~ the spoilers are only minor ~ During the first minutes of the opening sequence, when the vampire (Guillermo Murray) emerges from his coffin and descents further down to the catacombs of his sinister castle, you'll inevitably think that this is the typical opening of just another routine Gothic vampire movie with a textbook storyline and an overuse of all the dreadful clichés of the genre. However, you're promptly forced to think differently, because "The World of Vampires" introduces a handful of ingenious new themes and unusual gimmicks before the same opening sequence is even finished and the credits start to roll! "The World of Vampires" is a very interesting, albeit slightly ridiculous, variation on the good old fashioned topic of vampires, as the ambitious script presents an entirely new (and goofy) method to kill malicious vampires! The key element in "World of Vampires" is music! Music to control the acts and movements of vampire-slaves, music to wake the dead and music to destroy them! So forget about wooden stakes through the heart, stinking garlic and dull natural sunlight! Just play some rhythmic tunes. The plot may be a little unusual and slightly experimental, but director Alfonso Corona Blake nevertheless remains faithful to the Gothic style and atmosphere of other contemporary Mexican horror-highlights. This means the film is literally stuffed with fog-enshrouded cemeteries, mentally disabled & hunchbacked servants, loud and eerie thunderstorms and much, much more! To get back to the plot: Count Subotai isn't just any random vampire, he's a vampire with a mission! More than 300 years ago, vampires tried to wipe out the human race and take over the earth, but one man named Colman prevented them from doing so. Now Subotai has to complete the mission, but not before he eliminated the last three descendants of the Colman family, namely an elderly man and his two ravishing nieces. Unfortunately for him, one of the girls' lover researches the influence of various tunes played on the piano and discovers an interesting sound. Okay, the plot is pretty stupid if you think of afterwards, but at least it's compelling as long as the film lasts and it's finally something different! Guillermo Murray is probably one of the least menacing vampire ever, but his organ made of skulls & bones is spooky and especially his army of docile slaves are genuinely creepy! They all wear identical masks and walk even slower than the zombies in "Night of the Living Dead", but damned they scared me! He also has a collection of gorgeous vampire wenches, but they mainly just serve to decorate the cavern beneath his castle. There are probably too many weird scenes and absurd twists to really call "The World of Vampires" a great piece of Mexican horror, but it's definitely an admirable and entertaining effort.
13 Reviews
Death by Too Many Musical Notes
BaronBl00d23 July 2006
Throughout vampire lore from film we have been introduced to the various ways in which to slay a vampire: direct sunlight, over-exposure to a Crucifix, destroying the coffin of the vampire, killing the head vampire, and, of course, the customary stake through the heart. Not the case in this cheap Mexican vampire film where just hearing a tune with certain notes on an organ or piano does the trick. This film is bad - just no doubt about it, but it is a fun, bad film that had me rolling from beginning to end. The film basically chronicles one vampire's quest to rid the remaining ancestors of the man that offended him so many years ago - the Colman clan. And hearing a suave-looking, highly accented "foreign" vampire just say the name Colman is a real hoot. But it doesn't end there but rather begins. This vampire goes into lengthy soliloquies on why he must get every last Colman. He gives these over-enunciated diatribes while using some of the most over-exaggerated looks from any film vampire. Throw in a bunch of other equally "talented" actors with a threadbare plot and you have the ingredients for a whole lot of unintentional hilarity. Guillermo Murray plays the offended Count with such a lack of subtlety that I could not take my eyes off him nor could I stifle my laughs. He must get the last three surviving relatives: a father and his two beautiful daughters who are being visited by a musician/composer played by Mauricios Garces(in the Van Helsing role - kind of). Throw out standard vampire lore here as this film invents all kinds of new lore - whether it be logical or more likely highly illogical. While a pretty amazingly bad film in many ways, it does offer some highly atmospheric shots in a cave/crypt, the Count playing an organ, and one neat for its time transformation shot. A whole lot of fun at any rate!
THE WORLD OF THE VAMPIRES (Alfonso Corona Blake, 1961) **
Bunuel197619 January 2011
Well, it seems like I spoke too soon about the superior quality of Mexi-Horrors vis-à-vis the Italian Gothics, as this is as goofy as they come – almost on a par, in fact, with the notorious THE BRAINIAC (1961; interestingly enough, directed by the helmer of the slightly better effort with which I followed it)! Anyway, back when the Casanegra DVD company folded, I had voiced my disappointment that their otherwise excellent line of releases would be no more. At the time, they had already announced the next two titles on the schedule and, in fact, they were the film under review and the Chano Urueta picture I was referring to earlier i.e. THE LIVING HEAD (1963)
so that I made it a point to somehow acquire them regardless!
