Touches You

good back-story, and good acting

As Good As It Gets

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A quick sequel to THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, this was the second in the infamous Hammer Karnstein trilogy (the third being TWINS OF EVIL). As a result it contains all of the ingredients we are now used to seeing in Hammer's '70s films, such as extra gore, gratuitous female nudity, and a heavy dose of sex. Unfortunately, production of the film suffered when Peter Cushing - the original choice for teacher Barton - dropped out due to his wife's severe illness, and Terence Fisher also dropped out from directing due to an accident. As a result, the film is perhaps not as effective as it might have once been. However, I think a lot of the criticism of this film is unfair. It has everything you would expect from a vampire film - lots of blood, biting, and even torch-wielding villagers.The acting, however, can best be described as 'average'. The film lacks a central pivotal character such as Cushing or Lee to carry it. Ralph Bates is always value for money, although he despised the film, appearing in it as a favour; but he dies too soon. I would have preferred to see him as the male lead instead. Michael Johnson, the film's lead, was never heard of again. Mike Raven, a former DJ, looks sinister but tries too hard to be Chris Lee (incidentally, I'm sure I saw Lee's eyes appear in a close-up). Christopher Neame (Johnny Alucard in Dracula A.D. 1972) even has a small role as the peasant Hans. Yutte Stensgaard is certainly beautiful and makes for an effective, strangely hypnotic vampire, although her acting skills are limited to say the least.Although made on a low budget, I was impressed by the costumes (although clothes are hardly ever kept on) and the scenery, especially the castle and adjoining graveyard. Even some comedy aspects creep into the film (Mike Raven's catchphrase, "Heart attack" is one). The film is also atmospheric, although sadly this atmosphere is somewhat ruined by the inclusion of a pop song, 'Strange Love', which has to be a low point in the entire Hammer filmography. The film does its best to include a tragic love story, which is at least partially successful. Strangely, most of Mircalla's female victims scream when attacked, but her male victims - Ralph Bates in particular - seem to enjoy the experience. Must be something to do with hormones. One great scene has the vampire coach driver attack the angry villagers with a whip and - well, I won't spoil it for you. Let's just say it's a vintage Hammer moment. I also liked the final scene where a burning timber stakes one of the vampires in the blazing castle. LUST FOR A VAMPIRE is an average film with lots of different ingredients to keep it going; and a worthy addition to Hammer's vampire series, whatever the critics may say.

"Giles Barton" (Ralph Gates) is a novelist who writes about vampires and his interest about them has led him to a finishing school for young women in a remote part of Austria. While there he meets a beautiful student named "Mircalla" (Yutte Stensgaard) and immediately becomes enamored with her. What he doesn't know is that there is more about her than meets the eye. On that note the same could be said for this movie as it is the 2nd film in the "Karnstein Trilogy" produced by Hammer Films which also includes its predecessor "The Vampire Lovers" and later "Twins of Evil". Naturally, being a Hammer production it has a good Gothic feel to it which adds to the overall ambiance. It also has several beautiful women of which both Suzanna Leigh (as "Janet Playfair") and the aforementioned Yutte Stensgaard stand out most prominently. At any rate, while it isn't necessary to see "The Vampire Lovers" prior to watching this film I would suggest viewing it first if for no other reason than to gain a bit of continuity. Likewise, I should also mention that the vampires in this movie don't follow the same general rules one might expect as they can walk around during the day with apparently no ill effects. In any case, this is a pretty good vampire movie and I rate it as slightly above average.

As of last night, I've now seen all of Hammer's Karnstein Trilogy, three '70s erotic horror movies based on the legendary lesbian vampire Carmilla. I have the Blu-ray of the first film, The Vampire Lovers (1970) on pre-order. The follow-ups aren't quite as good, and I concur with others who say Lust for a Vampire is the weakest of the three. That said, it's not nearly as bad as made out to be.Most of the acting (except from the girl at the very beginning of the film) is passable. Carmilla is played in this movie by the Danish Yutte Stensgaard, who has a sinister smile when she kills off one character, but otherwise doesn't quite measure up to Ingrid Pitt. The story and writing are passable as well. It may be nothing special, but it makes sense to follow up on The Vampire Lovers by sending Carmilla to an all-girl school. That said, she does have an affair with a man in this movie, but elements of lesbianism are still visible.Lust for a Vampire features some gratuitous nudity- and for that, I thank Hammer. One thing that struck me as odd is that this movie has to go out of its way to explain how Carmilla is resurrected (she is definitely killed at the end of The Vampire Lovers) and yet instead of keeping her alive, the second movie kills her in the end too. A flaming stake happens to fall down and coincidentally hit her in the chest- a total accident, and not quite a satisfying ending. This time she appears to stay dead, as the third film in the trilogy, Twins of Evil, is likely a prequel rather than a sequel. As well, this movie blunders in making Carmilla the vampire's true name, whereas in The Vampire Lovers it's an alias.All things considered, Lust for a Vampire is a guilty pleasure, even if guiltier than the rest of the trilogy.

This R-rated vampire film made me laugh. After all, a vampire who died over a hundred years earlier (Countess Carmilla) has been revived and she matriculates at a nearby girls school. While this idea is silly, it's even sillier since the school apparently is only for hot ladies ages 18-25! And, during much of their free time, they spend it dressing and undressing and kissing each other! It was all meant to be very sexy and at times it was, but I also laughed a lot since it was so contrived and clichéd. After all, they sure seemed to come up with so many excuses to get naked! However, despite this silly plot, the film actually was pretty good in many ways. Much of it was, I am sure, due to it being made by Hammer Films--a studio that had already made a bazillion horror films and knew how to get the look right. While it's far from the studio's best, it was pretty good--and a lot better than some of their other 1970s vampire films (such as "The Satanic Rites of Dracula"). And, if you are looking for boobies, then this film should do the trick.By the way, don't you think the guy vampire looked an awful lot like General Zod from "Superman II"?! And, although not a bad film, get a look at the silly way they killed off Carmilla! Pretty dumb and pretty convenient!!