Fangs of the Living Dead (1969) User Reviews

I can safely assume this film was not inspired by "Night of the Living Dead".

[Aaron1375 · 4/10 · 20 March 2011]

While not a completely horrid movie watching experience for the most part I have to say this film is just does not pack enough bite. I own this movie in a pack with like a bunch of other horror movies. I did not know what to expect with this one, but I did not have high hopes thanks to its PG rating. When it first came on and it was a couple of guys in a office I was thinking "maybe it will not be so bad, at least they are not in a castle". It is not to long after that the fiancé of one of the guys inherits a castle and that made me think that it we are about to venture into the old castle foray that was so prevalent during this time period. Lady goes to place, town full of superstitious people, and then she meets her mysterious uncle who does not come out till after dark. Basically your standard plot for this type of movie. When her fiancé comes looking for her after she writes a letter breaking off the engagement it livens up the film a bit, but not enough to totally save it, rather he makes it a tolerable piece to watch. There are twists at the end, some of which left me confused on some points and the final scene was a tad strange as they threw in some comedy near the end that seemed out of place considering the first bit was devoid of any attempts at humor. There is not much gore and absolutely no skin (it is a PG film), but you do get to see a lot of cleavage and cute outfits so a plus on that front. Basically a retelling of Dracula in some ways that had some good moments and while overall it needed lots of work it also did not bore me at any time either.

Fangs of the Living Dead

[Scarecrow-88 · 5/10 · 25 September 2009]

A voluptuous model, Sylvia(..the well endowed Anita Ekberg) is to inherit a gargantuan castle from her mother and discovers from her austere, rather enigmatic uncle, Count Walbrooke(Julián Ugarte)that her blood is polluted by the evil curse of her great-grandmother, Malenka, a "practicing witch" who dabbled in alchemy and discovered the key to eternal life, burnt at the stake by superstitious locals. Sylvia is told by her uncle that she must never associate with the outside world due to the curse and that includes her proposed betrothal to Dr Pietro Lufuani(Gianni Medici). Sylvia also discovers that her uncle could be a vampire..

Director Amando de Ossorio's take on the vampire genre is a moderately entertaining effort with a dash of Bava(the use of colors and darkened areas of the castle), Browning(the reactions of the locals when Sylvia announces her reason for being in their village and the first moments in the castle, along with a cast of eccentrics), and Hammer(lots of heavy bosoms from sexy big chested European women in the cast, with big hair and theatrical acting). You have the mausoleum, eerie tunnels in and underneath the castle. You have the towering butler, the Count's hulking muscle when needed. You have the expected "rise from the grave" sequence featuring the luscious Diana Lorys as a pub bartender who "services" the Count when he has a "need to feed". Rosanna Yanni is Lorys concerned sister, Freya. César Benet is Medici's pal, Max, the comic relief of the film, who accompanies him on his journey to the castle to find out about Sylvia, why she would send him a letter calling off their wedding. Adriana Ambesis is a supposed vampire slave the Count keeps prisoner and assaults through lashings when she misbehaves and Carlos Casaravilla is a kooky village doc, Horbringer, a boozer who warns our heroes of the possible terror that awaits those who have the misfortune of coming in contact with residents of the castle.

The version I watched is a mess. I have read that prints of Fangs of the Living Dead edit a lot of important details imperative in understanding the climax in better detail. It's not as atmospheric as I was hoping it'd be and is rather tedious despite being relatively short. The essence of the plot carries the usual vampire traits until the ending as chaos reigns. The attractive women and the castle itself are reasons I'd recommend it, but for pure atmosphere and dread you should pursue the ending of de Ossorio's Tombs of the Blind Dead instead. There are plenty of plot inconsistencies which may be better improved upon if a proper, more fleshed-out version is released in the future.

For Die-Hard Vampire Fans Only

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 2 February 2013]

A beautiful model in Rome named "Sylvia Morel" (Anita Ekberg) inherits a castle and sets out to take legal possession of it. When she gets there she meets her uncle, "Count Walbrooke" (Julian Ugarte) who traps her inside and tells her bizarre stories about her family in preparation for a diabolical initiation. At any rate, rather than disclosing what happens next, I will just say that there are some odd twists at the end which might leave you wondering. The acting isn't great by any means and the special effects were pretty bad as well. But this film does offer some attractive women, most notably two barmaids named "Bertha Zemis" (Diana Lorys) and "Freya Zemis" (Rosanna Yanni) along with the aforementioned Anita Ekberg. But other than that there really isn't anything that special or unique about it. That said, I would recommend this movie strictly for die-hard vampire fans only. Slightly below average.