As I said, however, the journey was somewhat more gratifying than the destination – this film in particular proving a veritable mess and enjoyable simply because of how ludicrous it was! First of all, this is one from the matinée idol days of the bloodsucker: as played by Guillermo Murray, the chief vampire here is so stiff that one expects to see moth-balls in his coffin! Besides, given the over-sized neck of his cape, one would not have been surprised to see him extract an electric guitar from some corner of his hide-out cave and break into a Glam Rock number at some point in the proceedings (after all, he frequently sits at his skull-adorned pipe-organ and summons his minions with some funereal sonata)!
Incidentally, music plays a pivotal role here: in fact, the hero is himself a gifted pianist with a great knowledge of how certain melodies can affect the listener (while hilariously looking like a dead-ringer for Clark Gable) – and the first time the two meet is at a party given by the descendants of the Count's sworn enemies (named Colman and with their eldest member played by Jose' Baviera from Luis Bunuel's THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL [1962]!), where it transpires that the bloodsucker cannot stand old Transylvanian melodies (the grimaces he spontaneously makes at this are side-splitting)!
In any case, he manages to notch up a few victims along the way, beginning with a couple driving along a desolate stretch of road at night. Atypically, while the vampirization of the girl here has to follow a certain ritual (laboriously illustrated throughout the film no fewer than three times!), the male is mysteriously turned into a hideously hirsute creature (to take its place amongst the Count's deformed disciples)!! There is also the obligatory hunchback/mute servant who turns up long enough to be chastised for intruding on his master's 'meditation' and, later, to engage in a violent fisticuff with the hero!
By the way, the latter falls prey to the monstrous 'bug' himself but, since the transformation is gradual, only his hands ever sprout hair but which does not prevent him from taking to the pipe-organ at the climax and bring down the vampire since, like I said, musical notes can just as soon drive the bloodsucker off-the-wall as serve the function of a 'clarion call' to his sub-human underlings. And, given that the Count's cavernous abode is conveniently supplied with a pit which has large spikes protruding from the ground, it is inevitable that he would ultimately get his come-uppance in this grisly fashion (with one of Colman's own daughters, similarly afflicted, joining him soon after)!
As I said, however, the journey was somewhat more gratifying than the destination – this film in particular proving a veritable mess and enjoyable simply because of how ludicrous it was! First of all, this is one from the matinée idol days of the bloodsucker: as played by Guillermo Murray, the chief vampire here is so stiff that one expects to see moth-balls in his coffin! Besides, given the over-sized neck of his cape, one would not have been surprised to see him extract an electric guitar from some corner of his hide-out cave and break into a Glam Rock number at some point in the proceedings (after all, he frequently sits at his skull-adorned pipe-organ and summons his minions with some funereal sonata)!
Incidentally, music plays a pivotal role here: in fact, the hero is himself a gifted pianist with a great knowledge of how certain melodies can affect the listener (while hilariously looking like a dead-ringer for Clark Gable) – and the first time the two meet is at a party given by the descendants of the Count's sworn enemies (named Colman and with their eldest member played by Jose' Baviera from Luis Bunuel's THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL [1962]!), where it transpires that the bloodsucker cannot stand old Transylvanian melodies (the grimaces he spontaneously makes at this are side-splitting)!
In any case, he manages to notch up a few victims along the way, beginning with a couple driving along a desolate stretch of road at night. Atypically, while the vampirization of the girl here has to follow a certain ritual (laboriously illustrated throughout the film no fewer than three times!), the male is mysteriously turned into a hideously hirsute creature (to take its place amongst the Count's deformed disciples)!! There is also the obligatory hunchback/mute servant who turns up long enough to be chastised for intruding on his master's 'meditation' and, later, to engage in a violent fisticuff with the hero!
By the way, the latter falls prey to the monstrous 'bug' himself but, since the transformation is gradual, only his hands ever sprout hair but which does not prevent him from taking to the pipe-organ at the climax and bring down the vampire since, like I said, musical notes can just as soon drive the bloodsucker off-the-wall as serve the function of a 'clarion call' to his sub-human underlings. And, given that the Count's cavernous abode is conveniently supplied with a pit which has large spikes protruding from the ground, it is inevitable that he would ultimately get his come-uppance in this grisly fashion (with one of Colman's own daughters, similarly afflicted, joining him soon after)!
Viennese fleas -- you're such a card, Rudolfo!
BA_Harrison2 July 2023
Count Sergio Subotai (Guillermo Murray) has a major beef with the Colman family, his ancestor having been staked by Julius Colman 300 years ago. Now Subotai only has three more Colmans to destroy, Señor Colman (José Baviera) and his two pretty nieces, Mirta (Silvia Fournier) and Leonor (Erna Martha Bauman). Pianist Rodolfo Sabre believes that music is the key to destroying the vampires...
