Director: Roy Ward Baker
Year: 1970
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
While enjoying her birthday party, a woman finds that two new arrivals cause quite a stir among the guests, yet when a series of dead bodies are found across the countryside they realize the deadly secret the guests hold and race to stop their deadly plans from coming true.
Review:
This is one of the best entries from Hammer in a long time. What really works is the rather strong approach to the exploitation elements as this is one of their best attempts at melding their old-Gothic approach with kinkier elements that were becoming famous at the time. This is still very Gothically influenced, with the eerie opening showing a lone figure gliding effortlessly through a fog-drenched cemetery in a flowing white night-gown, the instances at the Gothic castle featuring them entering and exiting their graves or the frantic chases through the woods which are in the classic mode. The later sequence showing the fate of him digging up the corpses by showing the exhumation of the bodies and the recitation of the family history in the castle while showing the final attempts at seduction back at the house finishes the Gothic atmosphere.
The difference is enhanced with the addition of the lesbian hijinks, which is greatly appreciated as the style of film also allows for one of the greatest collection of Hammer women to grace the screen all getting in on it at some point. When it has a chance, its sexuality is openly explored while never feeling like childish moments just there for titillation and it is mixed nicely with the old Gothic traditions. It's a nice combination of styles that strikes directly against the hinted-at seductiveness of the earlier ones with a vampire on-screen that actually is quite seductive and breathtaking, and her image is one of unbridled beauty and death at once.
The additional violence is also nice to see and delivers more than the usual bloody fare as there are decapitations galore, some quite bloody stakings to the heart that are far gorier than what would've been shown before as well as neck bites and bloody corpses spread throughout. This is a more than fine combination of the different styles at the time and shows that they can meld together quite effectively since all these styles converge together in a cohesive manner that truly feels as though they belong together. Add this together with a fast pace, and traditional Hammer excellence in acting and dialog, and it's a minor classic in their catalog.
Basically, all that's really wrong here are a couple of unexplained questions. There's a mysterious man-in-black whenever some victim is killed, and it's never told who he is. His backstory is a mystery, his powers are left up in the air as to where they came from, and the fact that all he does is appear on horseback is just another clue to his enigma. As well, she is said to be the last of the Karnstein clan, yet she comes into contact with both families through a mysterious noblewoman who then disappears from the film when she is taken away without answering where she comes from or what her contact with the vampire is. These questions are never explained in the film and are perhaps the only thing wrong with it.
Overview: ****.5/5
One of Hammer's most underrated efforts, this one keeps up quite a lot with plenty of likable qualities and only a few minor drawbacks that are present to leave this one of the genre's finest entries. Give this one a shot if you're intrigued by this kind of feature, appreciate the style attempted here, or are fans of the creative crew while most others out there who aren't into these factors should heed caution.
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