Fangs of the Boring Undead

[Vomitron_G · 3/10 · 18 April 2008]

You know… I really was looking forward to seeing this movie, by only having read the synopsis. It's about this woman, Sylvia, who inherits a family castle in Italy. The other thing I knew, was that it was a (horror) movie from 1969. I didn't even know it was directed by Amando de Ossorio, the director who also was responsible for the infamous BLIND DEAD "quadrilogy". If I had known this, I might have looked forward to it even more. But anyway, given the premise and the year this movie was made in, I was expecting an atmospheric Gothic Horror movie with at least a bit of gruesome or scary material in it. Well, I wasn't even halfway right. This is indeed a pathetic attempt at Gothic Horror, but the atmosphere isn't as effective as it should be and the story is uneventful and very predictable. I mean, yeah, there are a couple of scenes with red and blue lighting in some tombs underneath the castle that, when watched from a distance, vaguely look like something Mario Bava might have cooked up while he was drunk. But that's about it, as far as mood and atmosphere goes.

I just don't get people that say "It's a Euro-Horror classic" and slap it with, for instance, 8/10. Yeah, it's an old horror movie. Yeah, it's from Europe. Does that make it automatically a decent genre-classic? If you want the answer to that, I'll just advice you to take Mario Bava's OPERAZIONE PAURA (aka KILL, BABY, KILL), and put it next to Ossorio's MALENKA and then tell me which one is the good movie and which the bad. Okay, yeah, I'm getting a bit carried away here, probably because I was disappointed after seeing this Ossorio snooze-fest. FANGS OF THE LIVING DEAD is not completely without merits. Let's see… The castle setting is (always) great, even if it just features people walking around in it. There's a couple of busty ladies showing cleavage. One even gets some whoopee from a whip, while chained in a dungeon. The rest of the movie has Sylvia's boyfriend discussing with the town's doctor whether or not vampires do exist. And yes, we do get to see more than a couple of fake white fangs, but no blood really. No scares, no action (and by "action" I don't mean stunts or fights, but just something eventful or a couple of good moments). The little background story about the great-grandma (when she was young and quite attractive) being a witch and experimenting with alchemy was about the most interesting thing about the whole plot. Someone on here even pointed out that this was a comedy of some sorts. Well sure, the version I've seen was a pretty bad movie, but I wouldn't exactly call it a comedy. Except for that final, idiotic running-over-the-bridge gag. Man, that was so misplaced… So, I guess most of the movie's humor was lost on me. Apparently, there are different versions of this movie out there. Mine was about real vampires, had a stupid joke at the end, and only ran 74 minutes. And that, for me, was long enough.

I say FANGS OF THE LIVING DEAD is strictly for avid Euro Horror fans. Bad movie-lovers won't even have fun with it, because it's just not bad enough (although the acting was pretty much laughter-stirring all the time). I'm not even mad I wasted my time on it, as it was part of a 9-movie box-set (called THE LIVING DEAD), and some of the other movies were more than worth it. So I'm not complaining. Oh well, after all there was a witch burning at a stake and a wooden stick got driven through a vampire's heart, so if you please, you can think up an extra point just for that. But the gag at the end still remains dumb.

Pangs of Boredom for the Living

[BaronBl00d · 2/10 · 20 May 2001]

This movie is hard to describe as it tells the story of a woman returning to her ancestral home where, perhaps or perhaps not, she is related to a family of vampires, witches, and other nefarious persons/creatures. The film tries to make everything seem logical in the end as some kind of hoax to deprive this woman of her new worldly possessions(the castle, etc.), but it fails miserably because almost everything that happens in the end is devoid of any real logic. Sundry characters abound such as an uncle that looks younger than his niece( Anita Ekberg plays the prodigal daughter...more on her in a bit), a fiance and his bumbling lethario/comedian friend, a woman who lives in the castle, enjoys being whipped, and wears a dress two sizes too small thus having her breasts almost spill out, a village doctor who is always drunk and believes in vampire folklore, two sisters that run a local tavern...one anemic and very busty - the other even more heavily bossomed, and, lastly, the strongman servant. None of these folks are particularly adept at that skill we know as acting. Anita Ekberg goes through the paces with either some capricious smile or the look that she just saw a mouse. Ekberg and most of the female cast are nice looking, however. But a group of aging starlets wearing push-up bras does not a movie make. This film was directed by Amando de Ossorio, and you can see occasional(very occasional) flashes of brilliance in his direction. The castle used is creepy, and the film does have some good atmosphere in several scenes(although strained in most). Ossorio must have knew what kind of material he was working with here, because he uses some humour in the picture with the two characters of the fiance's friend and the doctor. The doctor is really the best thing, at least for me, that the film had to boast. But even the Blind Dead series director could not save a film like this. It literally is a sleeper....I felt the need to doze several times. If you can make sense of the plot, please let me know!

