Friday, February 18, 2011

SLAUGHTER OF THE VAMPIRES (1962) AKA CURSE OF BLOOD GHOULS

In this lush Gothic romp from the Golden Age of Italian horror, Walter Brandi (The Playgirls and the Vampire, The Bloody Pit of Horror) and Graziella Granata (A Taste for Women) star as a young well-to-do couple terrorized by a love-hungry vampire (peplum and krimi veteran Dieter Eppler, The Sinister Monk) who makes his nest in the lower rungs of their estate. Before the bloodsucker can lay unholy claim to the voluptuous lady of the land, the couple enlist the unusual services of Professor Nietzsche (Luigi Batzella, writer/director of notable nasties Nude for Satan and SS Hell Camp), who is more than determined to rid the world of all vampires.
Written and directed by Roberto Mauri (Vengeance is My Forgiveness, Madeline: Study of a Nightmare), Slaughter of the Vampires is a Baroque, beautifully photographed entry in the bosom-heaving world of the romantic vampire.

Friday, February 11, 2011

THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE (1963) L'ULTIMA PREDA DEL VAMPIRO

 After skipping out on an unpaid hotel bill, a bus load of curvaceous showgirls are forced off the road by a thunderstorm. They prevail on the hospitality of a nearby castle, where the reclusive Count Kernassy (Walter Brandi) nearly orders them away...until he sees Vera (Lyla Rocco) , a leggy dancer who's a dead ringer for his beautiful ancestor Margherita! Unfortunately, Vera is also attractive to the Count's 200 year old, bloodthirsty ancestor - who's a dead ringer for his descendant!