Atom Age Vampire (1960) User Reviews

A Lot of Fun To Watch

[Space_Mafune · 5/10 · 31 August 2002]

A crazed Professor Levin goes to rather bizarre and extreme lengths to ensure his formerly disfigured young girlfriend remains beautiful, desirable and under his control.

This Italian Science Fiction/Horror epic is really quite silly thanks in large part due to the English dubbing and likely editing. But the film does work somewhat on a soap opera level and has some better than average transformation sequences. Actually it's quite entertaining but not always for good reasons. Still it was better than I was expecting.

Funny Italian Title and Messy American Title

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 18 November 2012]

The stripper Jeanette Moreneau (Susanne Loret) is dumped by her boyfriend Pierre Mornet (Sergio Fantoni) and she drives her car to talk to him. However, she has a car accident and the left side of her face is completely disfigured by horrible scars. She is approached in the hospital by Monique Riviere (Franca Parisi), who is the assistant and lover of Professor Alberto Levin (Alberto Lupo), and she tells Jeanette that her face can be restored.

Jeanette secretly goes to the professor's house and is treated by him, using a process that depends on the cells that Prof. Levin, who is also a monster that strangles his victim, removes from the women that he kills. While treating Jeanette, Prof. Levin falls in an unrequited love for her and kills Monique. Meanwhile, the police inspector that is investigating the mysterious murders, suspects of Prof. Levin.

"Seddok, l'Erede di Satana" (meaning "Seddok, the Heir of Satan"), a.k.a. "Atom Age Vampire", is a trash Italian horror film that combines "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" with Georges Franju's "Les Yeux Sans Visage" and the vampire of the messy American title. The result is a predictable film, with one actress that recalls Sophia Loren and the other that recalls Madonna. But anyway, it is entertaining and worths be watched. I saw the 87 minutes version and by the way, who is Seddok? My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

A familiar premise executed very poorly

[Coventry · 5/10 · 1 July 2005]

A brilliant but overly obsessive scientist has to kill young woman in order to constantly supply his own beloved female patient with fresh facial cell structures, since hers was incurably damaged in a nearly fatal car crash. Nothing really new or innovating here, as this was quite a popular premise the in late 50's/early 60's European exploitation-cinema industry. The downright brilliant French milestone "Les Yeux Sans Visage" launched the trend and also Jess Franco's "The Awful Dr. Orloff" and Ferroni's "Mill of the Stone Women" revolve on a similar theme. This dark and mean-spirited Italian production comes out as very weak compared to any of the previous titles, mainly because of its cheapness and lack of credibility. The other titles had convincing and naturally evil-looking mad doctors in the lead roles, while Albert Lupo in "Atom Age Vampire" more looks like an amateurish clown, completely incapable of developing breakthrough medical treatments. The fact that he spontaneously transforms into a hideous monster himself doesn't really help, neither…In fact, that was rather awkward… Still, there are some redeeming elements that Euro-horror fans might enjoy: the atmosphere is sinister, there's some nice camera-work here and there AND quite a lot of gore and icky make-up art to admire (especially considering the time it was made and the non-existent budget!). Too bad these positive aspects can't nearly make up for the slow pacing and the total lack of tension. The dialogs are sometimes hilarious although I'm quite sure they weren't intended to be. For example, can you imagine a doctor saying encouraging words to his desperate patient like: "Oh my God, your case is worse than leprosy!!" Overall, I wouldn't recommend this film unless you're well trained in seeing trashy exploitation junk.

Vanishing Cream It Isn't!

[BaronBl00d · 21 November 2004]

A young singer/dancer has a car accident and loses her good looks to several large scars on one side of her face. She is soon visited by a lady with a solution to her facial problem just as she contemplates suicide with a revolver. The lady takes her to a doctor working out of a lab in his basement that has come up with a drug/serum that will make her face all better and supposedly cause the young, beautiful girl to fall in love with him. Nothing real special here at all. The film is very Italian and cheaply-made, but it does have some nice camera work here and there. The acting leads are all hams(prosciutto)and way over the top in terms of believability. The fellow playing the policeman does do a fine job amidst the bacon around him! The film has a somewhat grainy quality and some poorly lit scenes, but atmosphere is created through the lens. Although the serum must have some component from a living-turned-recently-dead woman, the scientific premises used in the film are very big flights of fancy. I laughed quite a bit at the serious turn the film tries to make explaining that the doctor's work sprung from his experiences in Hiroshima/Nagasaki. The lines are uttered with little conviction and carry virtually no plausibility in them. Though a bad movie in many ways, one could do far worse as a means of entertaining oneself on a cold evening.