"Ugh! What Death Does To Some People!"

[dwingrove · 2 December 2003]

The Spanish vampire 'classic' Malenka plays like a Mel Brooks parody of a Gothic horror movie, only much funnier. It stars the inimitable Anita Ekberg in two roles. As Italian supermodel Sylvia Morel, who (out of the blue) inherits a creepy old castle in Transylvania. As her villainous ancestress Malenka, a witch whose experiments in black magic cast a sinister shadow over the living and the undead. It seems that Malenka, in her depravity, turned most of her family into vampires. They now long for nothing more than La Ekberg to share their evil fate.

Families, eh? Without the hilarity of Ekberg's performance, Malenka would be a paltry thing indeed. The lovely Anita does not act as mere mortals do. She purrs, she pouts, she preens, she struts, she flounces. She gnaws away at her risible dialogue as though every line had been honed in her honour by Tennesee Williams or Edward Albee, at the very least. Her wardrobe is atrocious as only a 60s Bad Euro Movie wardrobe could ever be. Faced with a display of camp diva-dom this extreme, female impersonators can only hang up their wigs and admit defeat!

Not content with one Superlatively Awful Performance, Malenka also throws in Julian Ugarte as poor Sylvia's wicked uncle. Aided by two leggy vampire lovelies, he attacks his role with sneering, lip-curling sadism that would make Basil Rathbone blush for shame! This is all to the good, as Malenka grows insufferably dull whenever Ekberg or the baddies are off-screen. Director Armando de Ossorio may in fact have some flair for wide-screen composition, but my Dutch video copy is so horribly panned-and-scanned it's hard to tell.

Such minor quibbling aside, Malenka survives as an object lesson in Why We Love Bad Movies. Teamed with Ekberg's 1978 horror opus Killer Nun, it could be the comedy double bill of all time.

Before There Was the Blind Dead

[BloodTheTelepathicDog · 5/10 · 16 May 2011]

Before director Amando De Ossorio made his classic blind dead films he helmed this interesting tale of vampirism. The movie centers around Anita Ekberg who has inherited wealth from her long lost mother. She has always despised her father for taking her away from her ancestral estate and raising her in Rome, but her old man had a reason: he had married into a family of witches, warlocks and vampires.

Engaged to be married to a doctor (John Hamilton), Ekberg tells her betrothed that she is going to her home country to retrieve her inheritance and will be back in time for the wedding. Her plans change however as her nefarious uncle (Julian Ugarte) convinces her that her destiny rests in her family's castle. She sends a letter to her husband-to-be, breaking off their marriage, but he doesn't take the rejection lying down and heads off to bring Ekberg back to Rome. The good doctor is exposed to a superstitious people and tries to reason the odd occurrences through science with the help of his chum that he brings along for laughs.

STORY: $$ (The story is typical. We have a young woman forced to adhere to her past, one that is steeped in black magic and vampirism. Her fiancé is a man of science who bad-mouths the old ways even when the legends of witchcraft and vampires are the only logical answer to the plague. This film injects too much "comedy" into the script with the doctor's squeamish sidekick who is only moderately funny at best).

ACTING: $$$ (The acting is okay. Anita Ekberg does a fine job as the damsel in distress. It is quite clear that her performance is hindered greatly in dubbing. Julian Ugarte is effectively creepy as her uncle and John Hamilton does a good job as her fiancé. Diana Lorys of BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL and Rosanna Yanni of DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE have co-starring roles as managers of the local inn. Diana Lorys does an amazing job transforming herself from mild-mannered innkeeper to seductive vampiress while Rosanna shines as her concerned sister).

NUDITY: None. However, there is more cleavage here than in an Hammer Horror film. Diana Lorys is an extremely sexy woman and Adriana Ambesi's lowcut dress can hardly contain her chest.

Vampires ruled European cinema in the 1960's!

