Screenplay:
Piero RegnoliCinematography:
Mario BavaCast:
Gianna Maria Canale, Carlo d'Angelo, Dario Michaelis, Wandisa Guida, Renato Tontini, Antoine Balpêtré, Miranda Campa, Paul Muller, Riccardo Freda (more)Plots(1)
A mad scientist captures young women in Paris and drains them of their blood in service of an evil Duchess. Also known as Lust of the Vampire, Riccardo Freda’s I vampiri mixes the Bathory and Frankenstein stories to create its gothic tale, Italy’s first horror film. Made as a challenge by Freda at breakneck speed, cinematographer Mario Bava would complete direction and post-production of the film, adding his signature in the process. With its baroque imagery and stunning visuals, I vampiri forged the path for Italian horror and remains a landmark of Italian cinema history. (Radiance Films)
(more)Reviews (1)
This is the oldest film that uses the theme of the Bloody Countess. The story about longing for eternal youth transplanted to an Italian B-movie set in what was then France is not a complete victory, but it had to start somehow. It's a hybrid between a journalistic detective story and a parody of Universal's monster movies.
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