Director: Piero Regnoli
Year: 1960
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: L'ultima preda del vampiro; Curse of the Vampire; Daughters of the Vampire; Desires of the Vampire; Last Victim of the Vampire; The Last Prey of the Vampire; The Vampire's Last Victim
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
Traveling through the countryside, a modeling troop is forced to stay at the remote castle of a mysterious host who tries to make claims to one of the girls about her shared heritage and importance to the castle, but when she learns the truth about their host tries to get them to safety.
Review:
This was a decent enough if somewhat flawed genre effort. Among the better features of this one is the solid and generally likable setup that allows this one to work with a wholly enjoyable Gothic-era setup. The idea of the group going around the countryside trying to engage in different performative venues and getting stranded in the countryside, where they stumble upon the Count’s castle, which allows them to enter the environment of the castle while also bringing about the secondary storyline about the one girl being targeted by the vampire due to the expected connection she has to his lost love. It’s a generally familiar storyline, but it still manages to work nicely enough to provide enough of a reason for why the group is allowed to stay, so that it can provide enough means so that we can figure out who the group of girls is and get attached to them for later on.
The other strong benefit of this setup is the way it manages to provide the kind of central setpiece for the usual kind of Gothic trappings that take place here. The arrival at the castle, while in the middle of a thunderstorm, manages to tap into that kind of strong atmospheric touch, while the fun scenes here involve the group going through the castle exploring the various rooms or furniture involved here, making this hit the proper notes for the style. Other features, notably the gradual discovery and reveal of the resemblance to the ancestor that sparks the central motivating factor to stay, help to give this the kind of solid backing that establishes something dangerous is going on at the castle. Even once the group starts disappearing and getting conflicting bits of information regarding who’s alive or dead, it all generates some standout Gothic atmosphere throughout here.
With these factors providing a lot to like as it sets everything in motion, the final half provides the kind of launching point for some great Gothic vampire action. The initial stalking scene in the crypt basement is a rather strong starting point to getting this one going, while setting the stage for the various encounters to be later on involving the vampire brother going around targeting the group and stalking them. This is handled rather nicely and generates some great action in the Gothic basement, where they finally confront the creature and stop his nefarious plans, but it highlights the main issue with this one in that the action and frantic encounters are kept to the ending, so it can feel like a struggle to get to the main section here. There are only a few instances of vampire action before it all gets unloaded in the finale, which is a bit underwhelming, but otherwise, it’s the main factor against this one.
Overview: ****/5
A generally solid and enjoyable Gothic horror effort, there’s not much here holding this one back, as the main drawback with this one is kept in check by the more impactful positive points spread throughout here. Give this a shot if you’re a fan of the style, appreciate this kind of European Gothic horror, or are curious about it, while most others out there should heed caution.
This review is part of our ongoing series of reviews for Italian Horror Month, every November on the site:
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