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 16 June 2015]

The return of Count Dracula as played by Christopher Lee in the late 1950's set a trend of sexy blood-suckers, both male and female, and when England got on the Universal band wagon (ironically right after the death of famed vampire extraordinaire Bela Lugosi), other European countries on the main continent followed suit, usually with much T&A and an almost animated look in its filming technique. Fortunately, this one focuses more on atmosphere, and while there are definitely some very busty women, they keep their clothes on. The very voluptuous Anita Ekberg gets the privilege of playing a dual role, a modern day heiress to the Italian castle of her descendent's, and her own grandmother, once burnt to death by villagers for alleged witchcraft, and now stalking the castle and nearby village for prey. Julian Ugarte is her older but still sexy "uncle" who has undead secrets of his own, and his goal is to keep Ekberg's modern day innocent heroine there as part of an effort to end the family curse.

Certainly, this isn't anything that 1960's horror aficionados hadn't seen before with "The Fearless Vampire Killers" and other similar tales of the undead haunting second string movie theaters and drive-ins around this time. (Check out "The Vampire Happening" for an outrageous comic take on similar themes with plenty of T&A to go around.) This one has a fantastically eerie atmosphere, but there are some slow patches and some confusing plot elements which in retrospect make little sense. But the moments of true horror do pop in and out, and there's a very funny moment when an Italian playboy, unaware that his latest target is really a vampire, allows her to role-play in what he believes to be a sexual game of desire. The fate of one of the undead is truly graphic, if not gory, and it is the lack of flesh and blood which makes that scene even more morbid and spine-chilling. The twist at the very end is too silly to be tolerable, but like me, you may find yourself laughing in spite of the fact that your eyes are rolling at the same time.

Aired on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater in 1978

[kevinolzak · 3/10 · 6 November 2009]

I viewed the 90 minute version, "Malenka, the Niece of the Vampire," and checked all the other comments before deciding to make a few observations of my own. There is precious little atmosphere in this film, Anita Ekberg's character does indeed come off as annoying, engendering no sympathy. It seems to me that Malenka was neither witch nor vampire, but an alchemist who died at the stake, but not before successfully prolonging the life of Anita Ekberg's 'uncle.' The girl in the castle and the one from the tavern were only pretending to be vampires, as we see the latter installing her fangs in a tiny compact mirror, and neither are seen after the fiery demise of the 'uncle,' disintegrating simultaneously with the burning portrait. In the 74 minute TV version, titled "Fangs of the Living Dead," there is a gag ending not seen in the longer print, Rosanna Yanni, sister of the tavern girl, being chased by the dizzy friend of Anita's doctor fiancée, sporting a set of fangs. What appears to be a clichéd retread winds up being a huge disappointment, with no vampires, only one real villain, no sex or nudity, no real violence or gore, and leaving a bad yawn in one's mouth. I first saw this film on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater back in 1978, alongside superior Spanish horrors such as "The Murder Mansion," "Horror Rises from the Tomb," "The Bell from Hell," "It Happened at Nightmare Inn," and "The Night of the Sorcerers," another credit for Amando de Ossorio, who wrote and directed "Malenka." Such features became cherished friends for long-time horror buffs like me, but now we are able to see them in all their uncut gory glory, with nudity intact. In this case entire sequences were missing from the Chiller Theater broadcast (all expendable exposition, as indeed the entire film turned out to be), and today you see what was missing and judge for yourself. Only the gag at the end, running about a minute and a half, remained exclusive to the TV version, plus one scene depicting the burial of the phony vampire Berthe, whose name is prominently displayed on the tombstone.

Several versions exist, all marvelous.

[Steve_Nyland · 7/10 · 16 August 2003]

There are at least three prints of this film running loose these days ... Readers should NOT let the negative nellies dissuade them from seeking this film out -- it is a marvelous little bit of Eurotrash from one of the genre's finest directors when he was just flexing his muscles.

Most literature I have encountered on MALENKA agree that Ossorio's main inspriration was THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS aka DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES, but he injected the film with a decidedly Medeterranian air that caught on: In many circles, it is considered classic must-have required viewing at the Academy, Mr Spock kind of stuff.

BUT, you need to select your home viewing version carefully -- of the three most common forms that exist, the most familiar to us in America is a 75 - 80m "public domain" print that used to run on TV a lot, with the vampire chasing ending in place ... we have all seen it at one time or another. Then there is a second 96 - 98 minute European cut exported from Holland in the late 1980's -- it contains some additional "scientific" scenes and other dialogue, but NOT the gag ending with the vampire chasing Rosanna Yanni. The recommended version is actually out on DVD right now at places like Amazon under the name FANGS OF THE LIVING DEAD and released by a smallish company called Retromedia who "restored" a widescreen uncut British print for their DVD; uncut meaning that some of the slower scenes trimmed from the 80m public domain print are still in place.

