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Vampyres
Blue
Underground Edition
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U.K.
/ 1974
Directed by José Ramón Larraz
Starring
Marianne Morris
Anulka
Murray Brown
Color / 88 Minutes / Not Rated
Format: DVD (R0 - NTSC)
Blue Underground
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Review
by
Brian Lindsey
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6
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9 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Anchor
Bay first released this erotic shocker on DVD
some three years ago. To date it represented the
most complete home video version of the film available.
Now Blue Underground, a company that's fast become
a leader in bringing Euro-cult titles to North
American shores, steps up to offer a truly uncut
edition of Vampyres,
enhanced with a terrific slate of extras. Upon
comparing the two it's a no-brainer to select
the BU version as the definitive DVD release.
Those who own the AB disc and really dig the film
may wish to consider upgrading.
I won't be going into a full-fledged
plot synopsis or critique here; a fairly comprehensive
recap of the story, and a critical assessment
of the film, can already be found in my review
of the Anchor Bay DVD. (To read it, click HERE.)
Needless to say this dreamlike excursion into
erotic horror, produced in England and helmed
by Spanish director José Ramón Larraz, features
blood, sex and nudity in very liberal doses. Marianne
Morris and Anulka Dziubinska play the titular
undead, actually more akin to blood-drinking ghosts
than the traditional vampire we usually see in
films. (Fangs are never bared, nor do they sleep
in coffins.) They haunt a creepy English manor
house — the same one used as Dr. Frank N. Furter's
abode in The Rocky Horror
Picture Show — from which they periodically
venture to flag down unsuspecting male motorists
on a nearby country lane. Lured with the promise
of sex the men willingly enter the spider's web
to be brutally killed. The women use daggers to
slay their victims, lapping up the blood with
the frenzied abandon of wild animals. With their
lust for blood satiated the gals then tumble into
bed (or the shower — running water's no problem
for these naughty nosferatu) for some steamy lesbian
sex.
Morris and Dziubinska are very
sexy, and the violence — in which the blood flows
in copious amounts — is shocking in its savagery
and suddeness. I really can't sum up the film
any better than I did for my previous review:
If you're looking for a horror film with some
genuinely erotic imagery, or a sex film with a
liberal dash of horror, Vampyres
should fit the bill. It's arguably the best
lesbian vampire movie ever made, and even almost
30 years on, still capable of raising an eyebrow
or two... amongst other things.
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The
Blue Underground edition of Vampyres,
released today (May 27), is a definite improvement
in a number of ways. Either better elements were
used for the transfer or some restoration work was
done — much of the graininess that plagued the Anchor
Bay disc has been significantly reduced. Picture
quality also looks sharper. Also, some 30 seconds
of bloody mayhem, missing from the AB version, has
been restored. I didn't notice any major improvement
in audio (both discs are Digital Mono), but the
track is certainly sufficient to the task.
Along with a complete, better-looking
version of
the film, Blue Underground's DVD offers some great
extras. The audio commentary with director Larraz
and producer Brian Smedley-Aston is the same one
used for the AB disc (see my review of it for more
details); it's a lively, enjoyable discussion. As
before, we also get the U.S. and European theatrical
trailers. Exclusive to BU's edition are: a new still/poster
gallery; a gallery of glamor shots of the lovely
Anulka; a black-and-white photo reconstruction of
the 'lost' caravan scene, which didn't make the
final cut of the film; a text bio of Larraz; and
Vampyres: A Tribute to the Ultimate in Erotic
Horror Cinema, an extensive collection of essays,
articles, photos and artwork available via a CD-ROM
option. (Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view
the materials.) A terrific boon to fans is a recently
shot 14-minute featurette, Return of the Vampyres,
with stars Marianne Morris and Anulka Dziubinska.
These good-natured ladies, to whom the intervening
years have been quite kind, share a number of amusing
anecdotes about the film's production. The fake
blood was peppermint flavored, for example, and
both actresses' real voices were dubbed. Anulka
was even told prior to filming that the script only
called for a "little light" nudity. (Fortunately
for us she was lied to!) 5/27/03 |
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