Fangs of the Living Dead

1973
4.4| 1h34m| PG| en
Details

A beautiful virgin inherits a castle, but when she arrives at it, she finds that the inhabitants include a strange nobleman and a bevy of beautiful women she suspects may be vampires.

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Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Michael_Elliott Fangs of the Living Dead (1969) ** (out of 4)Malenka (Anita Ekberg) receives word that she has inherited a castle so she heads off to claim it. As soon as she arrives in town she gets the cold shoulder from locals when they find out where she's going. Once she arrives at the castle she is greeted by Uncle (Julian Ugarte) who seems to be holding back some deep secrets.FANGS OF THE LIVING DEAD, the film's U.S. title, isn't the greatest film you're ever going to see but it became a public domain staple on television, VHS, DVD and that's where most people saw it. The film was directed by Amando de Ossorio and this here was his first venture into the horror genre, although he would make his name several years later with the Blind Dead series. As far as this film goes, it's pretty much your basic vampire tale without much originality.If you're familiar with the vampire lore or if you've ever seen a vampire movie then it's doubtful anything here is going to take you by surprise. I guess it's important to note that Spain and their run of horror films was just starting so I guess it was an obvious choice to go with a vampire film. This one here is beautiful to look at and there are some rich colors and some nice cinematography but that doesn't make up for the lack of a real story or of an interesting one.It's really too bad more wasn't done with the story because the elements are here for what should have been a much better film. I liked Ekberg in the lead role, although one might say she was a bit too old for the part. There's no question her name alone means a lot more today so getting to see her in a horror picture like this was quite nice. Ugarte was also good in his supporting bit and if you look quickly you'll spot Paul Muller. The film also benefits from a nice music score.FANGS OF THE LIVING DEAD isn't an awful movie but there's no question that it's rather bland story makes for a boring film.
BA_Harrison 'What can we do to end all this nonsense?' asks one character in Fangs of the Living Dead. Well, there's always the stop button, but I'm made of sterner stuff than that. Besides, this silly Gothic horror from Amando de Ossorio, director of the Blind Dead series, mightn't be all that great, but it does offer up several very attractive Euro-babes who, although they don't get naked, do look extremely ravishing throughout, revealing about as much cleavage as a slip of a dress possibly can. And hot babes always make the going a lot easier.Anita Ekberg is the leading lady in this silly vampire romp about an heiress, Sylvia Morel, discovering that her new castle is home to bloodsuckers, but she is easily eclipsed by buxom brunette Adriana Ambesi as sexy vamp Blinka, and Diana Lorys and Rosanna Yanni as beautiful barmaid sisters Bertha and Freya Zemis. Together, this trio of tasty totty ensured that, although the plot was unremarkable and the direction uninspired, I was able to see Fangs to the very end, which, while I'm on the subject, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever (at least in the version I saw): after revealing that the whole vampire thing is a ruse cooked up by Sylvia's uncle, Count Walbrooke (Julián Ugarte), to have his niece committed, the count turns out to be a vampire after all (he disintegrates in flames), after which Max (César Benet), comedy sidekick of Sylvia's fiancé Piero (Gianni Medici), also sprouts a pair of fangs. Confusing, to say the least.
Uriah43 A beautiful model in Rome named "Sylvia Morel" (Anita Ekberg) inherits a castle and sets out to take legal possession of it. When she gets there she meets her uncle, "Count Walbrooke" (Julian Ugarte) who traps her inside and tells her bizarre stories about her family in preparation for a diabolical initiation. At any rate, rather than disclosing what happens next, I will just say that there are some odd twists at the end which might leave you wondering. The acting isn't great by any means and the special effects were pretty bad as well. But this film does offer some attractive women, most notably two barmaids named "Bertha Zemis" (Diana Lorys) and "Freya Zemis" (Rosanna Yanni) along with the aforementioned Anita Ekberg. But other than that there really isn't anything that special or unique about it. That said, I would recommend this movie strictly for die-hard vampire fans only. Slightly below average.
Scarecrow-88 A voluptuous model, Sylvia(..the well endowed Anita Ekberg) is to inherit a gargantuan castle from her mother and discovers from her austere, rather enigmatic uncle, Count Walbrooke(Julián Ugarte)that her blood is polluted by the evil curse of her great-grandmother, Malenka, a "practicing witch" who dabbled in alchemy and discovered the key to eternal life, burnt at the stake by superstitious locals. Sylvia is told by her uncle that she must never associate with the outside world due to the curse and that includes her proposed betrothal to Dr Pietro Lufuani(Gianni Medici). Sylvia also discovers that her uncle could be a vampire..Director Amando de Ossorio's take on the vampire genre is a moderately entertaining effort with a dash of Bava(the use of colors and darkened areas of the castle), Browning(the reactions of the locals when Sylvia announces her reason for being in their village and the first moments in the castle, along with a cast of eccentrics), and Hammer(lots of heavy bosoms from sexy big chested European women in the cast, with big hair and theatrical acting). You have the mausoleum, eerie tunnels in and underneath the castle. You have the towering butler, the Count's hulking muscle when needed. You have the expected "rise from the grave" sequence featuring the luscious Diana Lorys as a pub bartender who "services" the Count when he has a "need to feed". Rosanna Yanni is Lorys concerned sister, Freya. César Benet is Medici's pal, Max, the comic relief of the film, who accompanies him on his journey to the castle to find out about Sylvia, why she would send him a letter calling off their wedding. Adriana Ambesis is a supposed vampire slave the Count keeps prisoner and assaults through lashings when she misbehaves and Carlos Casaravilla is a kooky village doc, Horbringer, a boozer who warns our heroes of the possible terror that awaits those who have the misfortune of coming in contact with residents of the castle.The version I watched is a mess. I have read that prints of Fangs of the Living Dead edit a lot of important details imperative in understanding the climax in better detail. It's not as atmospheric as I was hoping it'd be and is rather tedious despite being relatively short. The essence of the plot carries the usual vampire traits until the ending as chaos reigns. The attractive women and the castle itself are reasons I'd recommend it, but for pure atmosphere and dread you should pursue the ending of de Ossorio's Tombs of the Blind Dead instead. There are plenty of plot inconsistencies which may be better improved upon if a proper, more fleshed-out version is released in the future.