What makes their DVD really come to life, though, is the care that went into making the print look good again. And after so many years of dingy, sepia rotted TV prints you will be shocked at what a beautiful, HARMLESS and fun movie this is -- I'd rather watch MALENKA with my eyes held open by toothpicks than ever have to sit through garbage like INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, DRACULA 2000 or FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA PRESENTS BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA: A FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA FILM ever again. Gawd ...

I really wanted to like this movie

[bensonmum2 · 4/10 · 23 April 2006]

Plot: A woman inherits a castle from a distant relative. When she arrives to take possession, she learns her castle is a home for the undead who want to bring her into the family.

I really wanted to like Fangs of the Living Dead, but two things really hampered my enjoyment. First, there are far too many stretches of the movie that are quite simply boring. It's not that I mind a slow moving story, but this thing is downright dull in places. Second, and this more of a personal preference, but the main character as played by Anita Ekberg is annoying. For a horror movie to be really effective, it helps if you care about the characters. I wanted Ms. Ekberg's character (and Ms. Ekberg for that matter) to die within 10 minutes of her introduction.

Check at your local grocery!

[andorob · 8/10 · 17 March 2005]

I recently picked up the full version of this film (complete with REAL vampire)at my local Meijer, in Columbus. I rated it an 8\10 for it's wonderful, b-grade fun. I view this film more as a comedy than a horror, because of it's failed attempt at creating suspense, and awful effects. The dialog is the stuff of b-grade horror legend. The moronic, Italian best friend was a riot. His bad acting, and poor lines, will stick with me. I really enjoyed his "seductive" talk with a vampire. You'll see, the "'til the very last drop" line. The soundtrack is like a 90 year old church organist trying to stir up some "spooky" music for the yearly "God sends homosexuals to Hell" demonstration they have for Halloween ever year. If you find it, buy it. I found the DVD for $3.

The always gorgeous Anita Ekberg inherits a castle, where occurs eery and ghostly happenings

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 30 May 2020]

Just two weeks from her marriage, charming model Sylvia Morelle (Anita Ekberg) receives a letter from her uncle, Count Waldrick (Julián Ugarte), informing her that her mummy has passed away and that she has inherited a castle and the title of Countess . Consequently, Sylvia leaves her fiancé, Dr Piero Lufuani (John Hamilton), in Rome while she goes to Castle Waldrick to sign papers and check out her good fortune . There lives mysterious people she suspects may be vampires and her uncle (Julian Ugarte) who happens to be the main bloodsucker and he attempts to persude her to remain among them . As vampires craving for human blood and beginning her criminal rampage .

This low-budget Spanish-Italian co-production from the classy cult filmmaker Amando De Ossorio results to be an atmospheric horror movie containing terrifying scenes when appears the sinister vampire , as well as a bevy of beautiful women and taking place the bloody killings by neck biting . Based on the legendary story of a fired witch and a creepy vampire , in which rise from beyond to wreak havoc upon some beautiful Euro-babes and unfortunate victims . Plenty of lots of blood and gore , including some repellent images . The fable is sometimes silly and laughable ,though the effects and action are well made . It's a slight fun with acceptable make-up , special effects , passable set decoration and functional art direction . Some illogical parts in the plot are more than compensated for the excitement provided by the wonderful busty vampire women running in slow-moving , though sometimes are a little bit cheesy . While not a hit during its original run, the film became successful when reissued several years later. Acceptable main cast as Anita Ekberg , John Hamilton and Julian Ugarte as a strange nobleman , whose role was previously offered Boris Karloff who was initially approached to play him , but he eventually turned down . Support cast is pretty good , such as : Carlos Casaravilla as a drunkyard doctor , the hunk Fernando Bilbao , Paul Muller : Jesus Franco's regular and attractive Eurotrash girls as Rosanna Yanni , Diana Lorys and Adriana Ambesi .

