14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Bloody Good Film, February 25, 2000
This review is from: Kiss of the Vampire [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Hammer's KISS OF THE VAMPIRE must rate as one of the best of the Hammer films. For sheer eerieness, it has to be in the Top 5. The scene where Ravna's son plays the piano never fails to send shivers down my back, and the vampire girl (the daughter of the owners of the inn) who was kidnapped and made into a vampire by Ravna, is really evil looking. Does anyone know who she is or anything about her background? The final scene where thousands of bats attack the cult of the vampires in the Ravna chalet, is truly gruesome. It is a wonderful period piece, very realistic and the casting is brilliant. Five stars for this one....and don't forget to wear your cruficix!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
PRETTY GOOD HAMMER HORROR...., October 26, 2002
Unusual Hammer outing has a honeymooning couple staying at a quaint inn and invited as guests to a mysterious count's castle. What they don't know is the count and his family are vampires. The count has his eye on the pretty wife(Jennifer Daniel from "The Reptile") and hypnotizes her to come to him when he summons her. The count presides over a cult of vampires who meet at the castle at night. Adequate production values and haunting theme music make this odd vampire tale quite eerie. Interesting aspect of vampirism as a "cult" is a nice touch. Ending has often been cut for TV and some other prints as "Kiss Of Evil" but the tape and DVD are the original uncut British versions.
The reason being the cult are attacked by bats and it's quite effective. Highly watchable.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kiss of Evil, January 24, 2004
In Kiss of the Vampire, we have quite an interesting movie. Released in the early 60's by Hammer Studios, it's a gothic vampire movie without Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee.
The movie, set around 1905, starts off with a funeral scene, and then progresses to a young couple traveling by car. They run out of gas, and end up in a creepy little town staying in a creepy little hotel. The feeling that something is seriously wrong permeates the scenes, but the young couple, who we find out are on their honeymoon, seem to take little notice, but I think that can be explained to them being newlyweds.
They soon make the acquaintance of the Ravna family, a very well to do and prominent family within the small town. The Ravna chateau is full of opulence, almost to the point of decadence, in comparison to the surrounding environment. The head of the family, Dr. Ravna, played by Noel Willman, puts forth a sinister aura, one that seems to be the source of most of the unease within the movie. The secrets slowly begin to reveal themselves, and the audience, if patient, will find the rewards to be many within this film.
What I found most interesting in this movie was how vampirism was linked to not only venereal disease, but also the occult. In the film, we find a small society of vampires, while most vampire movies would suggest these creatures of the night to be more solitary, more territorial. Not so in this film. He we see a group come together and a definite hierarchy in place.
The sets, costumes, scenery...it all comes together nicely. The actors all play there parts very well, and the direction is excellent. There is not a lot of blood in this movie, but there is just enough and in the right places coupled with a slow build of tension and suspense to make this a very effective film. I felt throughout as I was watching a movie made by real craftsmen of their trade, an above average entry into the vampire film genre. The scene with the costume ball was really enjoyable as the suspense underlying the entire film really started to surface here for me. My only squabble was at the end. I was hoping for something a bit more spectacular, as the build up lent me to believe, but it was at least satisfying, none the less.
Absolutely no extras here, not even a trailer, but there are atleast chapter stops, and the film looks excellent for its' age. The audio, also showing the films' age, did suffer just a little from the `snap, crackle, pop' syndrome at some points, but was otherwise fine. I am glad I picked this up when I did, as it seems to be going out of print.
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