larraz pulled a similar trick earlier the same year with SYMPTOMS, a low-key thriller which is all mood and very little action, until it erupts into a frenzy of violence during the final reel). However, despite its pretensions, VAMPYRES' wafer-thin plot and rough-hewn production values don't really amount to very much, and while the two female protagonists are as charismatic and appealing as could be wished, the male lead (Brown, past his prime at the time of filming) is woefully miscast in a role that should have gone to some beautiful, twentysomething stud. A must-see item for cult movie fans, an amusing curio for everyone else, VAMPYRES is an acquired taste. Watch out for Bessie Love, star of the silent era, in a brief cameo at the end of the movie. Originally released on DVD by Anchor Bay in incomplete form (29 seconds of carnage were accidentally omitted from one of the climactic sequences), Blue Underground's definitive disc - beautifully presented and packaged - restores all the missing footage to its rightful place. Picture quality is as good as the low-budget film stock will allow, though it's still a little grainy in places, and the mono sound is adequate. Extras include trailers, interviews with Morris and Anulka (both are older and wiser, yet still radiant), and a lively audio commentary with Larraz and producer Brian Smedley-Aston, along with an unexpurgated version of Tim Greaves' much-admired booklet 'Vampyres - A Tribute to the Ultimate in Erotic Horror Cinema', here presented in DVD-ROM format which this writer was unable to access. NB. Blue Underground's DVD includes an insert whi Kind of a mix of Hammer and Jean Rollin A pair of bisexual women (Marianne Morris and Playboy playmate Anulka) living in a dark, decaying mansion have a craving for blood and sex. Hitchiking in long black cloaks, they lure men home and then take them to bed, slash them with knives, and dump the bodies, making it look like a car wreck. They like one guy so much they keep him around for days and he knows something bad is happening, but he's not sure what. Some people camping nearby also suspect that the women are up to strange things.... The violence is strong even though there's more blood than gore, plenty of sex and nudity, and some very lyrical, beautiful scenes. The ending throws a whole new, darker twist on the proceedings and ties it all together nicely. It has kind of a "Hammer Films" look to it, but the storyline is more along the lines of Jean Rollin. Even though the budget was small, this is a quality-looking film. The DVD looks great and contains a commentary track with producer Brian Smedley-Aston and director Joseph Larraz that's worth listening to - it's informative, and Larraz is hilarious and pulls no punches - ya gotta love the guy, even though he admits he's become a dirty old man (the comment during one of Anulka's nude scenes had me rolling on the floor). :) It's one of the most entertaining commentary tracks I've heard on a DVD, and a quality film besides. AESTHETIC, SATANIC, INDULGING YES, THIS IS A FLIM THAT RISES ABOVE THE REST IN THE VOLATILE TIME OF EROTIC VAMPIRE FILMS IN THE EARLY 1970'S. TWO VOLUMPTOUS, BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRES USE THEIR FEMININE TALENTS AND THE AGE OLD ONE NIGHT STAND AS A FACADE TO LURE OVER-ANXIOUS MEN TO THEIR BREATHTAKING, DECREPIT OLD COUNTRY HOME. THE MEN FALL ALL TOO EASILY FOR WHAT THEY THINK WILL BE A SEXUAL RENDEZVOUS WITH TWO STRANGE, DARK WOMEN. AFTER THEY ARE ENTERTAINED, THEY FALL VICTIM TO SAVAGE DEATHS, BLOODLETTING, AND HUMILIATION. THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE AND THE BREATHTAKING OLD HOME CREATES A SUPERIOR AMBIENCE THAT IS CONDUCIVE FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE, EROTIC, LURID FILM. THIS FILM WILL LEAVE YOU WANTING NEVER TO RETURN TO REALITY. DARK, EVIL, BEAUTIFUL, IMPERATIVE. Buy Vampyres at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Vampyres Search with the Priority Search Engine on Vampyres This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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