Grave of the Vampire (1972)

Kroft, a legendary vampire, returns from sleep. Kroft attacks a couple in a graveyard, raping the woman. The child born feeds only on blood from his mother's breast.

Director:

John Hayes

Writers:

David Chase (screenplay), John Hayes (screen treatment)

Stars:

William Smith, Michael Pataki, Lyn Peters

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Smith	...	James Eastman
Michael Pataki	...	Caleb Croft
Lyn Peters	...	Anne Arthur
Diane Holden	...	Anita Jacoby
Lieux Dressler	...	Olga
Ernesto Macias	...	Lt. Panzer (as Eric Mason)
Jay Adler	...	Old Zack
Jay Scott	...	Paul
William Guhl	...	Sgt. Duffy
Margaret Fairchild	...	Miss Fenwick
Carmen Argenziano	...	Sam
Frank Whiteman
Abbi Henderson	...	Carol Moskowitz
Inga Neilsen
Lindis Guinness	...	Sam's girlfriend (as Lindus Guinness)

Storyline

Kroft, a legendary vampire, returns from sleep. Kroft attacks a couple in a graveyard, raping the woman. The child born feeds only on blood from his mother's breast.

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Plot Keywords:

dripping blood | psychotronic film | vampire versus vampire | violence | night school | 

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Taglines:

Father and son--related by BLOOD! ANYONE'S BLOOD!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Caleb Croft also appears in Kim Newman's "Anno Dracula"-novels.

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Quotes

James Eastman: [voiceover] My mother found it difficult to tell me that I wasn't like other children; I could never share a life with whole human beings. I slowly learned that the thing that raped my mother and fathered me was no living feeling man, but a malignant force of cancer that refused to be destroyed. It wasn't only her blood my mother gave to keep me alive, her youth and her own life was sucked up into the syringe that fed me.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the film, "Fin--ou peut etre pas," appears on the screen. It's French for "The End -- Or Maybe Not."

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Alternate Versions

The UK Vipco DVD release is identical to the old cinema print which was cut by the BBFC to remove a shot of a woman cutting her breast with a knife to feed a child and shots of blood running down her arm during a syringe injection.

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Connections

Featured in Movie Macabre: Grave of the Vampire (1981)

User Reviews

Offbeat & vicious

A vamp by the name of Caleb Croft rises from his crypt in a cemetery and happens upon a couple making out in their car. After killing the man and having a few sips of his blood, Croft rapes the woman in an empty grave. Eventually, the woman gives birth to a half human, half vampire baby. In order to feed him, she uses a syringe to extract her own blood, eventually leading to her demise. Her now grown son seeks vengeance against his father and is determined to track him down. Did I mention that Croft is now teaching night classes on the occult?

This offbeat vampire film has many interesting twists in it's storyline. One of Croft's students longs to be a vampire, for instance. As the vile vamp himself, Michael Pataki comes across as cold-blooded and cruel. While the film isn't very bloody, the acts of violence he commits seem more vicious than the norm. William Smith plays the son, and he reminded me more of a bump on a log than anything. I suppose that's just the part, that of a secluded outsider with no world experience. There's a fight towards the end that is surprisingly well-done. The film isn't as good as director John Hayes earlier effort, "Dream No Evil", but it's a unique addition to the vampire sub-genre all the same.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Seed of Terror

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millenium Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1