55. VAMPYRES

55. VAMPYRES
(1974)
Directed by Jose Roman Larraz

The time on our list has come to talk about lesbian vampire movies and the inspiration for most of these films is Sheridan LeFanu's archetypal 19th Century novella "Carmilla". Essential reading, in case you didn't know. The sexy undead predatory female who will turn you on, steal your women and suck you dry has massive appeal for reasons that are both too obvious and too involved to list here. Film scholars have published research on the matter so if you're curious then get thee to a library and read up. This interesting and lascivious sub-genre of horror movies had it's initial burst of popularity in the early 1970's due mostly to a successful trilogy of Hammer films, "The Vampire Lovers" (1970), "Lust for a Vampire" (1971) and "Twins of Evil" (1972). Jean Rollin was also making sexy bloodsucking movies in France and Jess Franco was doing the same in Spain (most famously with 1970's "Vampyros Lesbos") but I think the best, and sexiest, of them all was this latecomer, "Vampyres", orchestrated in some lost chilly October by an otherwise undistinguished director, Jose Ramon Larraz. The lovely living dead gals are played by Marianne Morris and model/centerfold Anulka. It's very erotic, very bloody and filmed on location at a stunning English manor. I'm getting hot under the collar just thinking about it. Better move on.