The Velvet Vampire (1971)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Stephanie Rothman

Writers:

Maurice Jules (written by) and
Charles S. Swartz (written by) ...

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

They desired her body... She craved their blood.

Plot:

Sleepy-eyed nice guy Lee Ritter and his vapid, but pretty wife, Susan accept the invitation of mysterious...

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Desert | Psychotronic | Erotic | Grindhouse

Cast

Michael Blodgett	...	Lee Ritter
Sherry Miles	...	Susan Ritter
Celeste Yarnall	...	Diane LeFanu
Gene Shane	...	Carl Stoker
Jerry Daniels	...	Juan
Sandy Ward	...	Amos
Paul Prokop	...	Cliff
Chris Woodley	...	Cliff's girl
Robert Tessier	...	Biker (as Bob Tessier)

Also Known As:

Cemetery Girls
The Devil Is a Woman
The Waking Hour
Through the Looking Glass

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA | Philippines

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 | USA:R

Company:

New World Pictures

Movie Connections:

Featured in Nightmare Theatre's Late Night Chill-o-Rama Horror Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

Soundtrack:

Evil Hearted Woman

Sun and Sand

A vampire in the middle of the desert? That is just what is the subject of this somewhat forgotten, semi-erotic tale made in the only decade one would make a movie about a female vampire with inclinations toward both sexes: the seventies! Now before I get too far, let me say that this film is unique in several ways. It has as its vampire a vampire that defies almost all of the traditional myths about vampires. This one, named Diane, can go about freely in the sun. She can see her reflection in the mirror. She sleeps in a luxuriously large bed(all the more room to entertain her guests). She does feed on blood. She is reputed to be over a century old.. She has a deathly aversion to the Crucifix. What does all this mean? I really don't know, but I am of the opinion that the director and writer were portraying a real vampire rather than a mental vampire(one that believes herself to be a vampire). Diane, played deliciously by Celeste Yarnell, meets a guy and his wife while at a club in Los Angelos. They are invited to her house in the middle of nowhere in the Mojave Desert. Once there, we see Diane and company explore a mine shaft, visit a ghost town, have sexual relations in three different pairings, ride on a dune buggy, and see Diane suck the venom out of a bikini-clad Sherry Miles's leg. This is a strange film not always sure where it is going, but it does lots of things fairly nicely. The acting is pretty good. Yarnell, aside from being beautiful, gives a good performance despite the flaws she inherited with a script fraught with problems. The script keeps cohesive though never explains anything really and tries way too hard at the end. The sex scenes are really quite tame by today's standards. I liked the guitar score throughout much of the film. Though I believe the movie tried to heap much on its being seen as a risqué film in its favor, the film is much more than that. It is far from great, but it is definitely worth a look.