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36 reviews in total

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23 out of 28 people found the following review useful:
Must Have Been Quite Erotic At The Time, 29 March 2004

Author: Theo Robertson from Isle Of Bute, Scotland

In many ways this movie is little different from other Hammer horror films produced at the time . It has an inn that doesn`t take too kindly to strangers especially ones that don`t believe in vampires , it`s obvious that the " night " scenes were filmed during the day by sticking a blue filter over the camera lens and there`s some really dodgy effects and make up like the very obvious dummy at the film`s climax

What sets LUST FOR A VAMPIRE apart from other British horror movies at the time is some really superb ( For its day ) T&A on display complete with some lesbian kissing . It`s also good to see some old fashioned buxom women who have never heard of the phrase silicone implants . That`s something you don`t see in horror movies nowadays I can tell you

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14 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
"Flawed but offers the modern viewer some fun.", 14 December 2004
Author: jamesraeburn2003 from Poole, Dorset

In 1830 a renowned occult novelist called Richard Le' Strange (Johnson)is taken on to teach English at an exclusive finishing school for young girls in Styria. He falls in love with one of his pupils, the beautiful Mircalla (Stensgaard), but gradually discovers that she may well be the reincarnation of the evil vampire Carmilla Karnstein. Meanwhile in the village that neighbors the school, the locals are living in the grip of fear because it is forty years to the day since the vampiric Karnstein family reincarnated themselves in search of blood and village girls have been going missing.

Hammer's adaptation of Sheridan Le' Fanu's THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970) had been successful enough to warrant a sequel, therefore Tudor Gates who had scripted the former was duly approached to script the next one. The result was a rather unsavoury brew of vampirism and lesbianism and veteran Hammer producer-writer Jimmy Sangster who was responsible for such Hammer classics as THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, Dracula and THE NANNY was brought in to direct. It was his second outing behind the camera having made his directorial debut in 1970 with Hammer's spoof THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN. This went out on a double bill with Roy Ward Baker's SCARS OF Dracula and only did average business. Whereas Sangster had enjoyed the experience of directing the Frankenstein spoof, he apparently hated LUST FOR A VAMPIRE along with his star Ralph Bates. He and Bates were apparently horrified at the preview screening when they discovered a cheesy pop song had been inserted called STRANGE LOVE sung by an unknown Tracy over the love scene between Johnson and Stensgaard.

Viewed today, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE certainly has it's flaws, for a start there is the inept casting of BBC Radio One disc-jockey Mike Raven as Count Karnstein. His voice was dubbed to make him sound like Christopher Lee and in the reincarnation sequence, a close up of Lee's bloodshot eyes from Dracula HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE was used instead of making Raven wear the red tinted contacts and doing a close up on him. Raven also appeared in Amicus's Jekyll and Hyde film I MONSTER (1971). The film also lacks a convincing hero, Johnson's Richard Le' Strange is little more than a boozy womaniser who is content to chase after a schoolgirl and the basic premise is somewhat crude. The film also shares sets with SCARS OF Dracula, Hammer fanatics will no doubt recognise the somewhat impoverished looking castle set from that picture. Yet there is still some fun to be had here, Bates gives a strong performance as the schoolmaster who lusts after Carmilla and wishes to sell his soul to the devil and Sangster stages the shock scenes with some style, especially the scene in the ruined castle where Carmilla is brought back to life.

LUST FOR A VAMPIRE wasn't all that successful, but Hammer managed to squeeze in a third outing for the Karnstein's, TWINS OF EVIL, which is in it's own right a better film by far.

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9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Lust Is There, Le Fanu Isn't!, 4 September 2001
Author: Boodikka from Brooklyn, USA

This definitely isn't the best Carmilla film (though the uncut version, unseen in the US, is highly erotic), yet it has a huge cult following largely due to the presence of Yutte Stensgaard. There are few one-hit wonder actresses in any genre who inspire such......lust. The edited US versions make this just another Hammer vampire film, the unedited version is definitely worth a look.

