Lust for a Vampire
|
Our Price: $59.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $43.99 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Lust for a Vampire
Movie Review: Hammer's dishy sequel to Vampire Lovers . . .
Summary: 3 Stars
Lust For a Vampire is the second part of the Karnstein trilogy, that began with Vampire Lovers and which was to conclude with Twins of Evil. Of the three movies, this one is definitely the weak link in the three, but still has some merits. Originally, Peter Cushing and Ingrid Pitt had been tapped to star in this film, but due to family illness, Cushing opted out, and Pitt's prior committment to another project at the time made her unavailable. One can only wonder how the film would have benefited with Cushing's cultured experience and Pitt's stony, seductive approach. As it stood, we had to content ourselves with Ralph Bates and Jutte Stensgard, a Danish bombshell with no acting talent whatsoever. Bates wasn't so bad as the schoolmaster, he brought a sleaziness that improved the character. But Jutte Stensgard, however, just doesn't stack up to the role of Micarlla-although she is undeniably some very fine eye candy, she is neither menacing nor believable as a vampire. Also, another blow to the production was Terence Fisher's exit from the project and Jimmy Sangster taking up the directorial helm at the last minute. Did Sangster contribute more of an erotic element to this picture-watch the first 30 minutes of relentless toplessness and near nudity and judge for yourself. Where the film gets interesting is when the body count starts to grow, and when Bate's schoolmaster Giles character comes more into prominence. Chief strengths of the film are the night scenes, and the rustic location as a whole. I've always believed that the best vampire stories are set in small villages as opposed to cities. As a whole, the film suffers from weak characters ("I love you"s come at the weirdest, most implausible moments), a very thin plot that seems as if it has been padded by lots of gratuitous nudity, and a very bizarre decision on someone's part to place a pop song in the middle of a seduction scene! Also, you will need to suspend your knowledge of vampire lore, because these vampires walk and play in the daytime. The violence is almost non-existent. There is a sacrificial scene at the very beginning of the film, and a couple of graphic stakings later on, but that's about it. The DVD features are commendable. There are some nice poster galleries and a clear commentary track. There is a hidden treat for Stensgard fans (go to features and then hit right arrow to light up the cross on the dagger, and then hit enter). If you choose to bypass this film for something else, you will be none the worse for missing it.Movie Review: Lesbian Vampire in a Girls' Dormitory
Summary: 3 Stars
"Welcome to the finishing school where they really do finish you" throatily growled the trailer to Lust For a Vampire, the troubled second film in Hammer's Karnstein trilogy, following on from The Vampire Lovers and preceding Twins of Evil. Peter Cushing dropped out when his wife fell ill while original director Terence Fisher broke his leg, resulting in Ralph Bates, channelling Dwight Frye, and Jimmy Sangster taking over.
It's the weakest of the three films, but it has a few things going for it, chief among them Yutte Stensgaard's bisexual vampire and Pippa Steel as one of her lesbian conquests/victims (the film could just as easily have been called Lesbian Vampire in a Girl's Dormitory and might have fared better at the box-office if it had). Michael Johnson, one of those identikit early 70s British actors you'd swear you've seen a dozen times before until you look at his filmography and realize you've never seen him in anything else, is the randy dandy author of lurid gothic tales who schemes his way into a English teaching job at a finishing school so he can have his wicked way with one of the students, Yutte Stensgaard's Mircalla, not realizing that she's an even more accomplished predator who's working her way through the schoolgirls there herself. Not that he's overly concerned when he finds out, but that's no surprise considering Yutte's main competition is Suzanna Leigh, who looks about as much fun as mucking out a stable on a hot day and spends most of the film with a scornful disappointed scowl on her face that combines with unflattering photography to make her appear much like you'd imagine Joanna Lumley's brother might after a night on the tiles.
The story isn't particularly compelling and the screenplay isn't one of Hammer's best: it's the kind of film where a line of dialogue like "What you need is a -" is immediately accompanied by the fortuitous arrival of a Bishop with a line in killing the undead before the line can be finished. But it does feature much 70s nudity and even an oral sex scene to the accompaniment of perhaps the most memorable song in Hammer's oeuvre, the aptly-named Strange Love, while disc jockey Mike Raven is quite hilariously dubbed by Valentine Dyall - his delivery of the line "Heart attack!" is guaranteed to bring the house down.
Anchor Bay's Region 1 DVD has a good selection of extras and a fine widescreen transfer.
Movie Review: So wonderfullly bad
Summary: 3 Stars
The middle chapter of Hammer's Karnstein trilogy (between The Vampire Lovers and Twins of Evil), LUST FOR A VAMPIRE is a textbook example of the studio's penchant for excess in the early '70s. Fans of classic Hammer fare like Horror of Dracula and Curse of Frankenstein will be disappointed with the weak script and atrocious acting. But if the lesbian vampire sub-genre is your thing, you'll, uh, get off on this film.Treasure or trash, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE looks fantastic thanks to the wonderful folks at Anchor Bay. There's a commentary track that is fairly pedestrian, and the goofy theatrical trailer.
If this sort of thing is your cup of T (and A), by all means, sink your teeth into it.
Movie Review: Lust for a Vampire Movie
Summary: 3 Stars
A good adaption of story Carmilla. Hammer films decided to make a trio of lesbian vampire films, (this film, the Vampire Lovers, & Twins of Evil).This is much better than Twins of Evil, & more explicit in its nudity & vampirism than the Vampire Lovers.
I remember seeing this on video in the early 1980s when my hormones were a popping - and thus it's always held a special place in my staked heart.
The major inconsistency with the plot is that at the vampire's vicitms scream when they are attacked at the beginning of the film, but by the end of the film the last victim's almost in orgasm as she's being attacked - did the vampire just get better at biting?
Movie Review: A great sequel!
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the second in the Hammer "Carmilla" trilogy. Ingrid Pitt, who appeared in "The Vampire Lovers" (and in "Countess Dracula", not in the trilogy") is replaced by Yutte Stensgaard,a lovely blond. Some events are a little less than plausible, but overall it provides what I believe the then audience wanted - blood, babes and breasts! If you are expecting "Gone With the Wind" you may be disappointed, but I loved it for its place in the "Vampire Babes" genre.