How sad is this?

A Brilliant Conflict

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

What a find this was, I had read and seen articles on "I Vampiri" before, but never seen it...now that I have, I am very impressed. The film is fairly simple, and is modestly told, but with style, atmosphere and simple, good cinematography, it succeeds.Plot is as follows...it is 1950s, black and white France. Local girls are disappearing then turning up dead with all their blood drained away. Police and the local press investigate, but it takes a some luck and freak connections to uncover what is going on. Unsurprisingly a family of aristocrats who inhabit a large ornate castle seem to be most heavily implicated...surely the frail and elderly "duchess" who is never seen without her veil couldn't be a prime suspect...could she? Although the action is not intense or gory, I still found the film very enjoyable. For a film with "vampire" in the title, there is a total lack of blood, biting or fangs to be seen. Instead it's more like a murder mystery film. The main characters are a reporter and his semi-girlfriend, a stunning lady who happens to be a younger member of the rich family, and a policeman who is doing his best to catch the killer. The Cinemascope format really enhances the appealing black and white photography - watching this in full screen would surely ruin it. The sets and decor are also fantastic, especially scenes set in the castle and several decaying apartments and chambers. The acting of the male leads is not that impressive, but the girl victims and in particular the gorgeous Gianna Maria Canale (as the young aristocrat) perform very well.There's a really good twist about halfway through the story, which I won't reveal, but it is the standout moment of the film - a character suddenly ages rapidly on camera without cuts or dissolves. This incredible effect is repeated twice more and on each of the three occasions I reversed and watched the scene again just to marvel at how good it looked. According to excellent UK magazine "is It UNCUT", the process was "a secret for many years" and I am not even going to explain it, as it is better if you don't guess how they did it. Most viewers today probably will work it out, but I can imagine it perplexed many moviegoers who caught saw it in 1959.Do yourself a favour and track this movie down. Apparently it was not a big success on it's release, so we should be thankful for the new Image Entertainment DVD release which presents a beautiful widescreen version of the film. Definitely recommended.

From Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava comes this ancestor of the giallo genre. It has a lot of the same moves as it's long lost offspring. Mystifying images and sexuality plays a big part. The story is rather simple. Girls are being found dead without a drop of blood left and a journalist must struggle with a nearly incompetent police force to solve the mystery.With genius cinematic touches the frames look nearly spot on perfect and the cinematography is magical. I must say that this has to be the only scientific vampire movie around. It's not you're usual mythical stuff but rather scientific experiments performed by a mysterious scientist and his flunkies under the lead of a old and evil duchess.Unlike the films it makes the way for this is much more of a mystery story and there are no gore. A few death scenes are needed of course. I was at the end of my seat through the entire movie and I just had to recommend it. It's definitely a film giallo and mystery/thriller/horror fans should check out.

Today's review we go back in the day a bit with the 1956 film "I Vampiri". From the title you would assume that this is going to be a vampire movie however what we get is a 1930's/40's style mystery film made in the late 50's, stirred up with some scientific experiments, dead/missing women and some very nice cinematography by none other than Mario Bava (who also helped complete the film in a director's capacity) to make an enjoyable view for those interested in this kind of film.The movie starts off with a dead girl found in a river. As we come to find out she is the 4th in a string of recent killings of young women. The killer has been branded "The Vampire" by the police and the press as there appears to be puncture wounds on the dead girls bodies (needle marks). Enter the young newspaper reporter looking for a clues to get the story of the century who is always one step ahead of the police but always appearing to cry wolf when he asks for their assistance.The movie goes through several red herrings as it has you to believe that it's one person or another that is doing it however if you've seen enough horror/thrillers and mystery movies you will know that they are obviously the pawns for something greater. You will more than likely figure out what is going on after the first half of the movie however the way the film is set up and the story is delivered you will not care.One part horror/ one part mystery/thriller I Vampiri is a solid 50's film. Some things of note, the effects that are used to show the Countess/Giselle are well done. You actually get the since of her "aging" right in front of your eyes. Also the sets are very nice to look at from it's big aboding castle to cemetery sequences (shades of Bava's future film "Black Sunday") all things are of a high standard here.Despite all the positive's the movie in its own right may be a little too by the numbers. Though I enjoyed it and would recommend at least a rental of this film, it really does not break any new ground, which some will find a bit disappointing. I on the other hand liked this film and think that fans of Bava and old mystery/thrillers will have a good time with this one. My score for I Vampiri: 6/10: above average. Yes you may have seen this kind of thing before but with above average production values among other things, this is a highly recommended rental and for fans of this sub genre a purchase. Just another reason why Bava is so revered by the Horror/Thriller community.Until next time, when dating a girl know matter how young she looks, ask her age she may be essence stealing grandmother super freak...GM Out!!

No, no, NO! Just when the ice was starting to thaw on my indifference toward Mario Bava, I pop in "I Vampiri" (on which he retains an unofficial co-director credit) only to be reminded why I thought his films were boring and pretentious in the first place. I don't care how influential a work is--if it bores me, it bores me, and will take a hit as a result. The credited culprit behind the camera of "I Vampiri" is Riccardo Freda (though, for all practical purposes, the film's mood and appearance is pure Bava), and even though he finds a (then-) fresh spin on the classic vampire lore (that would be extended in George Romero's "Martin"), it can't help this film from going terminal in the ever-important Interest Department. So an old woman lives in a moodily-lit and -furnished mansion. So a younger woman occasionally shows up. So a scientist's death is faked so he can carry out vaguely-defined experiments on a local smack addict. So what? "I Vampiri" (translation: "The Vampires") aims for atmospheric shocks and mood, but underneath the decent plot and excellent photography lies a film that has very little to offer, save for a bunch of forgettable characters and a lot of talk. And perhaps I'm being a jerk, but is influence alone reason enough to hail a film? Bava fared much better with the colorized Gothic stylings of "Kill Baby Kill" and "The Whip and the Body," plus the contemporary haunted-house/possession flick, "Shock" (one of the finest in the genre)--seek those out instead. "I Vampiri," well, kinda sucks.