The World of the Vampires is another Mexican vampire chiller (El mundo de los vampiros) dubbed into English by American movie maverick K. Gordon Murray. The film is a mix of the conventional -- rubber vampire bats, cobwebby catacombs, a hunchback assistant -- and the unusual -- there are strange vampire/werewolf hybrids, we get a bat with a human face, and the head vampire controls his army of the undead with music (played on an organ made from bones and skulls -- a Bonetempi, perhaps), but can also be repelled by the playing of certain tunes.
Unfortunately, for all of the film's more unique qualities. It's still a fairly humdrum affair, directed with little energy or verve by Alfonso Corona Blake, with verbose vampire Subotai seemingly attempting to bore his victims to death by incessantly talking to them.
3.5/10, rounded up to 4 for Rudolfo's 'Viennese fleas' joke, a sure-fire hit with the ladies, and for the pit full of sharp wooden stakes in the Count's lair, probably not the wisest thing for a vampire to have installed in his home!
The World of the Vampires is another Mexican vampire chiller (El mundo de los vampiros) dubbed into English by American movie maverick K. Gordon Murray. The film is a mix of the conventional -- rubber vampire bats, cobwebby catacombs, a hunchback assistant -- and the unusual -- there are strange vampire/werewolf hybrids, we get a bat with a human face, and the head vampire controls his army of the undead with music (played on an organ made from bones and skulls -- a Bonetempi, perhaps), but can also be repelled by the playing of certain tunes.
Unfortunately, for all of the film's more unique qualities. It's still a fairly humdrum affair, directed with little energy or verve by Alfonso Corona Blake, with verbose vampire Subotai seemingly attempting to bore his victims to death by incessantly talking to them.
3.5/10, rounded up to 4 for Rudolfo's 'Viennese fleas' joke, a sure-fire hit with the ladies, and for the pit full of sharp wooden stakes in the Count's lair, probably not the wisest thing for a vampire to have installed in his home!
A chore to watch but for Erna Martha Bauman
kevinolzak31 May 2022
1960's "The World of the Vampires" (El Mundo de los Vampiros) was another collaboration between Mexican producer Abel Salazar and screenwriter brother Alfredo, this time for director Alfonso Corona Blake, soon to kick off the El Santo series. Here the cape is worn by the unimposing Guillermo Murray, his clean cut pretty boy looks lacking any menace when it comes to sporting his oversized fangs, more rubber bats adding to the silliness yet with variations that almost make it worthwhile, such as musical notes producing vibrations that can either summon or weaken the undead. A full 16 minutes are devoted to the opening in the crypt of Count Sergio Subotai, leader of an army of creatures who serve by the sound of a pipe organ adorned with skulls and femurs, a pair of unlucky travelers becoming his latest victims on the altar, men feted to be transformed into hairy werewolves, the women at his lucky pleasure. Every vampire must have an ultimate goal, and like German Robles as Nostradamus this one has a score to settle with the Colman family who staked out his ancestors, now reduced to one old patriarch (Jose Baviera) with two lovely daughters, eternally screaming Mirta (Sylvia Fournier) and all too willing Leonor (Erna Martha Bauman). The only other major character is their guest, Rodolfo Sabre (Mauricio Garces), whose expertise in tinkling the ivories makes him the Van Helsing equivalent, one passage luring the Count to make a rare appearance in the Colman home, the next designed to repel vampires, to which he reacts violently. Leonor swiftly joins the cult of darkness, subsequently putting the bite on a sleeping Rodolfo, who awakens with a serious case of 5 o'clock shadow on his left hand (only the males become werewolves). Since both Colman and Leonor have gone missing, Rodolfo and Mirta call at the Count's cobwebbed abode, meet resistance from his mute, Renfield-like manservant, and stumble below into the world of the vampires, only called out by night to serve their master. Why any self respecting vampire would build a pit full of wooden stakes goes unexplained, while Rodolfo's slow transition includes a more acute sense of hearing exemplified by a large spider walking upon the dusty stones. The cult itself wears immobile masks with large ears, but the most fascinating vision is seeing Leonor in rubber bat form, her tiny head superimposed on top for a truly bizarre apparition. In fact, beauty queen Erna Martha Bauman easily steals the proceedings away from the nominal lead, her indelible fanged image earning two related roles in Miguel Morayta's "The Bloody Vampire" and "The Invasion of the Vampires." With such a small cast, the pace simply drags without much happening, the climax adding another round of fisticuffs for a far too easy victory, poor Leonor proving herself down for the Count once he is reduced to a skeleton. Those who encounter these Mexican entries as a youth will be more forgiving of their low budget faults, others may not be so inclined.
Count Bill Murray
BandSAboutMovies28 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
A year after making this movie, which translates as World of the Vampires, Alfonso Corona Blake would direct Santo vs. Las Mujeres Vampiro.
