As
a Hammer fan, I have to admit that LUST FOR A VAMPIRE ($25) isn’t
one of the studio’s most shining productions, but it is still a film that
I like a whole heck of a lot. Perhaps it is because LUST FOR A VAMPIRE
features gratuitous female nudity, as well as a bit of lesbian erotica
that it has become one of my guilty pleasures. LUST FOR A VAMPIRE
is the middle film in Hammer’s lesbian vampire trilogy that also featured
the far more stylish THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, as well as TWINS OF
EVIL. All three films in Hammer’s lesbian vampire trilogy are loosely
adapted from Sheridan Le Fanu’s story Carmilla, with LUST
FOR A VAMPIRE taking place at a mid-nineteenth century girls’ finishing
school- a place perfectly suited to gratuitous female nudity and a bit
of lesbian titillation.
As
it turns out, the film’s finishing school is just a short distance from
Karnstein Castle, home to a family of vampires that appear every forty
years like clockwork. As the film opens, the Karnsteins return to their
ancestral home and abduct a beautiful peasant girl, whose blood they use
in a satanic ritual to resurrect the dried husk of Carmilla Karnstein.
Reborn as Mircalla Herritzen (Yutte Stensgaard), the beautiful young vampire
becomes part of the finishing school’s student body, where she satiates
her appetite for blood. Unexpectedly, Mircalla catches the eye of writer
Richard Lestrange (Michael Johnson), who joins the faculty just to be
near her. When Lestrange declares his love for Mircalla, she is deeply
affected and is unable to succumb to her base nature in his presence.
Of course, this does not preclude Mircalla from snacking on the other
instructors or on her fellow students, whenever Lestrange isn’t around.
As the body count rises around the village, the locals gather up their
torches and head off to the castle to deal with the Karnsteins in a manner
befitting those of their undead stature. The cast of LUST FOR A VAMPIRE
also features Ralph Bates, Barbara Jefford, Suzanna Leigh, Helen Christie,
Pippa Steel, David Healy, Harvey Hall and Mike Raven.
Anchor
Bay Entertainment has made LUST FOR A VAMPIRE available on DVD
in a 1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. Let me say right up front that, this is an excellent
presentation of uncut version of LUST FOR A VAMPIRE. The image
is surprisingly clean, sharp and detailed. Not of the same caliber as
a new film, but for a thirty-year-old modest budget production, this DVD
looks incredibly good. There is some graininess in the image, but this
is inherent to the film stocks used at the time and not a flaw in the
transfer. Colors are pretty vibrant, especially the blood reds, while
the flesh tones always appear attractive (especially with all the female
skin on display in this movie). There are no signs of chroma noise or
smearing to mar the presentation. Blacks are solid and inky and the level
of shadow detail is more than respectable. The day for night cinematography
appears a hair too light in spots, but there is a payoff in extra image
detail. Digital compression artifacts remain out of sight during the presentation.
LUST
FOR A VAMPIRE includes a good sounding
Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack. Background hiss and distortion have
been cleaned off the track, rendering it crisp and pleasant sounding.
The film’s musical score never sounds harsh or brittle, although there
are some limitations in the overall fidelity of these thirty-year-old
recordings. The film’s completely inappropriate love theme sounds good,
but it really should have never been part of the film in the first place.
Dialogue comes through quite well and is always completely understandable.
No additional language or subtitle tracks are offered on the DVD.
Full
motion video animation and sound enhance the interactive menus. Through
the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection and set up features,
as well as a few extras. Starting things off is a running commentary featuring
director Jimmy Sangster, costar Suzanna Leigh and Hammer historian Marcus
Hearm, who serves as moderator. The commentary is enjoyable because the
participants are having a good time talking about the film, exchanging
anecdotes and admitting to some of the movie’s shortcomings. Also included
on the DVD are a theatrical trailer, radio spots, poster and still gallery,
as well as biographies for Jimmy Sangster, Ralph Bates and Yutte Stensgaard.
While
it may not be one of the horror classics that Hammer is noted for, LUST
FOR A VAMPIRE definitely has its appeal. The movie remains titillating
horror fun for genre fans and devotees of the legendary production company.
Anchor Bay Entertainment has produced a great looking DVD edition of the
movie, making it something that fans will want to have in their collections.
