Vampyres (1975)

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

If you're looking for a visually impressive vampire film in the spirit of DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS but with much more sex and violence, then you've come to the right place. VAMPYRES is a classic film of the seventies, replete with excellent crisp photography and fine direction from Jose Ramon Larraz. A nice sense of impending doom and perversity runs throughout the film until the final devastating climax where nobody is spared from the horrors. If you're looking for a film which ties up all of the plot threads in nice neat explanations, then you've come to the wrong place. VAMPYRES offers up no answers, only questions.As a film almost totally devoid of plot, you'd be forgiven for thinking this might be pretty boring and incomprehensible. It's not. It's difficult to describe how this film works, only to say that to understand it you must see it. There's some spellbinding, hypnotic quality to the vampire ladies which somehow connects to the viewer. Once you've seen them, you'll never forget them, as they're that spooky. This isn't really a scary film, but more of a sombre, haunting one which builds up plenty of atmosphere and style in between each "action" scene.The nudity level is extremely high in this film, effectively beating the trilogy of Hammer's lesbian vampire films at their own game. High, too, is the blood level, with some really wince-inducing vampire moments which will have you averting your eyes if you dislike the sight of blood, as it just looks so damn realistic here. Especially the horrible bits where the vampires lick and drink blood from a cut on a man's arm...it doesn't bear thinking about, and I'm not normally squeamish. While there might be something of a repetitive nature to the film (vampires seduce victim, vampires kill victim, and so on...) each new scene is handled afresh in a way which never becomes boring.Of the two vampires, Marianne Morris is the most alluring, while the oddly-named Anulka the most frightening. Both women convey well their lust-filled diet of sex and blood in the many erotic scenes of the film, using their physical presence for maximum effect, both picked for their attractive yet odd appearances. The rest of the cast are all good in their roles too, giving performances which make their characters realistic and believable, especially the unfortunate woman who falls victim to their advances at the last minute. This may well be the final word on lesbian vampires. With beautiful scenery, plenty of heavy atmosphere, and some of the strongest images ever put on film, this is a truly wonderful movie.

"Vampyres" comes down to a few memorably shot images that can't lift the film out of mediocrity due to it's essentially nonsensical story. As director Jose Ramon Larraz tells it, it's a story about a killer coming back to the scene of the crime. Nice, but.....What then do the couple have to do with the story, and for that matter, why don't they leave when the girl is terrified? If these are vampires, why can they be killed with guns? Well, sometimes a film can overcome it's nightmarish plot holes, but theproblem here is too much is padded by gore, soft core sex, and people walkingaround in search of something happening. I like this film a lot, if you are a horror fan you will probably enjoy it. Yetit can't be considered first rate.

"John" (Brian Deacon) and "Harriet" (Sally Faulkner) are driving in the English countryside and happen to see a female hitchhiker on the side of the road. Hiding in the trees behind her is another woman. Harriet thinks this is strange and becomes highly suspicious when she sees these same two women in the forest near the camper where she and John are staying for a few days. Meanwhile, "Ted" (Murray Brown) is driving on a country road and picks up an attractive redhead by the name of "Fran" (Marianne Morris). They drive to her house in the country where he proceeds to have copious amounts of wine and sex. The next morning he wakes up alone and discovers a deep gash in his arm. Feeling extremely weak he manages to walk to the camper where John and Harriet are staying and receives some first aid for his wound. He then returns to the house to look for Fran. That evening she returns with a stunning blonde friend named "Miriam" (Anulka Dziubinska) and another man by the name of "Rupert" (Karl Lanchbury). Once again Ted and Fran drink lots of wine and spend the night in bed. And once again Ted wakes up alone and feeling very drained. At any rate, rather than detail the entire plot I will just say that this is an erotic vampire movie which has plenty of nudity and sex. Some of it quite lurid. There are also a couple of scenes which don't quite make sense. However, it's possible that having things shrouded in mystery works best anyway. Whatever the case may be this is a good film for the most part and I have rated it accordingly.

1974's "Vampyres" is a British film directed by a Spaniard and is one of the best pictures in the lesbian vampire subgenre that I have ever seen. (Granted, I've always been a, um, sucker for this particular kind of film!) Here, sapphic lovers Fran (Marianne Morris) and Miriam (May '73 Playboy Playmate Anulka Dziubinska) are gunned down and murdered the first time we meet them. For some reason never explained, they return to the land of the living as atypical vampires, in that they first slice their victims with knives and glass slivers before chowing down. During the film, we see some typical days in their lives, posing as hitchhikers on lonely country roads and bringing men back to their crumbling manse for some sex play and bloodletting, whilst a young camping couple on their property observes them and grows increasingly suspicious. The film, all levity aside, strikes this viewer as a minor masterpiece of horror. It is genuinely erotic, disturbing, violent, often shocking, well acted down to the smallest parts, and quite merciless. The film is also deliberately paced, with not much in the way of story other than Fran and Miriam luring a series of men into their web, but director Jose Ramon Larraz has directed his picture for maximum atmosphere, and that creepy atmosphere is just delicious. Indeed, the sight of our two caped gals walking through a churchyard cemetery on a misty morning is a thing of great and morbid beauty. And these gals may be the most voracious vampires ever shown on film, sucking their drink of choice from whatever lacerated gash is most convenient; they are like sharks or some other wild beast in their frenzy; truly a horror to behold, even though they are fangless. Kudos also to Murray Brown, playing a dude who stays at the gals' house a few days too long (to the point of total anemia, I'd say!), as well as to James Clarke for his unmelodic, unobtrusive yet highly effective score. This DVD, by the way, from Blue Underground, looks just gorgeous, as do Marianne and Anulka 30+ years later in their very informative, modern-day interview extra. Wonder how they stayed so well preserved....