Count Sergio Subotai is a vampire who is seeking to wipe out the descendants of his greatest enemy. I'd like to state for the record that he is played by Guillermo Murray. When I was a nino taking el espanol, anyone named Bill was called Guillermo, which means William. So this vampire is really named Mexican Bill Murray.
Another fact that this movie taught me is that instead of a stake through the heart, sunlight, garlic or a cross, music is the best weapon to use against a Mexican vampire. I take that back - stakes are also used.
That said, there are some attractive female vampires and an organ made of human bones and skulls, so this movie isn't all bad.
Count Sergio Subotai is a vampire who is seeking to wipe out the descendants of his greatest enemy. I'd like to state for the record that he is played by Guillermo Murray. When I was a nino taking el espanol, anyone named Bill was called Guillermo, which means William. So this vampire is really named Mexican Bill Murray.
Another fact that this movie taught me is that instead of a stake through the heart, sunlight, garlic or a cross, music is the best weapon to use against a Mexican vampire. I take that back - stakes are also used.
That said, there are some attractive female vampires and an organ made of human bones and skulls, so this movie isn't all bad.
Coleman, a good old Hungarian name.
mark.waltz11 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Guillermo Murray, an Argentine born actor, takes on the role of another one of many Mexican vampires, one who can have his power removed from very loud classical music played on a piano. He's been awakened and now seeks revenge on the last of the Coleman's, the family that once eradicated many of his family members, all night stalkers seeking blood. Now Mr. Toothy and his band of demons (wearing masks aquired from the local sinco y peso) are viciously creating a new reign of terror, and Murray (who highly resembles some heavily hip swinging pop singers) becomes determined to make the ancestors of his family pay the consequences even though there are only three of them left.
Those three include two sisters whom Murray ("Bill" for short!), put under his spell for his vengeance, turned into creatures of the night and looking very spooky in their Lily Munster robes. Very silly looking vampire bats with human like faces float around through the magic of nearly invisible strings, giving the viewer a good chuckle. The atmosphere is properly haunting with a good sequence of one of the women noticing that the visiting count Murray has no reflection. It's not bad as far as gothic thrillers go, but this is far from the best of the series of Mexican vampires films I've seen.
Those three include two sisters whom Murray ("Bill" for short!), put under his spell for his vengeance, turned into creatures of the night and looking very spooky in their Lily Munster robes. Very silly looking vampire bats with human like faces float around through the magic of nearly invisible strings, giving the viewer a good chuckle. The atmosphere is properly haunting with a good sequence of one of the women noticing that the visiting count Murray has no reflection. It's not bad as far as gothic thrillers go, but this is far from the best of the series of Mexican vampires films I've seen.
South of the border fang fun!
evilskip3 June 2001
Ahh youth.I remember struggling to stay up to see this at 1:30am on a friday night back in the late 1960's.Needless to say when the first vampire attack happened I shot up to my room for the night.
This recently came out on dvd after being bootlegged for years.So it was nice to see a print that while a bit speckled was superior to the tapes.
The plot boils down to the evil Count and his plans of revenge against the Colman family.There has been much blood spilled between the two and this night may prove to be the end of the line for the Colman family (a man and his two nieces).
Count Subotay (Subotai?) plays an organ made of human bones and skulls in his misty underground lair. He summons his minions to help him carry out his plot against the Colmans.His female vampires are pretty hot looking.The male vampires are blind, hairy handed(a self abuse warning perhaps?) and quite ugly.Of course this way the Count can keep the women for himself.
A young couple is viciously attacked to begin the evening.Then the Count moseys over to the Colmans to join a party.One of my faults with this movie lies in the fact that if your family has been decimated by vampires don't you think you'd do what you could to learn the name of the vamp?Especially after some strange pale dude in a tuxedo and cape shows up in your neighborhood?
We meet the hero (Rudy) and learn that vampires can be killed by a certain tune.He plays it on the piano and the Count does everything but wet his pants in screaming agony.He slams down the piano key cover on Rudy's hands(a la Tom & Jerry)to make him stop.
The Count leaves but he vampirizes one of the girls who in turn vampirizes Rudy.Rudy begins to grow hair on his hands and his eyesight begins to dim.Mr Colman vanishes and Rudy finally adds up that Subotay is a vampire and responsible for the attacks.
The film becomes a race against time.Rudy is captured and the other niece is prepared for vampiric sacrifice. Can Rudy defeat the Count before he turns into a mindless vampire creature?Will the Colman family be destroyed forever?
There is a lot of atmosphere and an oppressive mood in this film.It is better than most of the Mexican vampire films(Bloody Vampire,Invasion Of The Vampires or the Nostradamus series).But it does fall short of El Vampiro (then again so do most vampire films).
