"The Kiss of the Vampire" is one movie from the Hammer studio that doesn't seem to be talked about much - if at all. Watching it, it doesn't take long to figure out some possible reasons why. For starters, the story of the movie is for the most part made up of various clichéd situations we have seen in many other horror movies before. It starts off with a honeymooning couple getting stuck in the countryside, where they are soon invited by a mysterious stranger for dinner at his mansion, and eventually the husband finds that his bride has disappeared and he can't convince authorities that the stranger had something to do with the disappearance...
Must I go on with telling that story? Well, actually I guess the familiar story could have worked again had the filmmakers tried hard enough to liven things up. But except for a kind of silly climax (which I will not reveal), there's not much life in this telling. The biggest problem is that this familiar story is stretched out past the breaking point. For example, the husband does not find that his bride has disappeared until more than half the movie has gone by.
The production values aren't bad, and there is some decent acting on display, so the movie isn't a total loss. All the same, I think that most modern day viewers will find this movie very routine and tired. I would only recommend it to serious Hammer fans.
Must I go on with telling that story? Well, actually I guess the familiar story could have worked again had the filmmakers tried hard enough to liven things up. But except for a kind of silly climax (which I will not reveal), there's not much life in this telling. The biggest problem is that this familiar story is stretched out past the breaking point. For example, the husband does not find that his bride has disappeared until more than half the movie has gone by.
The production values aren't bad, and there is some decent acting on display, so the movie isn't a total loss. All the same, I think that most modern day viewers will find this movie very routine and tired. I would only recommend it to serious Hammer fans.