In Defense of GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE. This is in no way a slur against our beloved literary prince of darkness; but instead, it simply means that there are other features that ventured into vampiric terrain during the grittiest period of cinematic decades that boast original and sometimes innovative bloodsucker outings. When American International Pictures released the subversively provocative and proudly lurid COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE in 1. Robert Quarry who built an army of devoted female disciples (one of which feasted upon a cat in one of the film. GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE 1972 William Smith (James Eastman), Michael Pataki (Caleb Croft/Professor Adrian Lockwood/Charles Kroydan), Lyn Peters (Anne Arthur), Diane Holden (Anita Jacoby), Lieux Dressler (Olga), Eric Mason (Lt.The film was originally intended as a softcore sexploitation film (some prints of the film would feature it. The result was a profoundly disturbing and entertaining horror classic. Following hot off YORGA. The final insult is that this cretin lunges upon them and rips into their flesh feasting upon their fresh oozing blood. In many ways a lot of Pataki. In comparison, Pataki jolts and bolts through each scene with a maddening intensity much like Naschy in his werewolf state, throwing his body around in an ecstatic and hedonistic manner . He is supported by a collective of sturdy actors, some there to serve genuine narrative purpose and others rendered loose- ends that succumb to a nasty demise even though they seem to be set up as mainstays. For example, the character of the lieutenant (Eric Mason) somehow represents a bizarre red herring. We are lead to believe that this character will be a Van Helsing of sorts, set to destroy Pataki.
Trailer to the 1972 Horror movie 'Grave of the Vampire', directed by John Hayes. The death of the lieutenant is gruesome and shocking. His body is smashed into the side of an open coffin by Croft and then his head is left to rest at the place of where the lid would shut tight. With a mighty blow, Croft drops the coffin. In a strangely homoerotic tail- end to the scene, Pataki rips open the handsome law enforcer. Another first act character that is established, given purpose but then tossed to the sidelines is abuse victim Olga (Lieux Dressler), who is another bizarre addition to the film. Olga is introduced in the hospital where our initial heroine Lesley (played by Kitty Vallacher who somehow tries to channel a neurotic Sandy Dennis in her performance, and also billed as . This frazzled older woman takes an instant shine to our vulnerable leading lady, plus there is also a subdued hint of lesbianism here, as Olga caresses Lesley. Even hearing the word uttered on multiple occasions makes for a seedy excursion into the vampire sub- genre. Rape- centric cinema was of course no stranger on the grindhouse circuit of the early seventies, however when it is introduced to a film about bloodsuckers (a movie monster that is already seemingly . This said, the film bears a semblance to the European horror/psychological character study of Werewolf Woman (1. GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE dances with the notion of rape, but then fixes it. The film plays with the rules of vampirism . It is a striking image that perverts the holy bond shared between mother and child, and here this loving and essential act is completely misshaped as the natural maternal/infant unity is turned into something grotesque and demonic. The extreme close- up of the grey/bluish baby lapping up the fresh droplets of blood that fall onto his face is quite simply a nightmarish vision of unnatural monstrousness. On top of this unsettling image comes Lesley. For example, Lesley takes a large syringe to her arm and withdraws her own blood to feed her son. This lingering image gives the movie a much welcomed queasiness that is appealing in the most down and dirty grindhouse- fevered sense. Dark humor is also infused within the lively dialogue ? Playing the adult Eastman is the wonderful as character actor William Smith, however even with his hulking presence that made him a go- to heavy for other motion pictures and television of the time, he doesn. AKA's: Bebe Vampire / Enfants De Frankenstein, Les / Gruft Der D Our leader and longtime friend Dave Nelson comes with another of the worst horror movies known to man. There will be a remake of American Werewolf in London which will be directed by Max Landis. Thankfully, Pataki returns to the screen and now in an urbane and semi- sophisticated turn, where he poses as a professor at a local college. Muscular and stoic William Smith spends his time on screen wanting to track down his father while using women that work at the college to help him find out more about their elusive boss. Eastman has also spent his entire life repressing his vampiric self, however elements of his hidden desires pop up throughout the film and prove rather humorous. When a female associate at the college comes over for a drink at Eastman. We get the idea that this man is trying to suppress his urges by letting the blood from a steak assuage his lust, rather than surrender to the pleasures of human blood. The film takes its time with lingering mood- pieces and visually engaging story- servers, such as the elongated moment where Eastman struggles to give in to his budding vampiric desires when his pick up is lying asleep underneath him, with the veins in her throat pulsating and throbbing. Eastman runs his fingers over these vessels blood, and distracts himself. But by the end of the film, Smith! The varied versions of the film with alternate cuts make for this to be one of those films that is seldom seen in its entirety. An uncut version has yet to surface, and the best print available for the film is made available on DVD through a company called Retromedia who have saved the original format and cleaned it up to the best they could, however this is once again another modified version . By the end of the picture, when father and son duke it out and come face to face with one another beating up on each other and throwing each other across the room, the film shifts into a fists of fury scenario that could match the likes of any Burt Reynolds action movie released around the same time. William Smith is most certainly an action star prototype . A truly stoic figure in his concentrated approach, the actor makes some of the flat dialogue engaging by giving it a grounded sense of realism. When we first meet him he speaks in voice over, giving us necessary exposition (something that could have been accomplished without such overstatement, however does seem to work here) about his mother. However, this dies with the image of his mother dead in her coffin. GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE is worth it for many reasons . Besides the first half being stronger than the occult heavy second, the picture has a mesmerizing stride and energy and truly is one of the best vampire movies of the early seventies.
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