Customer Reviews

Kiss of the Vampire [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

Since the plot has been described in several other reviews, I'd like to concentrate on the sumptious behind the scene areas this film does so well in. First, the coloring and use of it are marvelous; notice the brilliant red dress that sets the lovely Jennifer Daniels apart from the other party guests; the way Edward De Souza's hat matches his wife's riding outfit; the detail to the architecture in both the hotel and the chateau; the gorgeous and sinister music by James Bernard that director Don Sharp incorporates into the scene where Barry Warren plays its seduction to Daniels; and the effective use of wind and rain. This movie, first released in 1963 as Kiss of Evil, is not one of Hammer's best productions, but it is a rich, diffuse entry into the vampire genre, and Clifford Evans (looking a little like a middle-aged Sean Connery) has a malignant ferocity in his Van Helsing-like role.
Not a classic, but definitely for fans of the Hammer days!

This is Hammer at their peak - quite simply, one of the finest vampire films ever made. Noel Willman is great as the evil Dr. Ravna as he exerts his will over the unsuspecting young couple played by Jennifer Daniel and Edward De Souza.
This is a very nice (though non anamorphic) transfer from an excellent source print displaying strong, bold colours.

Kiss of the Vampire is an excellent film. The acting is uniformly fine particulary Noel Willman. Don Sharp's direction is top notch with consistently creative use of lighting and camera angles. The score is more imaginative James Bernard than usual with a clever use a piano piece as the main motif. The film is part of the Plague of the Zombies/The Reptile group which as a whole constitute a fine ouvre. They were some of Hammer's most creative work, yet lacking a Lee or Cushing, they are uniformly ignored. Pity. If Kiss has a flaw, and it does, is that it makes a hash of both traditional vampire lore and there is no logic to its own use of vampires in the film. These vampires can go about during the day time provided it's cloudy. They eat food. They can stick their heads out the castle window into the sunlight. They seem particularly weak, having to go through a long charade to acquire victims and don't seem to really need that much blood. Even their destruction makes no sense from a vampire point of view. It is almost as if they were originally intended to be a coven of devil worshippers and Hammer made them vampires at the last minute. Despite this, it is recommended that the viewer ignore the logical chaos and just go with the film. It is very rewarding and the ending is, unusual for Hammer, a special effect extravaganza.

Chris Lee and Peter Cushing's battles through several of Hammer's Dracula films really burned into people's thinking that Hammer Vamps meant these two in their clash of the Titans - Dracula and Van Helsing. However, Hammer did a handful of vampire flicks with a more sensual quality, like Lust for a Vampire and this gem, The Kiss of the Vampire. Because viewers missed the formidable presence of Lee and Cushing having at it again, I think this film was rather dismissed. It really needs a second -- and third -- look.

It's moody, atmospheric with a sensual quality stronger than the Lee-Cushing Drac flicks. I think it's mostly undermined by Noel Willman as the head vampire. Had they had someone of the raw sexuality of the commanding Lee, this likely would have been considered one of the best Hammer Vamps. Willman just does not imbue the film with that pull -- the repulsion against the bloodsucking ways, but the power that draws against all. He just doesn't put it over like Lee. But then few men could! Alas, where was Ian McShane when you needed him?

Willman is a nobleman - what else - over a tiny hamlet where he is actually doing rather better than Drac ever did. His castle is richly appointed and full of fellow vamps. Old Noel has his own Vamp Camp going. Naturally, the villagers live in terror as not only do they have a master vamp in residents, they have to fear all his vamp friends, too. Rather a large drain on the locals.

When a young honeymoon couple's car breaks down outside the castle, they come under the control of the evil vamp Count. You have the counter balance of evil with Professor Zimmer played, again, with less flair than Cushing, by Clifford Evans.

Despite Zimmer's warnings the couple come under the control of the Vamp master and his cronies, who have decided the young bride would make a delectable feast and new member to Happy Vamp Camp. Zimmer is fairly strong as his Van Helsing type role than Willman is as head vamp. The plot while predictable is lavishly filmed, complete with costume ball.

Because the lack of the two Hammer legends and the "we've been down this road before" causes people to initially dismiss the beauty of this film.

Give it a chance. Don't compare it, just judge it on it's own merits, and I think you will find it a richly done, impressive film that is very underrated.

