La strage dei vampiri (1962)

User Rating:

4.3/10   

Director:

Roberto Mauri

Writer:

Roberto Mauri (writer)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

On their wedding night, a newlywed couple find themselves menaced by a bloodthirsty vampirer. |

Plot Keywords:

Blood Transfusion | Mirror | Skeleton | Theremin | Battering Ram

Cast

Walter Brandi	...	Wolfgang
Graziella Granata	...	Louise
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Luigi Batzella	...	Dr. Nietzsche (as Paolo Solvay)
Dieter Eppler	...	Vampire
Edda Ferronao
Carla Foscari
Gena Gimmy
Maretta Procaccini
Alfredo Rizzo

Directed by
Roberto Mauri

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Roberto Mauri		writer

Produced by
Dino Sant'Ambrogio	....	producer

Original Music by
Aldo Piga

Cinematography by
Ugo Brunelli

Film Editing by
Jenner Menghi

Production Design by
Giuseppe Ranieri

Makeup Department
Carlo Grillo	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Franco Longo	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Fausto Ancillai	....	sound recordist
Nino Renda	....	sound recordist

Production Companies

• Mercurfilm

Distributors

• Pacemaker Pictures (1969) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Dark Sky Films (2007) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Image Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Monterey Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Curse of the Blood Ghouls (USA)
Curses of the Ghouls
Slaughter of the Vampires

Runtime:

USA:72 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:G

Filming Locations:

Monte San Giovanni Campano Castle, Monte San Giovanni Campano, Frosinone, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Mercurfilm

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: Slaughter of the Vampires (1962) (#1.110)" (1981)

Full-Blooded Romanticism

Here's a "full-blooded", old-fashioned (some might say out-dated), baroque Italian vampire opus which deserves a better reputation than it's achieved. Although Hammer Studios merits credit for re-popularizing the moribund Gothic horror genre in the early 60s, the contemporaneous Latin (Italian, Spanish and Mexican) efforts usually evoke a more authentically Romantic and decadent atmosphere. This one features overwhelmingly ornate sets; voluptuous ingenues with inviting dark eyes and heaving bosoms; high-collared, flouncy-vested Don Juans; absurdly stilted dialogue; and a lush, intrusive score full of piano glissandos, piercing oboes, and even a theremin during the vampire seductions. The deliberate pacing serves to intensify the well-timed shocks, there are some clever camera set-ups, and fine shadowy photography (particularly during the dungeon-set climax). Fans of fast-paced, violent, revisionist horror will think it a dinosaur, but connoisseurs should find it greatly satisfying.