As
a Hammer fan, I have to admit that LUST FOR A VAMPIRE ($25) isn’t
one of the studio’s most shining productions, but it is still a film that
I like a whole heck of a lot. Perhaps it is because LUST FOR A VAMPIRE
features gratuitous female nudity, as well as a bit of lesbian erotica
that it has become one of my guilty pleasures. LUST FOR A VAMPIRE
is the middle film in Hammer’s lesbian vampire trilogy that also featured
the far more stylish THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, as well as TWINS OF
EVIL. All three films in Hammer’s lesbian vampire trilogy are loosely
adapted from Sheridan Le Fanu’s story Carmilla, with LUST
FOR A VAMPIRE taking place at a mid-nineteenth century girls’ finishing
school- a place perfectly suited to gratuitous female nudity and a bit
of lesbian titillation.
As
it turns out, the film’s finishing school is just a short distance from
Karnstein Castle, home to a family of vampires that appear every forty
years like clockwork. As the film opens, the Karnsteins return to their
ancestral home and abduct a beautiful peasant girl, whose blood they use
in a satanic ritual to resurrect the dried husk of Carmilla Karnstein.
Reborn as Mircalla Herritzen (Yutte Stensgaard), the beautiful young vampire
becomes part of the finishing school’s student body, where she satiates
her appetite for blood. Unexpectedly, Mircalla catches the eye of writer
Richard Lestrange (Michael Johnson), who joins the faculty just to be
near her. When Lestrange declares his love for Mircalla, she is deeply
affected and is unable to succumb to her base nature in his presence.
Of course, this does not preclude Mircalla from snacking on the other
instructors or on her fellow students, whenever Lestrange isn’t around.
As the body count rises around the village, the locals gather up their
torches and head off to the castle to deal with the Karnsteins in a manner
befitting those of their undead stature. The cast of LUST FOR A VAMPIRE
also features Ralph Bates, Barbara Jefford, Suzanna Leigh, Helen Christie,
Pippa Steel, David Healy, Harvey Hall and Mike Raven.
Anchor
Bay Entertainment has made LUST FOR A VAMPIRE available on DVD
in a 1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. Let me say right up front that, this is an excellent
presentation of uncut version of LUST FOR A VAMPIRE. The image
is surprisingly clean, sharp and detailed. Not of the same caliber as
a new film, but for a thirty-year-old modest budget production, this DVD
looks incredibly good. There is some graininess in the image, but this
is inherent to the film stocks used at the time and not a flaw in the
transfer. Colors are pretty vibrant, especially the blood reds, while
the flesh tones always appear attractive (especially with all the female
skin on display in this movie). There are no signs of chroma noise or
smearing to mar the presentation. Blacks are solid and inky and the level
of shadow detail is more than respectable. The day for night cinematography
appears a hair too light in spots, but there is a payoff in extra image
detail. Digital compression artifacts remain out of sight during the presentation.
LUST
FOR A VAMPIRE includes a good sounding
Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack. Background hiss and distortion have
been cleaned off the track, rendering it crisp and pleasant sounding.
The film’s musical score never sounds harsh or brittle, although there
are some limitations in the overall fidelity of these thirty-year-old
recordings. The film’s completely inappropriate love theme sounds good,
but it really should have never been part of the film in the first place.
Dialogue comes through quite well and is always completely understandable.
No additional language or subtitle tracks are offered on the DVD.
Full
motion video animation and sound enhance the interactive menus. Through
the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection and set up features,
as well as a few extras. Starting things off is a running commentary featuring
director Jimmy Sangster, costar Suzanna Leigh and Hammer historian Marcus
Hearm, who serves as moderator. The commentary is enjoyable because the
participants are having a good time talking about the film, exchanging
anecdotes and admitting to some of the movie’s shortcomings. Also included
on the DVD are a theatrical trailer, radio spots, poster and still gallery,
as well as biographies for Jimmy Sangster, Ralph Bates and Yutte Stensgaard.
While
it may not be one of the horror classics that Hammer is noted for, LUST
FOR A VAMPIRE definitely has its appeal. The movie remains titillating
horror fun for genre fans and devotees of the legendary production company.
Anchor Bay Entertainment has produced a great looking DVD edition of the
movie, making it something that fans will want to have in their collections.
