Countess Dracula- Cult Film Review

I have been an avid film fan for a long time, developing and growing my love for cinema by exploring the world of classic films that my father introduced me to. This included classic comedies like Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin to the epic works of David Lean and the sword and sandals films of Ray Harryhausen.

During my time at university, I immersed myself in cult TV shows and movies, taking full advantage of the tonnes of films available on campus. Despite being limited to borrowing only 8 films at a time, I managed to consume a large number of them. While I appreciated the wide variety of movies and shows, I have always had a penchant for the cult or unconventional. My love for old horror films started in my formative teen years. The BBC would show cult horror films late on Friday and Saturday nights in the early to mid-90s and, when we got Sky, late 90s/ early 2000s Bravo Channel. Some were the more salacious films of 60s and 70s European cinema, often in the horror genre but not always-  some were experimental pieces which had a deeply ethereal feel and long moments of quiet where the gorgeous scenery and silence would wash over you. It was here I first saw Circus of Horrors, Vampiros Lesbos, Twins of Evil and many, many more.

One film that piqued my interest was Countess Dracula- the tale that intertwines the narrative of Dracula with the dark and disturbing real-life account of Elisabeth Bathory. She was a Hungarian noblewoman who gained notoriety for the heinous deeds of murdering virgins in order to bathe in their blood to gain eternal youth. It is a dreadful tale of one of the earliest known serial killers and thus would make a traumatising film as is, so the Hammerfication has made it slightly more palatable.

Central to the film is Ingrid Pitt's portrayal of the countess. She is captivating in the role, injecting a compelling element of drama into the role of an older lady who is enthralled by a younger soldier, played earnestly by Sandor Elés. She is a force of nature and demands attention on the screen- oozing charisma and confidence. The film's opulent sets and costumes contribute to its visually striking appearance, perfectly complementing its eerie storyline and gothic leanings.

The Kiss of the Vampire- Cult Film Review

I have been a film aficionado for a long time. My father brought me up on classics like David Lean's adaptations of Oliver Twist and Great Expectations as well as the various black and white classic comedies of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. However I became interested in cult TV series and films whilst attending university. Our campus was media-centered and as a result it had a huge catalogue of videos to rent, free of charge. I ploughed through many often taking the maximum 8 out at a time and consumed them voraciously. As a result I believe that I am quite literate in films and TV but the series that really attracts me are the more offbeat curios. I've explained my love for old creepy films here before and it is in this vein that I wanted to explore some classic horror films from yesteryear. The Kiss of the Vampire, the 1962 production, is one very such film I sought out as it is a lesser known Hammer horror film.

The story follows a young well-to-do honeymooning couple end up stuck in some backwater in Bavaria. Whilst finding accommodation in a nearby hotel they are invited for dinner by Doctor Ravna, an aristocrat who lives in the nearby castle. It all seems too good to be true as the host and his family are revealed to be the disciples of  vampires. When the wife is kidnapped, bitten and turned into a vampire, her husband looks to rescue her from the clutches of the doctor.

This film is a gorgeous production with a vibrant colour palette, beautifully decorated sets and detailed costumes. The cinematography is excellent and sound design dramatic in just the right way. The actress who plays the wife Marianne, Jennifer Daniel, is beguiling in this and plays the role of the ingenue well. This film is unconventional in its ending too as there is no stake through the heart, great fire or anything of the sort. Rather an incantation brings about the demise of the coven of vampires. The special effects for this section are laughably bad but the idea is a good one- even though it is a deus ex machina

I would recommend this film as it is old skool Hammer and existed before the studio went through its difficult years of excess where there was too much gratuitous sex and violence. I'm not saying that there is no place for these but in short sharp bursts it's more effective than where Hammer ended up.

Vampire Circus- Cult Film Review

My love for old horror films started in my formative teen years. The BBC would show cult horror films late on Friday and Saturday nights in the early to mid-90s and, when we got Sky, late 90s/ early 2000s Bravo Channel. Some were the more salacious films of 60s and 70s European cinema, often in the horror genre but not always-  some were experimental pieces which had a deeply ethereal feel and long moments of quiet where the gorgeous scenery and silence would wash over you. It was here I first saw Circus of Horrors, Vampiros Lesbos, The Witchfinder General and many, many more.