Not Bava ------SPOILERS------

[bensonmum2 · 3/10 · 9 January 2005]

Having read comparisons between this movie and Mario Bava's films, I'd looked forward to seeing it for sometime. It's the story of a horribly disfigured woman who goes to a doctor for some unconventional treatments. It seems he has developed a serum that will restore the woman's beauty. But, the serum must be applied regularly and the supply soon runs out. As the doctor has fallen in love with the woman, he must do whatever it takes to get the ingredients to make more serum - even if that means killing other women.

Let's see, comparisons with Bava. 1. Black & white - so is Bava's Black Sunday. 2. Well, there really isn't a 2 as far as I'm concerned. Atom Age Vampire makes most other "slow" movies seem like roller coaster rides. I actually had to wake myself twice and rewind the movie. Also, while I'm generally one of those people that will defend dubbing in Italian movies, I can't do that here. This is one of the first times I can actually say that the dubbing got in the way of my enjoyment of a movie.

Atom Age Scar Reduction Therapy

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 30 June 2008]

"An exotic dancer has a terrible automobile accident and, as a result, is horribly scarred, on her face. Hoping for a miracle treatment, the dancer visits a scientist who has had marvelous results in restoring patient's (sic) appearances, and is cured of her scars. Unfortunately, there are some terrible side-effects from the procedure … the scientist must use unethical methods to try and make the cure permanent. With suspicions (growing, and) the dancer's boyfriend and the authorities closing in…" according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Inappropriately re-produced as "Atom Age Vampire"; this is actually an adaptation of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", with some other horrific clichés, quite neatly layered into the mix. Mad scientist Alberto Lupo (as Alberto Levin), unappreciated Franca Parisi (as Monique), and lackey Roberto Bertea (as Sacha) are an intriguing set-up. Horribly dubbed (although, the voices are good), and painfully predictable; it very obviously wouldn't be a completely awful film, in its unaltered Italian version.

**** Atom Age Vampire (1960) Anton Giulio Majano ~ Alberto Lupo, Susanne Loret, Sergio Fantoni

Average vampire flick

[vtcavuoto · 5/10 · 2 August 2008]

OK, the reason I bought this was because I'm a fan of vampire films. "Atom Age Vampire" was a mess is some spots, awful in others and well, you get the idea. Still, it's a movie that despite being cheesy is watchable. The dubbing is not very good and the chick in the title role of Jeanette, the blond stripper isn't very good looking. In some scenes she looks like a guy. Ugh! The pace moves along well, the music is decent-it has a nice jazzy, upbeat score in some scenes and Mario Bava photographed the film. It would have been a much better film if he was allowed to direct it. As for the plot-A Doctor discovers a serum that restores skin to Jeanette whose left side of her face is disfigured. Running out of serum, the Doctor discovers a gland in women that transplanted can restore her beauty. He turns into a vampire but not in the typical sense. He is killed at the end, Jeanette is reunited with her sailor boyfriend and all is well.One to catch on a whim.

Well, after all, this is the early 1960s

[GeorgeSickler · 5/10 · 14 June 2019]

Most likely, the main reason this Italian movie was finally dubbed in English and shipped to the United States was with the simple hope that it might just begin to make a profit.

And that's just because this was the golden era of the drive-in movie theaters across the U.S. This one would be a natural for an all-night marathon where there's typically more action in the car than on the screen.

Finally, forget the dumb plot. There is a classic 1949 film called D.O.A. (Dead On Arrival) The cast includes Edmond O'Brien, Neville Brand and Beverly Garland.

Adam Age Vampire also qualifies as D.O.A. But in this case it's Death from Over Acting. But most likely, nobody in the back seat of the car cared and the drive-in was making a lot of money at the food/beverage pavilion.

