This low budget quickie will always retain a footnote in cinematic history. It was the first Italian horror film of the sound era and given that nation's large significance when it comes to the cinematic horror genre, this means that this little movie sort of set that particular ball rolling. It has to be said that it could be considered historically important more than being especially good. Its hardly unique in this way though, history has shown in various art forms, that its usually not the first people who are most influential but the second or third. All that being said, this still remains a good film, especially on account of its typically beautiful cinematography by Mario Bavo. The story revolves around a series of murders, in which young women are found dead with all their blood drained; the newspapers refer to the mysterious killer as 'the vampire' and it transpires that the source of the crimes appear to involve the inhabitants of a large castle.
This one begun with Riccardo Freda as director, but he walked off the production towards the end, leading cinematographer Bavo to finish the film. So, on that basis also, this is an important film, given that Bava is now considered one of the most influential directors of the genre and its here that he started that journey. I often hear mention that this one suffers from having a very by-the-numbers storyline, and while this is definitely true, it also has to be said that this is a very common deficit of even the best gothic horror movies. The Paris set story incorporates the Elizabeth Bathory inspired countess leeching blood from young women to extend her youthful appearance, alongside the less likely - but at the time popular - mad scientist plot idea. The latter sci-fi element in actual fact ensures that there are no actual vampires in this one at all, despite the title and I would definitely say that this is a bit unfortunate, as a slinky vampire woman would certainly have been preferable to a youth-giving serum and junky killer. But despite these deficits, the real joy of this one is the gothic atmosphere and attractive sets, which are photographed beautifully by Bava with impressive use of shadows and light. The great man also shows his special effects ingenuity with a couple of extremely effective transformation scenes where a woman appears to age before our eyes - an effect created solely using lighting! So, on the whole, I Vampiri has a few limitations for sure, yet is certainly worth seeking out for its visual eloquence and for being the first in the, soon to be epic, Italian horror genre.
This one begun with Riccardo Freda as director, but he walked off the production towards the end, leading cinematographer Bavo to finish the film. So, on that basis also, this is an important film, given that Bava is now considered one of the most influential directors of the genre and its here that he started that journey. I often hear mention that this one suffers from having a very by-the-numbers storyline, and while this is definitely true, it also has to be said that this is a very common deficit of even the best gothic horror movies. The Paris set story incorporates the Elizabeth Bathory inspired countess leeching blood from young women to extend her youthful appearance, alongside the less likely - but at the time popular - mad scientist plot idea. The latter sci-fi element in actual fact ensures that there are no actual vampires in this one at all, despite the title and I would definitely say that this is a bit unfortunate, as a slinky vampire woman would certainly have been preferable to a youth-giving serum and junky killer. But despite these deficits, the real joy of this one is the gothic atmosphere and attractive sets, which are photographed beautifully by Bava with impressive use of shadows and light. The great man also shows his special effects ingenuity with a couple of extremely effective transformation scenes where a woman appears to age before our eyes - an effect created solely using lighting! So, on the whole, I Vampiri has a few limitations for sure, yet is certainly worth seeking out for its visual eloquence and for being the first in the, soon to be epic, Italian horror genre.
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