Whilst flicking through the ITVX app, I saw the image for Vampire Circus. I vaguely remembered the film so decided to revisit it for the first time in 30 or so years.

Vampire Circus was produced in 1971 which was the start of the period of decline for Hammer. Hammer had risen to prominence in the two decades before with its gothic top tier b-movie films which were rich in detail and storytelling. However, by the 70s the audience’s tastes were changing and the drop in production quality led to a glut of poorer Hammer movies that seemed to be poorer imitations of what had come before. Luckily, Vampire Circus is not one of these films as it still stands as a great film- maybe one of the last great Hammer films before its decline. Taking inspiration from post-modern European films, it is an erotic dreamlike venture with lashings of gore thrown in for good measure.

The film is about a small town in a forest which is beholden to the evil Count Mitterhaus (played in bohemian Byronesque fashion by Robert Tayman). He feasts on the blood of children and preys on the beautiful women within this community. When the people rise up and kill him he curses them, saying that they and their children, and their children’s children etc will die. Cue the title card and the beginnings of an intriguing story.

We fast forward 15 years and see that the village is in decline as the neighbouring villages know about the curse and do not want the isolated village to spread the curse further. However, a travelling circus troupe, The Circus of Night, visits the village and performs for the people whilst secretly exacting revenge by killing the children of the families and dripping their blood onto the corpse of their cousin Count Mittterhaus. Will the village discover what is happening or will all the children of the village die and the Count resurrect?

I throughly enjoyed the film. Even though any film with child death is challenging to watch the overall plot of the story and the sheer sense of place in this Germanic town is well realised. Sure, there are bare bodies aplenty and lots of gore but the story at its heart of a class battle between the aristocratic class against the poorer and middle classes is still a relevant one even today. This film is not for the faint of heart but is well worth your time.

LINK: Kolchak: The Night Stalker- Cult TV Series Review

LINK- Dead of Night: Cult TV Review

LINK- The Stone Tapes: Cult TV Review

LINK- Twin Peaks Retrospective

LINK- On, and On and Colston (Or, ‘How We Learned to Talk About the Legacy of Colonialism in GB’)

LINK- ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’

Twins of Evil- Cult Film Review

My love for old horror films started in my formative teen years. The BBC would show cult horror films late on Friday and Saturday nights in the early to mid-90s and, when we got Sky, late 90s/ early 2000s Bravo Channel. Some were the more salacious films of 60s and 70s European cinema, often in the horror genre but not always-  some were experimental pieces which had a deeply ethereal feel and long moments of quiet where the gorgeous scenery and silence would wash over you. It was here I first saw Circus of Horrors, Vampiros Lesbos, The Witchfinder General and many, many more.

It was during this time that I first watched Twins of Evil. I decided to revisit the film for the first time in over 25 or so years to see if it was worth the cult classic status it has acquired over time.

The story is quite simple: At a village where superstition reigns supreme, a young woman is burned at the stake for being a witch by a band of puritans. Maria and Freida, played by the identical Collinson twins, are placed under the care of their puritanical uncle, played by an ever reliable Peter Cushing. The twins are identical in looks but very different in nature with Maria being kindhearted but Frieda being selfish and hedonistic. When Frieda secretly allies with the pleasure seeking Count Karnstein (played with suitable arrogance and charm by Damien Thomas) and is turned into a vampire, her sister seeks to get her back but is it too late?

The film is based on Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla but apparently this film changes quite a lot from the source material. As it is, the film is a very simple story of good and evil and the nature of humans. It's not a deep character study like The Blood on Satan's Claw or The Wicker Man but it is quick disposable fun that shows Hammer at its cheesy average.

The cinematography by the awesomely named Dick Bush is solid and the Harry Robinson composed music surprisingly jaunty, especially over the opening credits as a poor woman is writhing in agony as the flames overtake her body. Director, John Hough, knows his remit and that is to let his star actresses take the spotlight and shine in their title roles.

The film is fine but that's it. The twins are solid in their roles whilst Cushing and Thomas play their roles with suitable gravitas but the story is slight and there are few surprises. It's a recommend from me for nostalgia's sake but there are definitely better horror films from the period out there.