Italian horror movie missing a vampire

[walk_wild777 · 4/10 · 28 December 2005]

This 1940s Italian horror movie is lite on horror and long on story. There are good transformation scenes, and the dubbing and voice-overs are above average for most imported horror flicks, but the movie just kept going and going. The movie is about a beautiful stripper that has an argument with her ruggedly handsome boyfriend, and then gets disfigured in a car accident. She then falls into hands of a scientist and his girlfriend/colleague who have made a drug that can regenerate dead tissues. Unfortunately, a flaw is discovered, and the doctor falls in love with the young woman, and he ends up injecting himself with a chemical that turns him into a monster willing kill young woman so that the movie's starlet may stay young. But he, nor she, is what I'd call a vampire. I recommend it if you're a fan of the genre of old black and white horror movies, but if. And only if you pick it out of a dollar bin.

Regeneration: A cure, with a cost.....

[marshrydrob · 5/10 · 30 October 2017]

Atomic Age Vampire, is not your average vampire movie.

The movie opens with a woman horribly disfigured after an automobile accident.

The story, it does not immediately feel like horror.

Unusual treatment is suggested. The movie adds a mad scientist; or a weird science horror twist, to the plot.

The treatment, suggesting: affecting people with vampirism.

Miraculous regeneration treatment with a cost.

From the start, it feels more like science fiction than actual horror.

The story, seems to be a little over- drawn. It takes a while, to get to the vampire element of the tale.

When I think atomic age; I think of films lie Return of the Vampire. I don't see the relation to era in the movie's title.

Atomic Age Vampire, is not necessarily a bad movie; it just does not feel to me as being a classic horror film.

Over Cooked with Bad Acting

[ryan-10075 · 2/10 · 27 June 2020]

When watching this early 60s Italian horror flick for the third time I seem to remember not enjoying it and then on the second viewing enjoying it much more. Soon after watching it again I realized that I confused this title with another black and white Italian horror classic as there is no way I would ever enjoy this or could rightfully suggest anyone watch it. This is based on the 69 minute version that is available on Prime. I am glad for that, because I would not want to waste an additional 30 minutes of my life watching the extended version.

Jeanette Moreneau (Susanne Loret), who turns out to be extremely vain has just had a fight that ended her relationship with her boyfriend Pierre (Sergio Fantoni, who looks like Orson Welles to me). Now she drives off and gets into a terrible car accident and her face is disfigured. She visits Professor Alberto Levin (Alberto Lugo) who has come up with the ability to transform her skin into its once beautiful look. Thing is he must kill people to gain the cells needed to do so.

Very stagey and over-dramatic. The acting is spotty at best. This movie is good for laughs and none of them are intentional. If you are wanting an old B&W horror movie this is not the one to seek out.

Early 60s Euro-trash that works in a few spots

[Casey-52 · 9/10 · 26 August 1999]

How many times have excellent European films from the 1960's even up until the present been ruined by American distributors? Whether it's dubbing or the editing room, the European film industry has always been royally screwed by us. I think that this film and MANY MANY others have been horribly misrepresented and misunderstood. Unlike others, this film still looks good with horrible dubbing and when it's a badly edited mess. I absolutely love Susan Loret as the scarred beauty, she is the shining star of the production. The plot is very common in European films and is usually pulled off better, but the film does have potential, it just doesn't meet it. Anchor Bay, if you're reading, please consider obtaining a European UNCUT print of this, preferably subtitled so the dialogue can make a bit more sense. The cheap label ACME Video company offers the movie and the running time is marked as 105 minutes. This is doubtful, but the tape is usually only $10 anyway, so you might want to check it out.

Not Bava and not an Incredible Simulation, but not too bad

[AlexanderAnubis · 6/10 · 11 April 2016]

Seddok, l'erede di Satana (1960) aka Atom Age Vampire

CONTAINS SPOILERS

As another IMDb reviewer has written, this film is only "recommended for horror fans." The basic story is very familiar: hubris and the use of questionable, experimental methods to return an injured woman's (Susanne Loret) unblemished beauty leads to murder, mayhem, madness and moral decay. Done better - in places - than the 'Atom Age Vampire' title implies, which is probably more descriptive of the US (1963 drive-ins?) marketing than the film's plot. The actual facial injury is not horrific, or even particularly ugly but still causes great distress - Gloria Grahame would have understood perfectly - and it provides Ms. Loret a couple of opportunities to do Veronica Lake and mask it quite attractively with a fall of hair. It also provides more than a couple of moments of unintentional humor.