It contains a thrilling and frightening musical score by Carlos Savina . And colorful cinematography , in Hammer style , by Fulvio Testi , though being really necessary a perfect remastering . The motion picture was professionally directed by Amando De Ossorio . Amando began in films as a writer and assistant director and continued his career by making short films and industrial documentaries . He was one of the main directors of the Spanish horror boom in the 70s , in fact this ¨Malenka¨was his handiwork , best known for his series of Knights Templar zombie films , which began with La Noche del Terror Ciego (1971).specially for his quartet of films about the living dead templars which started with his first great success and immensely popular ¨Tombs of the Blind dead¨ which to be continued by a trilogy : ¨Return of evil dead¨ , ¨Ship of Zombies or Blind dead 2¨ and ¨Blind dead 3 or The night of the sea gulls¨ . Amando owns his own studio and created and/or designed many of the simple special effects sequences you see in any of his many imaginative undertakings . He displayed a varied career and specialized on all kind of genres as Western in "Rebels in Canada" and "Grave of the Gunfighter" , Historical as ¨Los Cantabros¨ , Monster movie as ¨Serpent of sea¨ and , of course, Terror as ¨Malenka¨ , The possessed¨ and ¨night of witches¨ . Ossorio also studied painting and photography , moreover, he also made his living as a painter of creepy images of the Knights Templar in his later years. Rating : 5.5/10 . Acceptable and passable .

Yawn.

[[e-mail] · 2/10 · 5 April 2006]

In the late 60s into the 70s, Anita Ekberg's career really took a nose dive. She was still very beautiful and had talent, but she ended up playing in Z-grade exploitation fare like this film. I don't like this movie. I can't explain why, but it just sucks. Usually, I enjoy haphazardly put together vampire flicks with attractive women and overacting. However, this one is just kind of pathetic.

Ekberg inherits a castle from her dead mother who was of aristocratic stock. She goes to see the castle and her uncle (who as luck would have it, is the undead). She is warned numerous times by the usual scared villagers that there's a curse on her family (typical vampire movie plot fodder). Her uncle ends up trying to get her to become a vampire so she can fulfill her destiny. Her fiancée and his idiot friend come in from Rome to try to talk to her, but get the usual cold shoulder. They have to work with a local doctor to try and save her.

It seemed like they tried to be campy, but really failed. The plot (as previously outlined) was really weak and they tried to throw in a twist at the end that was totally unnecessary. If they were trying to build suspense, they royally screwed up.

Don't waste your time.

A must for B-movie lovers !!

[mllemorte · 29 July 2003]

seen this one.. crazy little 60's flick. If you are a bad movie lover then you will love this one. Get a group of friends and trash on this one!

In commenting on the above comment from acidxian, I have this on dvd and it does have the ending with the vampire chasing the inn keeper lady, not sylvia. and the burning of the uncle is absolutely hilarious.. his head looks like a roasting marshmallow haha!

A relic from a forgotten part of the drive-in theater era

[don-355 · 4/10 · 23 January 2006]

Worthwhile as a drive-in theater relic only. You can also find "Fangs of the Living Dead" included on a horror/zombie compilation for about $9. I forget the name of the compilation, but I've seen it recently at several Sam Goody and SunCoast video stores in the New York metropolitan area. It's either in the bargain bin or the horror section. A clerk could probably find it for you. Of note to extreme trivia fans, the flick was included on a triple feature with "Revenge of the Living Dead" and "Curse of The Living Dead" that played mostly the drive-in theater circuit around August of 1973. During this period, you found many of these euro-trash horror pictures, i.e. She Beast, Terror Creatures from the Grave, Terror in the Wax Museum, Devil's Nightmare, etc. etc. either at the bottom of triple bills playing at drive-ins or packaged together on a triple-bill. The promoters likely acted on the thought that people would not pay to see a single bad movie with the usual badly-synchronized English dubbing. The media promotion for the triple zombie feature involved a man in a strait jacket who allegedly went insane upon sitting through the "triple avalanche of grisly horror!" "Can you survive this orgy of the living dead!" The television ad can be found on various Something Weird video compilations. I still have a fading yellow original Big Sky drive-in theater ad that appeared in a Madison, Wisconsin newspaper as part of my movie advertisement collection saved from childhood.

Castle Keeps

[sol1218 · 5/10 · 17 August 2008]

***SPOILER ALERT*** Only worth watching for it's star attraction the bust-out Swedish actress Anita Ekberg in a duel role as top Italian fashion model Sylvia Morel and 17th Century burned at the stake witch Malenka.

Sylvia gets the news that she inherited the Wadrick Castle and the title of countess on the eve of her wedding to handsome Dr.Pietro Lufuani. It soon turns out that Sylvia didn't just inherit the castle and title of countess but her creepy Uncle, the keeper of Waldrick Castle, Count Walbrooke's bloodlines. The Count's bloodlines goes back some 600 years to the area around the Carpathian Mountains in Medieval Europe.