Worth picking up if you can find it cheap.
This recently came out on dvd after being bootlegged for years.So it was nice to see a print that while a bit speckled was superior to the tapes.
The plot boils down to the evil Count and his plans of revenge against the Colman family.There has been much blood spilled between the two and this night may prove to be the end of the line for the Colman family (a man and his two nieces).
Count Subotay (Subotai?) plays an organ made of human bones and skulls in his misty underground lair. He summons his minions to help him carry out his plot against the Colmans.His female vampires are pretty hot looking.The male vampires are blind, hairy handed(a self abuse warning perhaps?) and quite ugly.Of course this way the Count can keep the women for himself.
A young couple is viciously attacked to begin the evening.Then the Count moseys over to the Colmans to join a party.One of my faults with this movie lies in the fact that if your family has been decimated by vampires don't you think you'd do what you could to learn the name of the vamp?Especially after some strange pale dude in a tuxedo and cape shows up in your neighborhood?
We meet the hero (Rudy) and learn that vampires can be killed by a certain tune.He plays it on the piano and the Count does everything but wet his pants in screaming agony.He slams down the piano key cover on Rudy's hands(a la Tom & Jerry)to make him stop.
The Count leaves but he vampirizes one of the girls who in turn vampirizes Rudy.Rudy begins to grow hair on his hands and his eyesight begins to dim.Mr Colman vanishes and Rudy finally adds up that Subotay is a vampire and responsible for the attacks.
The film becomes a race against time.Rudy is captured and the other niece is prepared for vampiric sacrifice. Can Rudy defeat the Count before he turns into a mindless vampire creature?Will the Colman family be destroyed forever?
There is a lot of atmosphere and an oppressive mood in this film.It is better than most of the Mexican vampire films(Bloody Vampire,Invasion Of The Vampires or the Nostradamus series).But it does fall short of El Vampiro (then again so do most vampire films).
Worth picking up if you can find it cheap.
Quite Good Subotai's World
EdgarST17 December 2014
Mexican horror films are bizarre, as many know. They mix a bit of German Expressionism with their Spanish legacy, add a touch of local folklore, and come out with something quite original, even if the execution is betrayed by small budgets. This is the case of this peculiar item of my 2014 discoveries, a film that turned out to be much better than expected. Produced by Abel Salazar, star and producer of many of those films (including the classic "El vampiro"), it exceeds in atmosphere, zaniness and pretty women, as usual, with a handsome vampire this time: Guillermo Murray had just arrived from Argentina and was given the lead in this tale of vampires fighting for world supremacy. Murray plays Sergio Subotai, a European count that wants to take revenge from the last member of a family that hunted the undead and killed his own family. To achieve his goal he uses the man's nieces, two sisters played by Silvia Fournier who takes the leading lady role, and ex-Miss Mexico Erna Martha Bauman as the wicked sister. What Count Subotai did not count with is that there is a guy in town who has the ability to disturb hounds, call the undead, and neutralize vampires with strange pieces of music. Unfortunately Subotai only has an army of inefficient ugly batmen and sexy vampire girls. As in many of these productions, the tone is ironic and different elements make up for the shortcomings, as the admirable underground sets in Subotai's castle, and the dark cinematography, thanks to old pro Jack Draper. The score composed by Gustavo César Carrión for Salazar's production of "El vampiro" is used one more time to good effect. A recommended horror film with quite decent amusement value.
El Mundo de los Vampiros (The World of the Vampires)
trimbolicelia3 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
A very good early 60's Mexican-made, English-dubbed black-and-white horror film. A vampire and his ratty minions plot to eliminate the last of a vampire-hunting family and take over the world. Lots of fog-shrouded atmosphere. I have the fair quality Beverly Wilshire Filmworks DVD back in the early 2000's. Not the one pictured above. I also have the Spanish-language version titled El Mundo de los Vampiros on DVD-R. An excellent copy. It would be nice to see both versions released together, re-mastered, on a DVD or Blu-Ray. Other than that this film is highly recommended.
Classic Mexican Horror Film
FloatingOpera722 October 2005
Warning: Spoilers
From 1961, this vampire film as some critic has already mentioned lacks the more chilling or impressive aspects of some later vampire films. It is nothing like American vampire films starring Bela Lugosi or Christopher Reeves. The Mexican actor who portrays the head vampire played the same part in various films. He has a touch of sex and elegance as well as wicked intensity. The plot: a brilliant pianist in decent society is truly a vampire who controls people with music- an organ. He has a huge vendetta against the Coleman family who are vampire-hunters. He makes one of the Coleman daughters into a vampire and is about to do the same to another when he is stopped in his tracks by a vampire hunter who catches on to his power and plays the organ so that the vampires become inactive. The film is long and talky and there are only a few moments of real horror. Most of the film depends on the mood and the atmosphere. It is well done for what it is but it's in Spanish and it's a low-budget production and should only be viewed by Mexican horror fans who would truly appreciate its place in cinema.