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Adding a little to jamesraeburn2003's, 12 May 2005
Author: Alexander Ruspandy (ruspandy@hotmail.com) from Australia

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I've just seen this film yesterday and jamesraeburn2003's opinion reflected much of my impressions. However I would like to add few of my comments.

First off, despite the silliness of Strange Love song, I found it to be creepy and was really right in the mood for the making love sequence. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to insert a song in there but I never felt that it harmed the film in any way.

Next, Suzanna Leigh as Janet Playfair was great in her role. Her brash personality really steal the show (especially in the headmistress scene) whenever Steensgard is not around.

Steensgard on the other hand did not "suck" as many people believed and even if her voice was dubbed (she was Danish in origin), she didn't have much line to say other than "I can't", "I love you" and those sort of sentences. It was her non-verbal performances that became the highlight. The scenes where she walks, moves, and stares took a great effort that made her memorable, second only to Christopher Lee.

The only objection I have is the finale during the castle fire where Mircalla tried to prevent Lestrange from saving her. As she did so, Karnstein mentally influenced her to attack Lestrange. Lestrange threw her away and as she tried to attack again, she's killed by the falling block. That was my complaint because she died not as a woman who loved Lestrange (which she really did) but as a monster who wanted to kill him (outside her own will). I sympathized with her a lot and in her final scenes, they should have shown Mircalla crying to Jonathan as a last goodbye, confirming her love to him.

My only other wish was to see more of Yutte Steensgard in other Hammer films but she quit soon after and moved to America because she was felt "unappreciated" by the industry. I do hope she made a good living whatever she's doing now.

Okay that's it for my comment. This comes from a sentimental man who loved watching horror movies and tries to find a meaning behind every film. And Lust for a Vampire would make a great film to me provided that they extended the ending.

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Second "Carmilla" entry, 24 March 2004

Author: rosscinema (rosscinema@comcast.net) from Oceanside, Ca.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This is the second film loosely based on the story "Carmilla" and "The Vampire Lovers" was the first and "Twins of Evil" being the third. This is definitely not one of the strongest entries but I don't go along with people that think this is a truly bad film because it's not. It could have been handled better but to say that this is a bad film is just not being honest. Story takes place in 1830 where a young novelist of horror hears about vampires that live up the road in a castle. Richard Lestrange (Michael Johnson) ventures up to the Karnstein castle after hearing that the Karnstein's are vampires and that a young girl from the village is now missing. Lestrange finds the castle but behind it is an all girls school that is inhabited by young lovelies. He also hears that an English teacher is coming and when he arrives Lestrange tricks him into going to Venice for a month and now he can get the job at the school.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Lestrange meets the PE teacher Janet Playfair (Suzanna Leigh) and also notices the arrival of Countess Herritzen (Barbara Jefford) who brings her niece Mircalla (Yutte Stensgaard) to the school and instantly Lestrange is infatuated with her. Mircalla is actually Carmilla Karnstein who was resurrected by the blood of a virgin and one of the owners of the school Giles (Ralph Bates) has been studying the castle and notices the resemblance between Mircalla and the paintings of Carmilla. One night Mircalla kills her lesbian roommate (Pippa Steele) and then when she finds out that Giles knows about her she kills him also. Meanwhile, Lestrange has fallen in love with her and she allows him to make love to her but Miss Playfair who is in love with Lestrange is very suspicious of the goings on and calls the local police. The headmistress Miss Simpson (Helen Christie) wants to do the right thing but seems to be in the control of Countess Herritzen.