It is also refreshing to see some small restraint on the gratuitous destruction of the protagonists; the negative side effects, (and funnier makeup), of tampering in inappropriate domains ultimately falls on the tamperer, (where they belong), and not the innocent accident victim. Since Loret's character is a dancer/stripper/etc that could have been used as a pretext, (certainly if this had been a 1960 US production), to turn her into a cardboard cutout labeled Harlot &/or Sin of Vanity and treat her like Dorian Gray or Victor Frankenstein along with the arrogant scientist (Alberto Lupo). Instead, in the end she is apparently cured and free to live happily ever after.

Browsing IMDb I learned there exists, (or existed), an original, uncut, un-dubbed 105 minute version, which I will probably never see, but doubt that the omission will be one of my deathbed regrets. However, there is an entry for this movie at Wikipedia which states:

"Although no 105 minute print has ever been found, it is believed by some that the 105 minute running time was because the deleted VHS release on Acme Video stated a run time of ±105 Mins. (when it meant 1 Hour and 5 minutes)."

The article is supported by the reasonably solid sounding reference: Science Fiction Film Source Book, David Wingrove, Longman Group Ltd., 1985. At any rate the question has apparently been under scrutiny for 30+ years.

Just in case this isn't tiresome enough, the US video release was snipped to 72 minutes, and when it made it to DVD was further reduced to 69 minutes....but 1 hr + 5 m = 65 m =/= 69 m, so perhaps the argument above that the 105 minute version never existed is flawed. There are depths to be plumbed here by a courageous investigator.

The film is out of copyright, (maybe nobody wanted to bother renewing it), and is available from the Internet Archive – their copy is probably ripped from VHS or other tape media but the quality is quite good, (well, watchable), and it is the full 5220 seconds.

XYZ

Seddok, Awful Dr. Without Ingenuity - Lesser take on a Popular 60s Eurohorror-Formula

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 5/10 · 1 April 2009]

"Seddok, l'erede di Satana" aka. "Atom Age Vampire" of 1960 is a cheesy but fun Italian trash Horror film with a bad reputation that tells a story very familiar to fans of 60s Eurohorror. Unluckily for this film (but luckily for my fellow Eurohorror lovers) "Atom Age Vampire" has a storyline that is almost identical to those of TWO fantastic films from the same year, George Franju's masterpiece "Les Yeux Sans Visage" (aka. "Eyes Without A Face") and Giorgio Ferroni's brilliantly atmospheric Gothic gem "Il Mulino Delle Donne Di Pietro" (aka. "Mill of The Stone Women"). Two years later, Spanish cult-director Jess Franco would create another highlight about a similar theme with "Gritos En La Noche" (aka. "The Awful Dr. Orloff") of 1962. "Les Yeux Sans Visage" is positively one of the most fascinating Horror films ever made, and "Mill of the Stone Women" as well as "The Awful Dr. Orloff" are also wonderful films that no genre-lover could possibly afford to miss. In comparison to these fantastic films, this "Atom Age Vampire" is incredibly weak, of course, but, as far as I am concerned, it is not awful and has its qualities.

As said, the story is familiar. An ingenious but nuts scientist is obsessed with restoring the face of a beauty who was disfigured in a car accident. And he has no scruples to commit whatever crime or insane experiments in order to make his ambitions a success and restore her beauty... Most of the performances are ridiculous and the plot line is considerably weaker than in the aforementioned comparable classics, but its still fun to watch. The film does have a certain atmosphere and morbidity, however (allthough not comparable to "Eyes Without a Face", "Mill of the Stone Women" and "Dr. Orloff", of course), and the makeup effects are actually quite well-done. The jazzy score is also quite decent, but it doesn't always fit in. Some of the character behave in downright absurd manners and the dialogue is often more than ridiculous and unintentionally funny ("Am I wrong or are you getting fatter?"). Logic is also not the film's strongest point, of course. So "Atom Age Vampire" is certainly a cheesy film that cannot compete with highlights about the same topic, but I still think it has a certain charm. Try to get hold of the Italian language version, the dubbing is terrible (which is not something that can be blamed on the film itself, in my opinion). This can easily be skipped, but it can also be enjoyable to my fellow fans of low-budget 60s Horror. Make sure to watch "Mill of the Stone Women", "The Awful Dr. Orloff" and especially "Eyes Without a Face" before this one though.