Murcielago-Chica
ferbs5429 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
1961 was still another interesting year for the Mexican horror film, as that country's so-called Golden Age of Horror continued apace. The year saw the release of the intriguingly titled offering "The Curse of Nostradamus," as well as the third, fourth and fifth films in the Santo series - "Santo vs. The Zombies," "Santo vs. The King of Crime" and "Santo in the Hotel of Death" - a series that would go on till 1976 and comprise over 50 films (!) detailing the adventures of the luchador wrestler turned cinematic crime-fighting superhero. And then there was "The World of the Vampires," released, of course, under the Spanish appellation "El Mundo de los Vampiros," a more traditional sort of horror outing. I had never seen any of those titles before, and so it was with great anticipation that I recently sat down to watch that last-named film, after having discovered a nice-looking print of it, in the original Spanish and with very adequate subtitling. And to my great surprise, the film has revealed itself to be very tastefully and - dare I even say it? - even artfully put together; a horror treat that might leave viewers today, more than 60 years later, very well satisfied.
In the film, we are introduced to the centuries-old (?) vampire Count Sergio Subotai, who, as portrayed by Argentinian actor Guillermo Murray, 34 years old here, just might be the handsomest neck nosher ever depicted. In the film's stunning first 10 minutes, performed largely sans dialogue, we see the Count emerge from his coffin and play a mournful dirge on his pipe organ, that organ situated in a dismal and misty-looking underground crypt. A man and a woman are later taken from their automobile by Subotai and his retainers, a gaggle of ghoul-faced fellow vampires, and brought to his lair, where they are bitten on the neck and thus transformed. To this unfortunate couple, Subotai explains his background and agenda: His human self had been killed some hundred years earlier (confusingly, he later says that it was 300 years earlier) by the Magus of Transylvania, a man named Elias Colman, and for the last century, as a vampire, he has been spending his time killing off all the remaining descendants of that hated man. Now, in modern-day Mexico, only three members of the Colman family remain: two sisters, the morose but belleza Leonor (Mexican actress Silvia Fournier) and the lively tamal caliente Mirta (Mexican actress Erna Martha Bauman), and their uncle (portrayed by Spanish actor Jose Baviera). These three must be exterminated by the full moon or Subotai will have to wait another 100 years to take his vengeance (OK, I didn't quite understand that part) and to give his lord and master, Astaroth, the signal to start the conquest of mankind. Uh, whatever. Subotai wastes little time in prosecuting his campaign. His underground lair and decrepit mansion, as we soon learn, are right in the vicinity of the Colman residence, where we see Uncle Colman giving a dinner party in honor of the pianist/composer Rodolfo Sabre (Mexican comedian/actor Mauricio Garces). When we first encounter the mustachioed pianist, he is entertaining his fellow guests with a composition he has devised that, with its unique combination of scientifically devised tonal qualities, is able to lure out vampires and drive them to madness. And that composition does indeed seem to be quite effective, as the discomfiture evident on guest Subotai's face demonstrates! Later that evening, Subotai offers the depressed and borderline suicidal Leonor an offer of immortality as one of the living dead, an offer that she somehow jumps at. Thus, with one of the Colman clan under his spell, Subotai's mission is already partway to its completion. And with the subsequent kidnapping of Mirta and Uncle Colman, can the fulfillment of his quest be far behind?
As I mentioned up top, "The World of the Vampires" might just surprise the casual viewer with how very artfully it has been put together by its team of pros both in front of and behind the cameras. Director Alfonso Corona Blake, who would go on to helm "Santo vs the Vampire Women" the following year, here injects an otherworldly and dreamlike atmosphere to his picture, and he is nicely abetted by American cinematographer Jack Draper, whose B&W lensing is often a thing of surreal wonder. The film's script, by Alfredo Salazar, is, despite its aforementioned head-scratching moments, a good one, and composer Gustavo Cesar Carrion has supplied some often-freakish background music to complement the proceedings. The actors play their parts absolutely straight, and in all, the film is a startlingly well-crafted one, thanks largely to producer Abel Salazar, who had been so wonderful in front of the cameras in the wonderful Mexican horrors "The Brainiac" (1962, and one of the trippiest Mexican horrors that I have ever seen) and "The Curse of the Crying Woman" (1963, and still my personal favorite film in the Mexican horror pantheon). And adding immeasurable strength to the proceedings are the two leading performances by Guillermo Murray as Subotai and Mauricio Garces as our vampire-fighting hero Rodolfo. Murray is particularly impressive, intoning his lines at times with almost Shakespearian intensity, and it must be remarked that he looks quite impressive in his vampire getup, with flowing cape and a neck collar that reaches almost to the top of his head. As for Garces, an actor of Lebanese descent who was born in Mexico, he is very likeable and appealing as the film's hero; it is a shame that his career did not include more horror items such as this one. I see that Garces also had a small role in "The Brainiac," but I would be lying if I said that I recalled his part in it.