It's doesn't take a genius to realize that Uncle or Count Walbrooke isn't as young as he looks being that he died at least over 100 years ago. It's also very obvious, from the moment you lay eyes on him, that the pasty looking and ice cold to the touch Count Walbrooke is actually a member of the living dead, a blood sucking vampire! Who needs fresh and above room temperature, at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, human blood in order for him to survive.

Keeping the beautiful Sylvia under lock and key in his castle Count Walbrooke attracts the attention of not only her far off, back in Rome, fiancée Dr. Lufuani but the terrified townspeople of near by Wadrick! Of whom, mostly sexy and well endowed young women, the Count feeds, or sucks, on for his daily or nightly supply of human blood! It also turns out that the Count later, after sucking them dry, turns his victims into vampires like himself to join his army of the walking dead.

Traveling to Wadrick together with his friend Max Dr.Lufuani attempts to rescue Sylvia from Count Walbrooke's clutches only ending up a prisoner in his castle. Sylvia who during the entire time played along with her sinister Uncle Walbrooke, in making believe she was hypnotized by him, frees the chained up Dr. Lufuani just before the Count was to take a bite out of him. It's later in the movie that the good doctor gives the Count the medical prescription needed to cure his craving for human blood: A flaming stake in the heart cooked medium to well done!

Genuine vampires or fake? Oh well, at least the boobs are real.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 9 June 2016]

'What can we do to end all this nonsense?' asks one character in Fangs of the Living Dead. Well, there's always the stop button, but I'm made of sterner stuff than that. Besides, this silly Gothic horror from Amando de Ossorio, director of the Blind Dead series, mightn't be all that great, but it does offer up several very attractive Euro-babes who, although they don't get naked, do look extremely ravishing throughout, revealing about as much cleavage as a slip of a dress possibly can. And hot babes always make the going a lot easier.

Anita Ekberg is the leading lady in this silly vampire romp about an heiress, Sylvia Morel, discovering that her new castle is home to bloodsuckers, but she is easily eclipsed by buxom brunette Adriana Ambesi as sexy vamp Blinka, and Diana Lorys and Rosanna Yanni as beautiful barmaid sisters Bertha and Freya Zemis. Together, this trio of tasty totty ensured that, although the plot was unremarkable and the direction uninspired, I was able to see Fangs to the very end, which, while I'm on the subject, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever (at least in the version I saw): after revealing that the whole vampire thing is a ruse cooked up by Sylvia's uncle, Count Walbrooke (Julián Ugarte), to have his niece committed, the count turns out to be a vampire after all (he disintegrates in flames), after which Max (César Benet), comedy sidekick of Sylvia's fiancé Piero (Gianni Medici), also sprouts a pair of fangs. Confusing, to say the least.

European vampiric curio.

[parry_na · 5/10 · 17 April 2020]

Director and writer Amando de Ossorio is probably best known for his terrific 'Blind Dead' films from the early 1970s. This was his first foray into horror, and features some richly picturesque locations but strangely considering the gothic surroundings, very little in the way of atmosphere. This is partly due to inconsistent music from prolific composer Carlo Savina; on occasions, his haunting violins really complement the supernatural suggestions offered - on others, the bland score really works against certain scenes of vampiric horror.

The lead villain here is played by Julián Ugarte, who would feature in a similar role in 1972's superb 'All the Colours of the Dark'. His slender features compliment a decidedly average performance as Count Wallbrooke.

I am reviewing the English-speaking version - as such, the acting on display has been dubbed - therefore much of the performances have been taken out of the hands of the actors on screen. Having said that, many female members of the cast are clearly 'vamping it up' - Anita Ekberg, for whom 'Malenka' is said to have been 'the final nail in the cinematic coffin', smoulders for all she is worth. My favourite performance is from Diana Lorys who is very good, and comparatively restrained, as Bertha Zemis.

It is difficult to know the tone the film was aiming for. The version I have seen is very light on sex or gore, two very popular traits in films at the time. The comedy side-kick character Max (César Benet) who is slightly annoying throughout, gets to steer the finale into oddly open-ended, light-hearted territory. My score is 5 out of 10.

Sure cure for insomnia

[preppy-3 · 1/10 · 28 September 2006]

A beautiful woman (Anita Ekberg) learns she has inherited a family castle. She travel to Italy to take a look at it but finds her grandmother was a witch and her uncle is one of the undead (a vampire). He has every intention of making sure she joins the family...but her boyfriend shows up looking for her.