LINK: Kolchak: The Night Stalker- Cult TV Series Review

LINK- Twin Peaks Retrospective

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LINK- My One True Gaming Constant in Life- Nintendo

LINK- On, and On and Colston (Or, ‘How We Learned to Talk About the Legacy of Colonialism in GB’)

LINK- ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’

LINK: Let’s All Create a ‘New Normal’.

Hammer Glamour- Book Review

I have been a film aficionado for a long time. My father brought me up on classics like David Lean's adaptations of Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, the various black and white classic comedies of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy as well as the Dynamation works of Ray Harryhausen.

My love for old horror films started in my formative teen years. The BBC would show cult horror films late on Friday and Saturday nights in the early to mid-90s and, when we got Sky, late 90s/ early 2000s Bravo Channel. Some were the more salacious films of 60s and 70s European cinema, often in the horror genre but not always- some were experimental pieces which had a deeply ethereal feel and long moments of quiet where the gorgeous scenery and silence would wash over you. It was here I first saw The Witchfinder General, Circus of Horrors, Vampiros Lesbos and Twins of Evil and many, many more.

I became even more interested in cult TV series and films whilst attending university. Our campus was media-centered and as a result it had a huge catalogue of VHS tapes to rent, free of charge. I ploughed through many often taking the maximum 8 out at a time and consumed them voraciously.

Hammer was a name that stood out to me as you were guaranteed a strong performance from a lead actor, often Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing, and lashings of blood and glamour. It was here that I came across many actresses who I knew from other works like Caroline Munro (Sinbad), Nastassja Kinski (Paris, Texas) and Madeline Smith (Live and Let Die). It seemed like horror was the genre many a young lady had cut their teeth on and specifically Hammer.

Cushing and Lee get all the credit but the leading and supporting ladies added so much to the productions and needed to be spotlit. The women were often glamourous and their acting skills overlooked by many, including the film makers themselves, for mere tittilation but the coffeebook Hammer Glamour looks behind the scenes and  presents black and white and colour photographs from the Hammer archives of these actresses.

Usually, each of the 50 actresses gets at least 3 pages as well as biographies including candid interviews from the surviving actresses or archival quotes from past interviews for those who are no longer with us. These are no mere puff pieces but actually quite critical of the treatment many of these women received from an often mysogynistic and sexist British film industry of the time. Many were told that the nude scenes or candid photos they reluctantly took part in would only be for 'foreign markets' only to find the scenes shown in the home UK market. The author, Marcus Hearn does not shy away from this and, whilst having a clear love of the studio and it's works, he is aware of these issues and has shared them here. It isn't all doom and gloom though as many actresses had an amazing time and were well treated, however, many left the industry jaded, dependent on drugs or alcohol, whilst a few even committed suicide.

The book is a handsome tome with good quality paper stock and crystal clear photographs. The layout of the pages is consistent with large photographs of the actresses in their film roles as well as promotional shoots. This book is a respectful look at the first ladies of horror and is highly recommended by me.

LINK- Into The Unknown Exhibition Review

LINK- Kolchak: The Night Stalker- Cult Movie Review

LINK: Kolchak: The Night Stalker- Cult TV Series Review

LINK- Children of the Stones: Cult TV Series Review

LINK- Dead of Night: Cult TV Review

LINK- The Stone Tapes: Cult TV Review

Christopher Lee and Me

It was with great sadness that I heard that the legendary actor, Christopher Lee, had passed away at the age of 93. He was an actor whose presence crossed  generations, whether it was playing Saruman in LoTR, Scaramanga in The Man With the Golden Gun and Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man. But for a lot people of my generation and older there was one role which he will eternally be tied to, and that is of the elegant and darkly brooding Dracula.

I'm a child of the 80's and so wasn't alive to witness the British horror boom of the 50's 60's and 70's, however I caught a lot of the Hammer Horror films in my formative years on late night showings on BBC2 and the Bravo Channel.


Watching Christopher Lee's towering performances (he was nearly 6 1/2 foot tall) was something to behold; not all the films he starred in were masterpieces or even good but you could always depend on him to deliver a wonderful performance. The world has lost an actor, like Leonard Nimoy, who young people but also your grandparents will know.... and not many actors have achieved that level of fame. RIP Sir Christopher Lee.