And "The World of the Vampires" has any number of bizarre and interesting touches that will probably take the viewer unawares. Among these unique touches: Subotai's pipe organ, which seems to have been constructed of bones and skulls, and which winds up playing a pivotal role in the film; the ghoullike faces that all the other male vampires sport (the female vampires, on the other hand, are all stunning beauties, every one of them!); the fact that these vampires worship Astaroth, the Phoenician fertility goddess, of all things; the eerie electronic background noises that throb and hum throughout the film's quiet moments; the ubiquitous swirling mists that are present outdoors and in Subotai's underground lair; the fact that the vampires seem to be able to "teleport" themselves through walls; the deep pit, studded with enormous spikes, in Subotai's lair, which he uses to execute his enemies; Rodolfo, having been bitten by a vampire and in the process of transformation himself, being able to hear the steps of a tarantula as it crawls along a cave wall; and the fact that most of the vampires' coffins stand upright, instead of laying horizontal as usual. Oh...and then there's my favorite touch of the film. It occurs when Leonor, in her bat form, hides from her sister and from Rodolfo by hovering in the corner of her bedroom. For a brief moment, we see her bat body with Leonor's face in lieu of the bat's, and it is a startling and bizarre spectacle, to put it mildly; I have never seen anything quite like it in another vampire film. And "The World of the Vampires" also dishes out several wonderful scenes for the viewer, besides that wonderful opening sequence. I love Rodolfo's protracted and violent dukeout with Subotai's mute and hunchbacked servant (played by Alfredo W. Barron), as well as the film's denouement, which is a nicely satisfying one, telegraphed as it might be.
Now, having said all that, I don't wish to give the idea that "The World of the Vampires" is some kind of lost horror masterpiece, or a top-grade cinematic gem waiting to be discovered. The film was undoubtedly made on a limited budget, and its special effects, such as they are, will surely prove a disappointment to a modern generation of viewers who have become practically inured to "Avatar"-style, computer-generated wonders. Still, as I say, the film manages to impress despite its sparing use of pesos, and that is solely due to the creativity and resourcefulness of the filmmakers. Truly, all the money in the world cannot take the place of ingenuity and craft, and "The World of the Vampires" evinces enough in the way of creepy miasma to take the place of any amount of ILM magic. There was something about these B&W horror films of Mexico's Golden Age that is very hard to define in words; an aura, an otherworldly feeling of unease, a strangeness, that no amount of money can quite achieve. "The World of the Vampires" achieves that creepy atmosphere in spades, and may just prove to be a genuine find for all horror buffs who are looking for something different....
In the film, we are introduced to the centuries-old (?) vampire Count Sergio Subotai, who, as portrayed by Argentinian actor Guillermo Murray, 34 years old here, just might be the handsomest neck nosher ever depicted. In the film's stunning first 10 minutes, performed largely sans dialogue, we see the Count emerge from his coffin and play a mournful dirge on his pipe organ, that organ situated in a dismal and misty-looking underground crypt. A man and a woman are later taken from their automobile by Subotai and his retainers, a gaggle of ghoul-faced fellow vampires, and brought to his lair, where they are bitten on the neck and thus transformed. To this unfortunate couple, Subotai explains his background and agenda: His human self had been killed some hundred years earlier (confusingly, he later says that it was 300 years earlier) by the Magus of Transylvania, a man named Elias Colman, and for the last century, as a vampire, he has been spending his time killing off all the remaining descendants of that hated man. Now, in modern-day Mexico, only three members of the Colman family remain: two sisters, the morose but belleza Leonor (Mexican actress Silvia Fournier) and the lively tamal caliente Mirta (Mexican actress Erna Martha Bauman), and their uncle (portrayed by Spanish actor Jose Baviera). These three must be exterminated by the full moon or Subotai will have to wait another 100 years to take his vengeance (OK, I didn't quite understand that part) and to give his lord and master, Astaroth, the signal to start the conquest of mankind. Uh, whatever. Subotai wastes little time in prosecuting his campaign. His underground lair and decrepit mansion, as we soon learn, are right in the vicinity of the Colman residence, where we see Uncle Colman giving a dinner party in honor of the pianist/composer Rodolfo Sabre (Mexican comedian/actor Mauricio Garces). When we first encounter the mustachioed pianist, he is entertaining his fellow guests with a composition he has devised that, with its unique combination of scientifically devised tonal qualities, is able to lure out vampires and drive them to madness. And that composition does indeed seem to be quite effective, as the discomfiture evident on guest Subotai's face demonstrates! Later that evening, Subotai offers the depressed and borderline suicidal Leonor an offer of immortality as one of the living dead, an offer that she somehow jumps at. Thus, with one of the Colman clan under his spell, Subotai's mission is already partway to its completion. And with the subsequent kidnapping of Mirta and Uncle Colman, can the fulfillment of his quest be far behind?
