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Storyline
The Countess is called away to tend a sick friend and imposes on the General to accept her daughter Marcilla as a houseguest. Some of the villagers begin dying, however, and the General's daughter Laura soon gets weak and pale, but Marcilla is there to comfort her. The villagers begin whispering about vampires as Marcilla finds another family on which to impose herself. The pattern repeats as Emma gets ill, but the General cannot rest, and seeks the advice of Baron Hartog, who once dealt a decisive blow against a family of vampires. Well, almost.
Written by
Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Taglines:
She's the New Horror from Hammer!
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Before production, the script was sent to the chief censor
John Trevelyan, who warned the studio about depictions of lesbianism. They specifically wanted the scene of Kate O'Mara being seduced by Ingrid Pitt removed. They also pointed out that a previous lesbian film,
The Killing of Sister George (1968), had had five minutes excised by his office. In response, Hammer replied that the lesbianism was not of their doing but was present in the original story by Le Fanu. Trevelyan finally backed down.
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Goofs
The fence around what looks like a tennis court in front of the mansion is chain link fencing.
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Quotes
The Governess:
You mustn't let your imagination get the best of you.
Emma Morton:
I'm sorry.
The Governess:
You sleep well now.
Emma Morton:
I'll try.
The Governess:
Good.
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Alternate Versions
The UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to reduce the opening decapitation and shots of Carmilla kissing Emma's breasts, and the same print was featured on video releases. The 2002 ILC DVD saw the cuts fully waived though the print used was an edited US one which missed a brief full frontal shot of Carmilla in a bathtub scene. The 2006 Optimum DVD featured the fully uncut and complete print.
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Connections
Referenced in
House of the Gorgon (2019)
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Soundtracks
Roses from the South
(uncredited)
Music by
Johann Strauss
Arranged by
Harry Robertson See more »
Seeing the upper nudity in a Hammer film came as a small surprise, since all the other Hammer movies I had seen are the edited versions on American TV. Mind you, I'm NOT complaining about getting to view the breasts of Ingrid Pitt.
VAMPIRE LOVERS is pretty typical of Hammer's other erotic horror movies, and as such, is pretty good. It's not real scary despite a few sudden scenes, but generates enough atmosphere to be worthwhile. It was also strange to finally see Peter Cushing playing a vampire killer who's NOT Dr. Van Helsing.
As I understand it, there are other films in this series (all of which were based on the historically evil woman Carmella, rumored to have bathed in the blood of her victims because she thought it would keep her young), which might explain why at least one character (a villainous male vampire) is never destroyed. In fact, he's never really explained.
My only complaint is some of the young actresses, though pretty and willing to show some skin, all look alike. There faces are similar, as are their bodies. Minor complaint though.