Vampire Bate
Forty years to the day since the Karnstein family were last seen a local village is in a state of terror over their expected return as it puts the young virgins at risk. And the villagers are right to fear as the Karnsteins have returned and been up to their old tricks having regenerated the evil but seductively beautiful Mircalla (Yutte Stensgaard). With a Finishing school for girls not to far away Mircalla finds herself surrounded by potential victims along with author Richard Lestrange (Michael Johnson) who doesn't believe in vampires and headmaster Giles Barton (Ralph Bates) who is fascinated with Mircalla.
I don't think "Lust for a Vampire" works at all other than as a piece of nostalgia for those who watched it as casual movie fans back in 1971 and would love to revisit their memories. Part of the reason why it doesn't work is that like some other later Hammer horrors it frequently seems more interested in titillation than in horror with loose fitting dresses which if they are not teasing the audience with actress's curves slip off remarkably easy with scenes of young women sitting around topless. Don't get me wrong because as a red blooded male I don't mind nudity but far too often it feels like they had forgotten that this was suppose to be a horror movie.
As for the horror side well sadly there is very little with more often than not the scenes which are suppose to suggest horror ending up more erotically suggestive. Then there is the not so small matter that some of the scenes are lifted from earlier Hammer movies and voices are dubbed. In truth "Lust for a Vampire" is a mess and at times feels like it was a story intended for the "Carry on" series rather than the Hammer franchise.
What this all boils down to is that "Lust for a Vampire" probably is still enjoyed by those who fell in love with Hammer horror movies of the 70s where having nubile young women was a big part of the attraction. But the only thing scary about "Lust for a Vampire" is the sheer amount of nonsense which goes on in between the copious amounts of titillation.
Tags: Vampire Movies