Arresting sci-fi film marred by horrid editing and dubbing

[boris-26 · 22 November 2001]

When the opening credits end on ATOM AGE VAMPIRE, there is a sloppy jump cut to the opening scene (A bathrobe clad showgirl returning to her dressing room) This tells us the film has been heavily censored. This is an Italian film, being released here in the states. When somebody opens their mouth, horrific dubbing, best suited for a bad porno film, takes over the scene. The showgirl (the strangely beautiful Susanne Loret. She has this hard look to her face. With her blonde peek-a-boo hairdo, she resembles a crazed Veronica Lake) survives an auto accident that scars her face. In a last ditch effort, she goes to a mad doctor, who makes good on his promise on restoring her face. You can probably figure out what happens in this somewhat predictable sci-fi offering. The one thing that shines thru the censoring and dubbing is this movie moves at a rapid pace. It should be re-made with the same haunting and disturbing qualities.

More Jeckyl/Hyde than Vampire

[lastliberal-853-253708 · 4/10 · 9 March 2013]

I love Italian horror, but this one just didn't have the punch that I am used to with Fulci or Bava. The premise was good, but it didn't deliver completely.

It was interesting anyway as a girl (Susanne Loret) gets disfigured in an auto accident and a mad scientist doctor (Alberto Lupo) promises to make her beautiful again.

The Doctor and his assistant work on the girl, but the results are only temporary and they are out of serum. That's when the Doctor's secret is revealed and he goes into action attacking young girls to keep his treasured beauty alive. The first to go is his assistant.

He has a way of transforming himself into a Mr. Hyde and back to Dr. Jeckyl. The girls old boyfriend and the police are hot on his tail.

Interesting tale, but Fulci would have done it better.

ITALIAN HORROR...NO VAMPIRES...BUT HORRIFIC RADIATED CREATURE...BEAUTIFUL BABES

[LeonLouisRicci · 5/10 · 10 September 2021]

This is one of those that has been Through the Ringer. Cut and Cut again with Running Times Varying Drastically.

Most Prints of Worth are about 86 minutes and a 105 minute Version can Not Easily be Found and those are Italian Language and Available Only in Foreign Countries.

Anyway, the Dubbed 86 min Print (Public Domain) floating around on the Net and in Bargain Bins is Representative Enough.

It's a Horror Story of a Beautiful Girl Disfigured in an Auto Accident Rescued by a "Mad" Scientist who has done Research on the Hiroshima Event and has Developed a Supposed Cure for Skin Cell Regeneration.

There are a Few Highlights of Horror, the Makeup is quite Creepy, and the Story of the Girl's Nightmare is Handled with Pathos.

The Look of the Movie has a Norish Appeal of Dark Corners and Heavy Contrast and the Score is Appropriately Atmospheric. The "Mad Lab" Scenes are Effective.

Overall, Worth a Watch for Fans of Horror, Science Gone Wrong, and those who Attach to Heavy Melodramatics and the Lurid.

Note...The Film was produced by Mario Fava, NOT Mario Bava as some have credited.

More Jeckyl/Hyde than Vampire

[lastliberal · 4/10 · 12 March 2008]

I love Italian horror, but this one just didn't have the punch that I am used to with Fulci or Bava. The premise was good, but it didn't deliver completely.

It was interesting anyway as a girl (Susanne Loret) gets disfigured in an auto accident and a mad scientist doctor (Alberto Lupo) promises to make her beautiful again.

The Doctor and his assistant work on the girl, but the results are only temporary and they are out of serum. That's when the Doctor's secret is revealed and he goes into action attacking young girls to keep his treasured beauty alive. The first to go is his assistant.

He has a way of transforming himself into a Mr. Hyde and back to Dr. Jeckyl. The girls old boyfriend and the police are hot on his tail.

Interesting tale, but Fulci would have done it better.

Atomic Bomb

[piratecannon · 1/10 · 26 December 2012]

Atom Age Vampire is an Italian movie that is not, in fact, about a vampire. Tricky, huh?

