Curse of the Vampires (1966)

Very well executed

best movie i've ever seen.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

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

Bona-fide film buff here, with long family history in Hollywood (famous cinematographer, script consultant). In short, I know my beans somewhat, and am now going to defend this much-maligned horror film from the Phillipines. Yes, "Curse (or, 'Blood') of the Vampires" is far from sophisticated material. It has no such pretensions but is a product of its time and as such, is of considerable interest to film buffs like me. A sprightly waltz opens the action as a rather sedate family celebration is underway, marking the return of brother and sister to the family fold after some years spent away. They find old love interests and reignite the flame. Something charming in such simple romantic notions as fidelity, chastity and devotion. No drama, no lust, just pure romance until their vampire mother puts the bite on her son. The mood darkens; the reason the siblings were sent away was to protect them from all knowledge of the family curse. The doomed couple, Daniel and Leonore, effectively played by capable Filipino actors and a most attractive pair, are forbidden to marry lest the curse breed on. As the lovers flee together Daniel is killed in a carriage accident, leaving Leonore at the mercy of her now-vampire brother. What's worse, it was her vampire brother Eduardo who sabotaged the carriage, causing the fatal accident. What remains is a ghostly denouement, proving that love is strong as death. The cinematography is at times quite masterly and as has been said the production team were not your typical B-movie ragbag but classically-trained film-makers. The color is variously garish, faded, and overdone, all of which lends an air of unreality. The sound is not pristine by any means, but adequate. The setting is weird- Spain? Phillipines? A Caribbean island?- one never knows exactly, and the happy slaves in black-face confuse the issue further, creating an unsettling air. The way Eduardo's wife submits to him as her master and becomes his willing slave is perhaps the most erotic scene and there are a number of these, but none egregious. So, an oddball film of the genre, essentially much better than one would expect, but you have to be prepared to accept the offbeat and the unusual in order to get the most out of this film. I have watched a good clear copy for the past three nights in succession and my admiration has only grown. Loved it in my twenties and to my great surprise and delight, find I appreciate it even more now than I did in the 1970's.

I first read about this in Fred Olen Ray's fantastic "The New Poverty Row", so when I saw it for $5 at Grimsby Giant Tiger, I scarfed it up. And damned if it doesn't have Ray himself introducing the thing in a sexist intro that will do nothing for his Irving Thalberg Award campaign. As for the movie itself, well, there's not much to say. It's an example of the era's Filipino horror output - and not one of the best (!!!) either - mom is supposed to be dead but she's locked in the basement and has turned into a vampire, and bites her son, and quite limited action ensues, some involving locals in blackface as happy slaves. Dull and slow and not nearly as tawdry as the scene's rep.

SPOILER ALERT! DETAILS ABOUT WHO WINS THE FIGHT BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL! PLOT GIVE AWAYS! Okay, remember those Mexican monster films from the 60's K Gordon Murray imported? It's like those. The dialog is just as loopy and laugh out loud weird. The guys used radio announcers, I think, to over dub, I kept expecting them to say:"Your mileage may vary. See your Ford dealer for more details." The guy who gets turned into a vampire reminds me of Wayne Newton. The good guy who remains chaste has a look like Ritchie Valens. One of the girls could have been in The Shirelles. Mom, who causes all the trouble, is a work of art. She doesn't say a WORD..just screams while Dad bull-whips her. (No, I don't know WHY...) For some reason, Mom has turned into a vampire, Dad has kept her in a secret room the rest of the family has NEVER known about (how would you HIDE such a thing???), hasn't served her the stake, and ties her up so she can't eat the villagers. Now, stop right there. K. Gordon Murray (and his clones)are like blue cheese and Regis. You either dig it or you don't. If you can STAND this kind of plot, you're away at the races..otherwise,forget it now..because the WEIRD stuff is about to kick in. Mom puts the bite on Wayne Newton. I get the feeling the censors said they couldn't show a lot of BLOOD, but nothing stopped them from letting Wayne open up his mouth, tilt back his head and look TOTALLY TURNED ON..and THAT is so very, very, disturbing..creepier then the blood. Wayne nails Valens, Valens is brought back to life SIMPLY BY THE LOVE OF HIS GIRL..and starts to bedevil Wayne. As a reward for being good and faithful, Ritchie and his chick are united in heaven-by-the-beach at the end..See? See? It PAYS to be good, kids.. Eventually, it's the 'traditional burning of the house', with the villagers all out with flames and local icons and clergy in full regalia. The whole crowd looks good in color too..and you get a REACTION shot from a Catholic Icon..think about that... The package is hosted by Fred Olin Ray, it's widescreen, the color is off and it's scratched."Just the way you remember it." Fred says. The series has been discontinued, so the price is right. I picked mine up for something like 3 bucks.. Not as good as BRAINIAC, but better then the color ones Murray imported..

This is a real stinker. I can think of nothing to recommend this film. The film transfer is from a completely washed out print, the audio is muffled and muddy and the dubbing is out of sync. And that's just the technical problems. The story line goes nowhere. The acting makes those Mexican movies from the early 60's (remember 'K.Gordon Murray presents') appear to be Citizen Kane. For offering itself as a vampire movie I really don't recall seeing any blood in it. I think once or twice I did see someone bare their fangs-the five and dime store plastic variety. I picked this one up for $1.00 and boy did I get gypped. I forgot to mention this is part of a "drive in treasures" collection so there are intros and wrap-arounds with two unfunny individuals pretending they are sitting in a car at the drive-in. Even the intermission tag they use is faded and scratchy and appears to be about 10 generations from the original. This is a complete waste of time. Not even one of those so-bad-it's-good movies. Stay away.