Edward De Souza and Jennifer Daniel star as a married couple on their honeymoon traveling through Europe. But When their motor car breaks down they are stranded at an old inn on the side of the road. They soon except the hospitality of a Dr. Ravana{Noel William} at his castle for a maqeurade party. Ravana takes an interest to Marianne{Daniel}. And would hope she would succumb to his dark powers and become the queen of evil. Due to a curse at the climax of the film, Ravana and his disciples are torn to pieces by bats! A great film with horror and love intertwined. A film you don't want to miss. Starring Clifford Evans, Edward De Souza, Noel William, Jennifer Daniel and Barry Warren. Directed By Don Sharp. 88 Minutes

When people think of Hammer Horror's vampires, they think of Christopher Lee being dispatched by Peter Cushing. Too bad that those wonderful actors weren't in "Kiss of the Vampire," because they might have salvaged a tepid vampire flick that descends into silliness by the third act.

Honeymooners Gerald and Marianne (Edward de Souza and Jennifer Daniel) run out of gas near a rural inn. They end up staying for the week, and are invited to the chateau of Doctor Ravna (Noel Willman) for a masked ball. But when a drugged Gerald wakes up, he finds that everyone -- even the innkeepers -- deny that Marianne ever existed.

Desperate, he ends up going to the peculiar Professor Zimmer (Clifford Evans), who agrees to help him, since he has a personal vendetta against Ravna. But to get Marianne back, the two humans will have to tackle a whole castle full of evil vampires -- and somehow break Ravna's hypnotic hold on her.

The travellers-get-attacked-by-undead plot is pretty much a cliche by now, and it feels stale even in "Kiss of the Vampire," with its paint-by-numbers plot and bland acting. It has most of the Hammer staples -- rich settings and evil vamp cults -- but the plot is both ridiculous and very, very slow.

At first it's easy to be swept away by the vague menace of the vampires, and the sumptuous castle they live in. Unfortunately by the third act, it's deteriorated into dozens of panicking vampires running around in nightgowns. It's as silly as it sounds. The climax goes even further with lots of thunder'n'lightning black magic, and about six hundred rubber bats.

And the cast cannot salvage the glacial plot,. Daniel and de Souza do what they can, but their characters are such blithering idiots that it's hard to care; Evans does a good job, but his character is too thin. Willman tries hard to be Christopher Lee's Dracula, but he can't manage the same feral, sultry quality. He just looks embarrassed.

"Kiss of the Vampire" follows the formula of Lee-Cushing movies with none of the quality, eroticism or intelligence. One of Hammer's lesser vampire movies.

"Kiss of the Vampire" is another one of those Hammer films where a hapless couple becomes entangled with the blood-sucking undead. This time around it is Harcourts, Gerald (Edward de Souza) and Marianne (Jennifer Daniel), an English couple on their honeymoon just traveling through Bavaria when they run out of gas. The Harcourts are rescued by Dr. Ravna (Noel Willman), who sets them up in a local inn amongst the nervous natives and invites them for dinner at his chateau, where we meet his children Carl (Barry Warren) and Sabena (Jacquie Wallis). Of course, all of the Ravnas are vampires, even though they apparently can run around during daylight hours and eat regular food. When the Harcourts attend a masked ball at which all the other guests are members of Ravna's vampire cult, Gerald is drugged and Marianne spirited away. Fortunately, Professor Zimmer (Clifford Evans) is on the scene to do battle with the vampires. "Kiss of the Vampire" begins with its best scene, in which the Professor interrupts his own daughter's burial to ensure she does not rise again. Unlike his colleague Van Helsing, Professor Zimmer is not above using black magic to give the vampires back a little of their own.

Certainly the script for "Kiss of the Vampire" is one of the most cliched produced by Hammer. What hurts the film the most is that Noel Willman just underplays the role of the head vampire way too much. In contrast, Isobel Black in the minor role of Tania, steals her brief scene. Don Sharp, who directed this 1963 film, starts off the film with a great scene and wanted to end with something equally shocking, but rubber bats are never going to cut it, even with Hammer's reputation for low-budget effects. "Kiss of the Vampire" is an above average vampire movie from Hammer despite the fact it offers neither Christopher Lee's Dracula of Peter Cushing's Van Helsing.