As I mentioned up top, "The World of the Vampires" might just surprise the casual viewer with how very artfully it has been put together by its team of pros both in front of and behind the cameras. Director Alfonso Corona Blake, who would go on to helm "Santo vs the Vampire Women" the following year, here injects an otherworldly and dreamlike atmosphere to his picture, and he is nicely abetted by American cinematographer Jack Draper, whose B&W lensing is often a thing of surreal wonder. The film's script, by Alfredo Salazar, is, despite its aforementioned head-scratching moments, a good one, and composer Gustavo Cesar Carrion has supplied some often-freakish background music to complement the proceedings. The actors play their parts absolutely straight, and in all, the film is a startlingly well-crafted one, thanks largely to producer Abel Salazar, who had been so wonderful in front of the cameras in the wonderful Mexican horrors "The Brainiac" (1962, and one of the trippiest Mexican horrors that I have ever seen) and "The Curse of the Crying Woman" (1963, and still my personal favorite film in the Mexican horror pantheon). And adding immeasurable strength to the proceedings are the two leading performances by Guillermo Murray as Subotai and Mauricio Garces as our vampire-fighting hero Rodolfo. Murray is particularly impressive, intoning his lines at times with almost Shakespearian intensity, and it must be remarked that he looks quite impressive in his vampire getup, with flowing cape and a neck collar that reaches almost to the top of his head. As for Garces, an actor of Lebanese descent who was born in Mexico, he is very likeable and appealing as the film's hero; it is a shame that his career did not include more horror items such as this one. I see that Garces also had a small role in "The Brainiac," but I would be lying if I said that I recalled his part in it.
And "The World of the Vampires" has any number of bizarre and interesting touches that will probably take the viewer unawares. Among these unique touches: Subotai's pipe organ, which seems to have been constructed of bones and skulls, and which winds up playing a pivotal role in the film; the ghoullike faces that all the other male vampires sport (the female vampires, on the other hand, are all stunning beauties, every one of them!); the fact that these vampires worship Astaroth, the Phoenician fertility goddess, of all things; the eerie electronic background noises that throb and hum throughout the film's quiet moments; the ubiquitous swirling mists that are present outdoors and in Subotai's underground lair; the fact that the vampires seem to be able to "teleport" themselves through walls; the deep pit, studded with enormous spikes, in Subotai's lair, which he uses to execute his enemies; Rodolfo, having been bitten by a vampire and in the process of transformation himself, being able to hear the steps of a tarantula as it crawls along a cave wall; and the fact that most of the vampires' coffins stand upright, instead of laying horizontal as usual. Oh...and then there's my favorite touch of the film. It occurs when Leonor, in her bat form, hides from her sister and from Rodolfo by hovering in the corner of her bedroom. For a brief moment, we see her bat body with Leonor's face in lieu of the bat's, and it is a startling and bizarre spectacle, to put it mildly; I have never seen anything quite like it in another vampire film. And "The World of the Vampires" also dishes out several wonderful scenes for the viewer, besides that wonderful opening sequence. I love Rodolfo's protracted and violent dukeout with Subotai's mute and hunchbacked servant (played by Alfredo W. Barron), as well as the film's denouement, which is a nicely satisfying one, telegraphed as it might be.
Now, having said all that, I don't wish to give the idea that "The World of the Vampires" is some kind of lost horror masterpiece, or a top-grade cinematic gem waiting to be discovered. The film was undoubtedly made on a limited budget, and its special effects, such as they are, will surely prove a disappointment to a modern generation of viewers who have become practically inured to "Avatar"-style, computer-generated wonders. Still, as I say, the film manages to impress despite its sparing use of pesos, and that is solely due to the creativity and resourcefulness of the filmmakers. Truly, all the money in the world cannot take the place of ingenuity and craft, and "The World of the Vampires" evinces enough in the way of creepy miasma to take the place of any amount of ILM magic. There was something about these B&W horror films of Mexico's Golden Age that is very hard to define in words; an aura, an otherworldly feeling of unease, a strangeness, that no amount of money can quite achieve. "The World of the Vampires" achieves that creepy atmosphere in spades, and may just prove to be a genuine find for all horror buffs who are looking for something different....
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