Wow! Such a good movie.

A Disappointing Continuation

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

My first time seeing this solid Mexican horror film properly in its original language, as intended. It's certainly one of the finest of its genre, with German Robles in good form as Count Lavud, the Vampire. A pretty young woman travels to the eerie mansion of her ancestors, accompanied by a doctor (Abel Salazar). Something is not quite right when she learns that one of her aunts has just mysteriously died, and another aunt seems rather strange and exceptionally young. It turns out that the blood-sucking Lavud is behind it all, and Salazar has to take on the role of hero. I was very impressed with the consistency in set design, production values, and all-around creepiness and foggy atmosphere that helps make this winner a classic of its kind. Abel Salazar produced this himself, reportedly very keen on following in the step of the old Universals, and it pays off handsomely. *** out of ****

In a way the brilliant 1931 Spanish version of 'Dracula' and this fine 1957 Spanish-language film have similar strengths and weaknesses. Both lack a Lugosi or Lee in the title role, but both have outstanding cinematography, atmosphere and supporting casts.While the English and Spanish 1931 films are often compared, it seems reasonable to compare 'El Vampiro' to Christopher Lee's 'The Horror of Dracula,' a contemporary work. German Robles is no Christopher Lee. Almost effeminate in his count's formal attire, one suspects that if he had succeeded in bringing his dead brother back to life, the brother would immediately have taken charge. He almost seems uncomfortable with his mouthful of fangs.A weak vampire is not enough to derail an otherwise outstanding film, however. The cast overall is quite good and the black and white cinematography much creepier than the bloody Hammer color. Simply put, this movie just plain works. The sets out great, the costumes and makeup are great and the cast is very sound, including Ariadna Welter as Marta, Abel Salazar as Dr. Enrique, Jose Luis Jimenez as Emilio, Carmen Montejo as Eloisa and Alicia Montoya as Maria Teresa. Montejo, as the vampire follower of Duval and Montoya as the near-crazed Maria Teresa are especially outstanding. Montoya somehow makes me think of Morticia Addams or Lilly Munster on a bad hair/makeup day! Even the servants are quite good.The music is just a tad over-the-top, loud and repetitive. Still, it is effective in setting the mood…and mood is the name of the game in 'El Vampiro.' With its creepy crypts, spooky woods, spider webs and ancient books, it captures an eeriness that color films have trouble matching. The lighting and camera work accentuate this and help make 'El Vampiro' one of the half dozen or so better vampire films ever made. It is certainly among the creepiest and most atmospheric.

I had heard a lot about this Mexican horror classic and cult film by Fernando Méndez: that it was a remarkable B&W production, that it established the vampire genre in México, that it was the first movie in which the vampire had fangs and –most of all- that it was intentionally funny in parts. I had seen its sequel, "El ataúd del vampiro" (The Vampire's Coffin) when I was 8 years old, of which I have a vague memory. Now, after 47 years of its release, I've finally seen "El vampiro" and to my surprise it is better than what I expected. Producer Abel Salazar knew what he was getting into –as probably did Luis Buñuel when he made "Abismos de pasión", adapting Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights"- and decided not only to approach the tale of an Hungarian vampire in México with humor, but to play the leading part of the doctor with comic touches, as a cynic and fearful hero. Beautiful Ariadne Welter (Tyrone Power's once sister-in-law, sometimes credited as Ariadna) is the young heroine who returns to her family hacienda in Sierra Negra (Black Sierra) and meets Salazar on her way, while they are followed by her aunt (Cuban soap opera superstar Carmen Montejo), a spinster under the spell of Count Duval (Germán Robles), the local vampire. The initial situation reminded me of the Hammer Films production "Kiss of the Vampire", which was made a few years later: a young woman being observed and chosen to be part of the undead, though in this case the open setting is darker and in obvious decay. What was surprising to me was the plot's twists, which seem quite original for its time and probably not yet equaled, mainly the introduction of a woman buried alive (Alicia Montoya) –whose appearance predates Myrna Fahey in Roger Corman's "The Fall of the House of Usher"- who protects the heroine and has a decidedly active part in the conclusion. Although screenwriter Ramón Obón takes many elements from Bram Stoker's classic novel, he introduces clever touches, immensely helped by Rosalío Solano's cinematography, Gustavo César Carrión's eerie score and Méndez' firm direction. As a research, it's also interesting to see another movie by Méndez, "Ladrón de cadáveres", which paved the way for a unique Mexican cross of genres: the wrestler and horror films.

I have just seen El vampiro during a Latin American Film festival held in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, where its protagonist German Robles was present as guest of honour.El vampiro is imaginative rather than talkative and has imagery no American fifties vampire flick can match. The story, of course, is lame and predictable, and, as Latin movies go, there is a lot of supernatural hokum coming with it. The overriding presence of Robles, together with the humor and the menacing, beautiful atmosphere, make up for it.Vampiric action is kept to a bare minimum and the man-to-bat-metamorphosis (and vice versa) challenges in no way the 1932 standard. Nevertheless, it is one of the classics of the genre.If you want to know how a vampire lady looks when she tries very hard to look like a vampire lady - well, the film gives you ample chance. One last thing: the soundtrack, however primitive, is a revelation: good vampire music and sound effects culminate in the humorous ending, when the leading man's words are drowned by the departing train's whistle. Nearly perfect.