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The Vampire Lovers is a classic tale of good versus evil, the way vampire films should be, with the vampire as a soulless and selfish creature with no humanity left in it. The modern idea of the suffering humanistic vampire decrying the pain of immortality makes me want to throw up. Another ridiculously overused modern device is vampirism as an infectious disease.
People always want to over analyze things, to come up with a scientific explanation for everything. There's no explanation for evil. The real vampire is a symbolic creature. It's not sensitivity to UV radiation that makes them burn up in sunlight, it's that light from the sun comes from a higher power. The wooden stake is used not so much to "kill" the vampire as it is to bind it to the earth. The stake is supposed to pierce the heart and come out the other side into the dirt so the body, heart, and earth are one.
In my opinion, The Vampire Lovers is the best of the Hammer vampire movies, barely squeaking past The Horror Of Dracula. It and the other Non-Dracula vampire pictures, Kiss of the Vampires, Captain Kronos etc. are all very underrated and on a whole, better than the Dracula series.
One thing I really enjoyed was the subplot where the butler, who figures there's a vampire in the house, engages in a battle of wills with the vamped out chief of staff.
I think Ingrid Pitt is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen and I've fallen about as much in love as a (mostly) sane man can with a moving picture!
Also, I agree with Ms. Pitt's assertion (on the DVD commentary track) that the original story isn't about female homoeroticism. Women in those days were always more affectionate than they are now as were men to a lesser degree. I think the "lesbian subtext" is more about wishful thinking on the part of horny men. However, the movie is more blatant in it's suggestiveness.
score 9/10
Bill357 19 April 2009
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2054430/ |
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1-12-2019 05:57:43