This film is directed by Jimmy Sangster who is better known as a writer of many Hammer horror films but he did direct some as well. Technically this is a film that could have used some rewrites on the script because while you watch it some things just don't make sense. Johnson is a horny young man at that school and is surrounded by many sexy girls but he becomes entranced instantly by Stensgaard. Is it because of her powers as a vampire? And later in the film Leigh out of nowhere announces that she is in love with Johnson. These two characters have barely spoke to one another! Also, the vampires in this film can walk out in the daylight with no problem and at the end of the film a villager is asked how they are going to find the vampires. He says that at night they will find them in their graves! I thought it was suppose to be the opposite. Actor Mike Raven and actress Barbara Jefford are suppose to be vampires but they never feed or drink blood. Raven in fact does nothing at all and most of the time he just stands in the background looking like Christopher Lee. But I have to admit that I did enjoy this film on an exploitation level. First, it's from Hammer Studios and that alone is worthy enough of a look. Secondly, the schoolgirls are all hot looking and wandering around their rooms with no tops on as the camera leers on them. This definitely works better as exploitation rather than horror and it's one of the reasons why audiences loved these films from Hammer. Leigh doesn't get unclothed but she's beautiful to look at and a good actress but this is a film where the attention is on young Stensgaard. She is glorious to ogle at in all of her nudity and the scene where she allows Johnson to make love to her is interesting. She was obviously using him to make sure that she could control him later on. The first film "The Vampire Lovers" is the best and a bonafide classic but this is a pretty darn entertaining film also. Don't let the bad reviews sway you, it delivers the goods.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
death in desire, 2 July 2006

Author: tanyaqua2 from United Kingdom

Hammer took a different direction with this piece of Gothic cinema and broke some rules. Vampires walking about in daylight? For all its good points the biggest let down is the lack of references to the original Sheridan Le Fanu on which this supposed to be based. Hammer took a different direction with this piece of Gothic cinema and broke some rules. Vampires walking about in daylight? For all its good points the biggest let down is the lack of references to the original Sheridan Le Fanu on which this supposed to be based. Its predecessor 'Vampire Lovers' contained more references but I was hoping for a full and proper transcription of the book into celluloid. Tudor Gates appears undecided which direction to take the script. Yutte Stensgaard was cast at the time as she was famous on UK TV as Bob Monkhouse's co star in a game show. There she was required to look pretty and not say much as she showed objects to the audience. Think of the 'The Price is Right' hostesses. She went on to make a couple of film s which were more credible dramas. I first knew of her via a short story on the web which had a couple of photos attached to it. You can see why everyone thinks she gorgeous. A painting that was around at the same time was by the story's writer: an actor called Stephen Armourae who has reappeared in connection with ESP research and I know he's done more of other horror actresses including one about Barbara Stelle called 'Catherine' and another AJF. There was a rumour about an interview between him and Yutte if anyone knows more? I like this Hammer film as there is something quirky about it. Raven trying to be Lee. The change of casting to Ralph Bates is refreshing and more convincing. I can't see Cushing playing that lusting role. Bates is more suited. Also the eroticism could have been more, I agree with Armourae's review on this point; he has been trying to get film made loosely based on these Hammer themes but with greater erotic content whilst remaining tasteful. Watch this film as for all its flaws its still classic of its time.

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Strange love, 16 September 2007

Author: TrevorAclea from London, England

"Welcome to the finishing school where they really do finish you" throatily growled the trailer to Lust For a Vampire, the troubled second film in Hammer's Karnstein trilogy, following on from The Vampire Lovers and preceding Twins of Evil. Peter Cushing dropped out when his wife fell ill while original director Terence Fisher broke his leg, resulting in Ralph Bates, channelling Dwight Frye, and Jimmy Sangster taking over.

It's the weakest of the three films, but it has a few things going for it, chief among them Yutte Stensgaard's bisexual vampire and Pippa Steel as one of her lesbian conquests/victims (the film could just as easily have been called Lesbian Vampire in a Girl's Dormitory and might have fared better at the box-office if it had). Michael Johnson, one of those identikit early 70s British actors you'd swear you've seen a dozen times before until you look at his filmography and realise you've never seen him in anything else, is the randy dandy author of lurid Gothic tales who schemes his way into a English teaching job at a finishing school so he can have his wicked way with one of the students, Yutte Stensgaard's Mircalla, not realising that she's an even more accomplished predator who's working her way through the schoolgirls there herself. Not that he's overly concerned when he finds out, but that's no surprise considering Yutte's main competition is Suzanna Leigh, who looks about as much fun as mucking out a stable on a hot day and spends most of the film with a scornful disappointed scowl on her face that combines with unflattering photography to make her appear much like you'd imagine Joanna Lumley's brother might after a night on the tiles.