A real snooze. The plot doesn't make a whole lot of sense (although that's common with Italian horror movies) and the acting is terrible. Ekberg is certainly a beautiful woman but her reactions to things were badly done--VERY! I can't give a very accurate judgment of her performance (she's dubbed along with everybody else) but what I saw was pretty lousy. The rest of the cast is about as good as her. The movie drags on (even in the 80 minute version I saw) with things happening left and right that don't make the slightest bit of sense. Also there's next to no blood or violence (this film is VERY PG rated) and the makeup on the vampires is pretty comical (the fangs are WAY too big). It all ends with a terrible gag ending that had me rolling my eyes.

In defense of this, the print I saw was in full screen with badly faded colors--but even letter-boxed and in bright colors wouldn't change the "story" or terrible acting.

Pop this one on if you have sleep problems--you'll be dead asleep in no time! A 1.

OK Euro-Horror Movie

[vtcavuoto · 7/10 · 6 December 2005]

"Fangs of the Living Dead" or "Malenka" (depending on which version) is a decent film of the genre. Some of the cast actually starred in "Frankenstein's Bloody Terror": Julian Ugarte, Rosanna Yanni and Carlos Casaravilla. Anita Ekberg is passable as Silvia Morel, a model who inherits a castle. Come to find out, her uncle is a vampire and he has plans for Silvia to join him. The question I have about the ending is what happens to the two vampire chicks at the end? This may be an edited version that leaves out the answer. The acting is decent but the dubbing isn't very good. The sets and backdrops are almost the equal of Hammer studios. Rosanna Yanni and Diana Lorys are very beautiful. The character of Pietro's friend provides comic relief-he really stands out in this film. This is worth viewing at least once.

Boring, obvious vampire tale

[gridoon2024 · 4/10 · 29 May 2016]

I can only speak about the "Fangs Of The Living Dead" version (which is the one more readily available on DVD), not the longer "Malenka" version: avoid it. Not only is the picture quality poor for a 1969 film, but this version features virtually no blood or nudity, making it a PG horror film. The head vampire in it is extremely weak - he can't even break through a wooden door, and at the end he is defeated by a single punch! About 90% of the movie (no exaggeration!) is taken up by discussions about whether vampires are real, as if the title (which sounds suspiciously similar to the previous year's hit "Night of....") wasn't enough of a clue. Anita Ekberg's justifiably famous cleavage is on brief display, and in the last 3 minutes there is a short but sweet catfight between Diana Lorys and Adriana Ambesi. But those are the only parts of the film worth seeing. I suppose the castle itself is an atmospheric location, but the film lacks atmosphere. *1/2 out of 4.

King of all movies with inexplicable endings

[tevildoii · 9/10 · 12 February 2006]

Well, to start I have to say that I question the theory that there are multiple versions of this film. The version I saw certainly contained all the supposed divergences. It was probably shown on TV in a cut-down form that eliminated some of the ending, since it could conceivably exist without ANY ending whatsoever and make just as much, if not more, logical sense.

Are there vampires in real life? According to this movie, no. Then yes. Then no again. Then yes, then no, then yes AGAIN, and this time they can run around in broad daylight chasing skirts. And that's ALL they do.

There's also a strange inference toward the end that Uncle Fester (or whatever his name is) was also the very busty female vampire Malenka. I don't quite understand any of this. Somehow, though, my confusion only adds to the enjoyability of this terrible, terrible piece of drivel. I give it a 9: GOONFACTOR HIGH.

You mean to tell me that the ancestors are still alive?

[lastliberal-853-253708 · 6/10 · 23 October 2014]

Amando de Ossorio was one of the great directors of Spanish horror, and this film, also known as Malenka, occurs when he was really hitting this stride.

There are reportedly three versions of this film, and this one is the best. It is a beautiful print, and we see Swedish star Anita Ekberg (La Dolce Vita, Boccaccio '70, Killer Nun) in all her beauty.

It is a campy film, so there is no nudity or blood here. Despite the buxom women throughout, it is harmless fun.

Sometimes a vampire movie is more than blood and nudity. Sometimes, it's just a great way to kill 75 minutes.

Silly

[dbborroughs · 4/10 · 29 December 2008]

Some sort of nonsense about a woman inheriting a castle filled with vampires.

Actually I'm not sure since the print I saw ran 75 minutes which is 25 minutes shorter than the original release version and 10 minutes shorter than the original American release. To be fair I won't comment on what was clearly a mess due to too much editing other than to say Anita Ekberg who stars is often shrill. Though to be perfectly honest I don't know if I'd actually go back and watch the complete film given the chance since what was on screen in this version struck me as awfully silly.