Taste the deadly passion of the blood-nymphs as we explore the Sapphic side of vampire movies...
Okay, so maybe we're getting a little too excited about the new film Lesbian Vampire Killers. It looks funny and awesome and maybe a little bit spooky, plus it has hot fang on fang action - what more do you want?
But, we're sad to say, there's no date for an Australian release date set yet, so all we can do is drool (or hemorrhage, perhaps) over the trailer. In case you've missed it, here you go:
But what do while we wait for a cinema release? Well, how about looking back over the fine and venerable lesbian vampire genre to discover the best of the breed, as it were.
10. Dracula's Daughter (1936)This is the direct sequel to Universal's classic Dracula and follows up immediately where its predecessor left off. We see a dodgy Lugosi lookalike in a coffin and Van Helsing being arrested for his murder. The focus in this production is on Dracula's eponymous daughter, Hungarian Countess Maja Zaleska, played by stunningly melancholic Gloria Holden. How it came about that she could claim that title above all other vampire girls he sired is left unanswered, but she gets to repeat the classic "I don't drink. Wine."
Though she is ultimately after psychiatrist Dr Jeffrey Garth (Otto Kruger), she also approaches two possible female victims. That lesbian angle, not unsurprisingly for the time this was filmed in, is only ever so subtle, but clear enough to warrant an inclusion in this list. Dracula's Daughter may be the first Lesbian Vampire on film, but she is also more importantly the first Neurotic Vampire as she seeks a psychological cure for what she considers a compulsive obsession for human blood.
9. Blood and Roses (1960)If Dracula's Daughter was the first cinematic lesbian vampire, Blood and Roses deserves the accolade for being the first truly sexual vampire movie. This is also the first time that Sheridan Le Fanu's novel Carmilla was transferred to the silver screen, though in a modernised adaptation. From then on the name Carmilla Karnstein (or any of its variations such Mircalla or Marcilla) should soon become synonymous with female vampires in the same way that Dracula is still the prototype for all male blood suckers.
Directed by Roger Vadim, who always had to marry his leading ladies, Blood and Roses stars his then-wife Annette Vadim as Carmilla. Drenched in absolutely stunning and beautiful colours and imagery and with a delightful musical score, this is a feast for the eyes and also features some haunting black and white dream sequences with splashes of red a la The Tingler.
Unusual for a film of this vintage, this production also displays some short scenes of nudity. Although Carmilla does go for the ladies, her ultimate aim is to take over the body of Mel Ferrer's character's fiancée (Elsa Martinelli), so though there are clearly lesbian elements in this film, this isn't such a clear cut victory for the sisterhood.
Issue: 107 | December, 2009