Starring: Marianne Morris, Anulka Dziubinska, Murray Brown, Brian Deacon, Harriet Faulkner, Michael Byrne, Karl Lanchbury
Country: UK
Runtime: 1hr 27 min
The mythology surrounding Vampires has become so misconstrued modern day, that something such as a "true" vampire film perhaps does not exist. The concept was revitalized in the Victorian era to serve as a warning to young girls about promiscuity, and men. However, the reaction has always been quite the opposite having Vampires being highly sexualized in the modern age. What better time for this sexualization than in the tail end years of the sexpolitation and erotic boom of the '60s and '70s. Although set in 1974, Vampyres keeps the feel of a Victorian tale, taking place in rural England near a vacant gothic mansion. The two female leads, have almost no backstory and little is known about them for the films entirety aside for the manner in which they kill and stalk their prey. Perhaps rather feministic, both women use their sexuality to lure, sexually toy with, and eventually kill single male travellers. This adds to some interesting social commentary. Also effective, is the use of bystanders; a couple coincidentally chooses a camping spot facing the old mansion, and a "victim" is left alive for a series of days. This provides "outlets" for the viewers to both sympathize with, and in turn give the effect that they are taking the subsequent characters place. That being said, the gore and eroticism greatly amounts for a majority of the films content which is extremely well executed.
Cheesy: 2/5
Sleazy: 5/5
Culty: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment