Raetsonwe
Redundant and unnecessary.
Pacionsbo
Absolutely Fantastic
Usamah Harvey
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
bob_bear
Finally got around to watching this on YouTube. Mostly because Madeline Smith was in it. Thereafter, to chase my teenage fear of vampire horror away. Obviously the fear was in my fertile imagination at the time. It's neither scary nor sexy it's just ho hum. Madeline should have been a Hollywood star. Goodness only knows why they passed her by. She had a perfectly charming voice but it seems the producer here decided to dub her lines for no reason I can understand. Talented actors are wasted on an unsophisticated, melodramatic script more suited to the Henry Irving age of theatre. They and the audience deserved better. A smoke machine, cheapo graphics and 70s hairdos abound. Everyone tries their best and fail. It's just not very good.
lemon_magic
"Vampire Lovers" obviously broke some new territory in terms of eroticism and lesbian story elements, and I would say that it was very well acted (especially by Pittman), quite steamy in spots...and that the director and screenwriter deserved a lot of credit for trying something new. But, and this is a big but, after the gruesome and compelling opening scene, the movie slowed to a crawl.The screenplay just sat there, for long, long minutes, building atmosphere but not having anything overly interesting actually happen. And then there was a flurry of activity, and then...the same situation and setup repeated, almost note for note, for ANOTHER 20 minutes. Only this time Peter Cushing was out of the story. Even going through the motions in a character he's played many times, Cushing managed to light up a scene whenever he was on camera. With him gone the remaining cast, although filled with hardworking journeyman actors, simply couldn't keep things focused. Well, there was the whole lesbian vampire/"viper in the bosom" thing unfolding, but I'm way past the point in my life where boobs get me excited.And then in the last 15 minutes, every thing happened at once; Cushing and the rest of the "men heroes" charged to the rescue, and all was set right with the world. The payoff was...ALMOST...worth the wait. It sounds as if I thought the movie sucked. I don't. There are lots of things right with the movie. Pittman's character seemed to be capable of some complex, bittersweet emotions and wasn't just a simple predator, and I liked that. A vampire movie that didn't overuse the Dracula character was a nice change of pace - it's as if this was actually a Dracula "side story" that fleshed out part of the Hammer canon, and I liked that, too. But for me, the movie dragged in too many spots for too long to really be considered one the first rank of Hammer films. Just my opinion, for what it's worth.
dworldeater
To change with the times Hammer sought out to make a film with more overt sexuality. While Hammer horror films always had beautiful, voluptuous babes with big boobs, Hammer turned up the eroticism(and turned on many!) with the lesbian vampire classic The Vampire Lovers. Starring the stunning and very talented actress Ingrid Pitt and directed by Hammer horror regular Roy Ward Baker. The Vampire Lovers is an excellent film that combines Gothic horror with eroticism, but does so without being too trashy or detracting from the horror element. Ingrid Pitt delivers an amazing performance as Carmilla, a smoking hot vampire vixen that enjoys the company(and blood) of women. Carmilla,indeed has great taste in women and her victim/companion of choice(actress Madeline Smith) is very beautiful and gives an excellent performance also. Roy Ward Baker made a real well acted, great looking Gothic horror film with great ambiance, great score and of course a cameo from the great Peter Cushing as The General. After The Vampire Lovers, Ingrid Pitt also made Countess Dracula for Hammer, which I highly recommend if you enjoy this film. By today's standards the eroticism is not such a big deal, but in 1970 it was a boundary that was pushed by displaying such material. The quality of the film stands the test of time and I got a lot of love for The Vampire Lovers!
gizmomogwai
With the exception of Interview With the Vampire, it seems like the best vampire movies come out of Europe- Nosferatu and Vampyr from Germany, Let the Right One In from Sweden and the Hammer films from Britain. The Vampire Lovers is a Hammer horror film with a great deal of bite. It deals with the legendary lesbian vampire Carmilla, played in this version by Ingrid Pitt.From the female vampire who is quickly beheaded in the movie's prologue, The Vampire Lovers is filled with beautiful women. Chief among them is Pitt, whose eyes look both seductive and deadly. Carmilla feasts on nubile young virgins Laura and Emma. There's some great nudity, including in the scene where Carmilla is in the bath and Emma tries on a dress. Carmilla puts on a towel, but only around her hips, leaving her breasts still exposed. Gratuitous nudity? Well, the scene with the two half-naked women playfully chasing each other around the bedroom has a point: the lesbian eroticism is unmistakable.Beyond the erotic aspects of the film, The Vampire Lovers has what every vampire movie needs: good atmosphere with good sets and costumes, as well as mostly smooth dialogue and acting. At the same time, they had the good sense not to actually show the giant cat Carmilla morphs into; it probably would have made a terrible special effect. There are still questions, like if Carmilla's family was wiped out, where did the man in black and her "mother" come from? Probably just victims she made into vampires after the opening scene. My main regret is Carmilla dies at the end (gruesomely). Beyond that, I don't understand the problem people have with this film.Happy Halloween.