The story isn't particularly compelling and the screenplay isn't one of Hammer's best: it's the kind of film where a line of dialogue like "What you need is a –" is immediately accompanied by the fortuitous arrival of a Bishop with a line in killing the undead before the line can be finished. But it does feature much 70s nudity and even an oral sex scene to the accompaniment of perhaps the most memorable song in Hammer's oeuvre, the aptly-named Strange Love, while disc jockey Mike Raven is quite hilariously dubbed by Valentine Dyall – his delivery of the line "Heart attack!" is guaranteed to bring the house down

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
"Lust...you will too after seeing Yutte as the vampire.", 13 September 1999

Author: hammer-21

The absolutely stunning Danish actress Yutte Stensgaard stars as the vampire seductress Mircalla in Hammer films part two of the "Carmilla Karnstein" trilogy. Not a great film but a worthy one for all Hammer/British horror film fans. Originally to be directed by the ace of gothic horror, Terence Fisher, he was injured in a car accident just days before filming started. A good/decent film from Jimmy Sangster, but one thinks of what it could have been in Fisher's hands. MUST viewing for all Yutte fans and fans to be.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
a sweet, seemingly innocent European schoolgirl turns out to be a deadly vampire, 15 March 2006

Author: dougbrode from United States

Just when the Hammer Christopher Lee Dracula franchise began to run out of steam in the late sixties, the company revved up its product by turning to Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla (written before Bram Stoker penned Dracula, by the way, and a big influence on that better known book) and filming several versions of the novel. The other most interesting one is Vampire Lovers, which keeps far closer to the plot of the book and has a more sustained sense of mood and atmosphere, but ultimately is undone by an actress who is far too old to be believable as the Lolita with fangs that Le Fanu imagined long before anyone had ever heard of Vladimir Nabokov. Lust is admittedly shaky in terms of script, and the ambiance is on again off again (but wow is it terrific when it's on). What makes this click with so many horror buffs, in particularly those who love lesbian vampire films, is the one-time star Yvette Stensgard, a gorgeous Scandanavian child-woman who looks absolutely innocent (particularly when her eyes fetchingly cross), even the moment before she rips open the neck of her next victim. Lots of nudity, with nothing but blood covering her nubile body. Carmilla Karnstein is bisexual, seducing both her lovely young roommates at the all girl's academy and her teacher, a Byronic British romantic who combines elements of Shelley, Byron, and Le Fanu. A genuine cult following has formed around this film because of Stensgard's devastating charisma, which would never be properly employed again, by Hammer or any other company. (Hammer discarded its female star creations as quickly as it stuck with its male stars, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.) Many jerks complain about a dumb song called "Strange Love" that's indifferently imposed on one sequence. Morons: turn down the volume and enjoy the two gorgeous nymphettes as they swim in the moonlight, adoringly cuddle one another, and then . . . the kiss of death.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Love for a Vampire...., 1 January 2001

Author: (meonksman@hotmail.com) from england

'Lust for a vampire' is the second film in the Karnstein Trilogy based on the novels by Sheridan le Fanu. The sequel to 'Vampire lovers' starring Ingrid Pitt, and prequel to 'Twins of Evil' starring playboy playmate twins Mary & Madeline smith, 'Lust for a vampire' was hindered in its production from the off set. Legendary Hammer director Terrence Fisher was forced to pull out and Peter Cushing was replaced by Ralph Bates in the lead role. Yutte Stensgaard plays the truly beautiful Mircalla, a lesbian vampire who is torn between her love for her teacher and her lust for blood. This film has a very cosy atmosphere very traditional of hammers work around the late sixties early seventies. The sets are reasonable and although highly criticised for her performance, Yutte does her job well.

I could go on for pages but as an overview I would HIGHLY recommend this film even if it does dabble in as much romance as horror.

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