It deals with people who have been disfigured due to cliff-side car accidents, the detonation of nuclear warheads, and other such everyday occurrences. Our antagonist is a mad scientist—I'll bet you didn't see that one coming—sends one of his aids to a local hospital to persuade the survivor of aforementioned car wreck to visit his estate so that he can test his cell-regenerating serum on her. The woman's face resembles ground beef, and it seems that this "doctor" is well aware of the fact that this is completely unacceptable. Actually, she'd rather commit suicide than survive as an outcast.

I mean, sure, society puts a lot of pressure on people to "fit in" and "look normal"; but the degree to which this theme is overblown in Atom Age Vampire is…well…almost comical. I say "almost" because it's so heavy-handed that even the actors don't seem to buy it as a viable subtext. Because of this, they neither take it seriously or approach it as hamminess. Quite simply, there's a whole lot of "dull" going on.

Did you notice the word I used in the previous paragraph? "Actors." Hmpf. They're mostly cardboard cutouts who sputter lines like "Oh, no! We should go to the police!" or "Let me go! I said 'let me go!' Let me go! I said 'let me go!'" I suppose that the intended tone for the dialogue could have been lost in translation—the dubbing here is atrocious to say the least—but there's no getting around the fact that the story is so moronic that had it been portrayed by any venerable stage performer of the past century it would have been regarded as the most high class display of deceptively simple gobbledygook ever created.

It really is that scatter-shot and downright confusing. Here are some highlights: the doctor who's developed the serum in question appears to also have been disfigured, though he inexplicably transitions between being a hamburger face to a scowling physician whenever the mood should strike him (maybe they were trying to rip-off Jekyll & Hyde?); he falls in love with his patient (and, it seems, a myriad of other women) and goes about terrorizing them in the middle of the night; he's assisted by a man-servant named Sasha who does little more than mime his thoughts and occasionally appear frantic; at one point the woman being treated is infuriated and closes (notice I said "closes"—she doesn't really "slam" it) a window shut only to have every square inch of the glass in the pane shatter; etc., etc., etc.

One could probably say that some sort of clever commentary is just begging to be identified; you know, something to do with the horrors of war; how "ugly" we all really are—that kind of thing.

But, in case I haven't spelled it out in enough detail, here's what I think: Atom Age Vampire just plain sucks.

"This is the only hope you have, keep that in mind always."

[classicsoncall · 3/10 · 9 April 2005]

"Atom Age Vampire" makes use of a lot of pseudo scientific jargon to make the most of "restoring normal growth of abnormal cells" and "spontaneous reproduction of living cells". Professor Alberto Levin (Alberto Lupo) isn't sure of his Derma 28 invention, but able assistant Monique (Franca Parisi) convinces him to use the serum on the facially disfigured Jeanette Moreneau, a jilted lover whose out of control car dives over a cliff with the obligatory burst into flames aftermath. Roberto Bertea portrays the loyal lab assistant Sacha, whose presence doesn't do much to add or subtract from the film's proceedings. What's not explained very well is Levin's own mutation back and forth into a hideously disfigured wolfman with a complexion problem.

The film's English title holds out possibilities, but it's more in the realm of suggestion than delivery; not a vampire in the lot either, pseudo or otherwise. You can do worse than "Atom Age Vampire", but then you'd be in "Beast of Yucca Flats" territory, hardly a worthwhile way to spend an hour. Unless you're like me and just have to sample every imaginable movie with a cool sounding title, you can let this one pass into modern age oblivion.

Poorly done horror movie has beautiful women and an ugly monster, but little else

[mlraymond · 3/10 · 28 May 2008]

This isn't actually the worst horror movie I've ever seen, but it's pretty dull. The monster who eventually makes his appearance is effectively grotesque looking, but the badly dubbed dialog and heavily censored scenes make the picture sloppy looking and hard to follow. There are several confrontations between the mad scientist and his reluctant patient that seem heavily influenced by the 1932 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with Frederic March, and the monster's death scene at the end reminded me of the finale of the 1935 Werewolf of London.

