Director: León Klimovsky
Year: 1975
Country: Spain
Alternate Titles: El extraño amor de los vampiros; Strange Love of the Vampires
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
Forced to remain at her home, a young woman living with a terminal disease is continually warned away from a section of the village rumored to contain various vampires, and when she starts to become obsessed with the creatures, he forces the villagers around her to stop them.
Review:
Overall, this was a fairly solid and likable genre effort. Among the better features here comes from the generally strong atmosphere that manages to inject a fine mix of sleaze and eroticism into a generally straightforward story. Spending the first half here focusing on the life of the woman and how she spends the time trying to explore life beyond the boundaries of the house that has been imposed on her due to her illness, but being stuck under the control of her parents, it creates a genuinely sympathetic portrayal that makes her quite endearing. Since her youthful nature and desire for freedom are being impacted, it creates a secret perverse behavior in spying on other couples in the act of lovemaking that produces a solid amount of sleazy sequences with her stumbling upon the fornicating figures and trying to stay out of sight as she watches them go at it. With the number of scenes here bringing about the rest of the villagers trying to go about their lives without any idea that she’s going through the motions spying on them, it all manages to leave a trail of intrigue surrounding her that makes the subsequent vampiric seduction feel more earned.
This seduction is handled incredibly well, as the use of Gothic horror imagery makes for a fun time here. The series of stories and tall tales about the vampires living in the local cemetery and being told not to wander too close to the nearby castle's decaying ruins proves incredibly effective not only at generating some great atmospheric touches visually, but also at fueling the desire for the kind of freedom they represent. The scenes offering a glimpse of the vampires rising from their coffins and shifting the dirt away so they can spread forth into the community are well-handled, much like the scenes of her at the castle trying to be seduced into their lifestyle as he tries to expound the virtues of vampirism to her as a means of bringing her into the fold. That these are contrasted with the vicious rampage through the village as the vicious vampires are given free rein to attack anyone and everyone they come across, including children and other unsuspecting couples, makes for a highly enjoyable time, which goes nicely with the cheesy gore and ample nudity to leave a lot to like.
There are a few drawbacks here to hold this one back. The biggest issue with this one is a decided lack of focus during the finale, where it spends the time working through a series of bizarre setpieces for the sake of it occurring. The main idea of the party being held to offer an example of their lifestyle, so she can be seduced into their group, is a solid enough idea for what’s going on, but trying to paint separate figures as the leads in the scene creates a jumbled narrative when going back to focus on her following these events with her family. This vampire-hunter routine it tries to paint her father as is highly underwhelming and doesn’t offer much in the way of genuine build-up with the out-of-nowhere fury over the vampires running wild over town that has been a constant for the entire film, so to be so upset over it at this point feels like false fury way too late in the running time. As well, there’s also the highly underwhelming finale that has no really intriguing ideas behind it and seems to be based on just ending this one as quickly as possible, with one of the lamest villain deaths ever. These all combine to hold this one down.
Overview: ****/5
An enjoyable and immensely effective Gothic vampire effort, there’s a lot to enjoy with this one, and only a few minor flaws keep it from being one of the overall best entries in the style. Those with an appreciation for this style of genre fare, who appreciate Eurohorror from this time period, or who are curious about it, will have the most to like here, while most others should heed caution.
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