As often happens with old movies, time has resulted in unexpected developments that make parts of the film humorous in a way no one could possibly have foreseen when making it in the early Sixties in Italy. My first thought on beholding the mad Professor was that he bears an astonishing resemblance to comedian Will Ferrell, which seems sort of appropriate, given the unintentionally funny aspects of parts of the film. The blonde stripper who is the beleaguered heroine of the movie strongly resembles Laura Dern, adding another layer of oddity to an already over the top film. Franca Parisi as the Doctor's lover/assistant is absolutely stunning, an incredible beauty who is reminiscent of Sophia Lauren.

The movie isn't really all that bad, but rather dull, considering the outrageous possibilities. No doubt the American distributors cut out a lot of footage that would have explained more of the characters' motivations, a problem found with most imported Italian horror movies of the early Sixties. The overblown romantic dialog, with the Doctor ranting about his unrequited love for his patient is the worst part of the movie; not helped by really poor dubbing.

Worth seeing once, for fans of Sixties Italian horror flicks, but overall negligible.

Yawn inducing

[jcaraway3 · 1/10 · 31 December 2009]

In my review for "The Crater Lake Monster", I noted, very descriptively I might add, that condemned souls in hell are forced to watch it. I stand corrected. If Satan exists, I'm sure he'd use this movie, "Atom Age Vampire", instead, because you see, this movie is in the public domain, so the big red guy won't even have to pay to use it in his tortures. And speaking of Satan, I felt like I was in his domain while experiencing this so called "Cinema". With it's terrible dubbing, soap opera acting, and awful...everything, I'm starting to feel that maybe this is what we should use on the terrorists.

Oh, you want to hear about the plot? Well. Okay. A stripper gets into a car accident, permanently scarring her. A mad doctor saves her, but turns himself into a monster to avoid detection as he gets the fluid from women he needs to keep her normal. It sounds fun, but it isn't. Don't end up like me! Skip it! Avoid it at all costs!!!

A little Italian horror masterpiece

[dfrevert · 9/10 · 15 September 2006]

Considering its age this movie is very well made. It has a dark and shadowing atmosphere underlined by the excellent b/w photography. Unfortunately this little masterpiece was edited on DVD and VHS in the American censored version. Only a very old German rental tape from V.A.F. (Video Archiv Film) released in 1979 has the never before seen striptease scene at the beginning and totally missing in all the actual versions available. Making it worse this very antique video release is hyper rare and high valued by collectors worldwide. Trying to get this version will be a hard work and only possible thru German video collection forums or directly from a private collector.

Seddok, the strangler

[unbrokenmetal · 6/10 · 17 June 2012]

This is a good example of how distributors can ruin a movie. I have watched the 103 min original Italian widescreen version on DVD, entitled "Seddok, l'erede di Satana" ("Seddok, the heir of Satan"), which is a nice old-fashioned b/w horror flick based on a Frankenstein variation, with dialogs explaining the characters very well. But the movie was cut by a quarter of an hour for the export cinema version, ridiculously retitled "Seddok, der Würger mit den Teufelskrallen" ("Seddok, the strangler with the devil's claws"), and then it was cut by another quarter of an hour for video release. The fragment of what is used to be ended up under the title "Atom Age Vampire", and everybody complains how poor it is - well, if you tried getting the complete picture (both referring to widescreen format and its running time), you probably would have a better impression, although it can't be denied it is rather slow moving, and they wouldn't get away with this 'scientific' explanation of skin restoration anymore.

I'm the doctor damn it - you must love me

[manicgecko · 3/10 · 9 March 2006]

I am usually a big fan of badly dubbed Italian ZZZZ movies but this one is too much of a soap opera to join my guilty pleasure creation. A Dr. Jeckle/Hyde movie about an Scientist/physician obsessed with the effects of Hiroshima who creates the virtual fountain of youth "Derma 28". With this massive knowledge he uses his knowledge to keep his downgrade of a girlfriend from living the rest of her life with a Nike footprint on her face. There most character development in this movie are for 2 minor characters - the chief of police who apparently "picked a bad time to quit smoking" and Sacha the drunk, mute, and loyal to the end gardener. The only good thing from this is that it does keep the movie from dragging on, but it is hard to care for anybody in this film. I found myself watching the cat chasing mice on the waterfront instead of the dramatic turning point in the movie.

Since I have actually bought this movie odds are I may watch it again for a cure for insomnia - but unlikely for any enjoyment.