Customer Reviews

Vampire Ecstasy [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Naked women, lesbian and heterosexual sex, vampires, black magic and a great creepy old castle to film in...what more do you want? Despite what you may think from the cover and the rather intrusive new title card, this film was originally titled Veil of Blood and came out in the early 70s. It was filmed in Europe, but everybody speaks (heavily accented) English, so I'm not sure if it's Swedish (one of the stars is a Swedish sex siren) or German or what. Anyway, read the plot description on the back of the video box very carefully, otherwise you won't know what the heck is going on most of the time. It involves a cult of women attempting to resurrect or reincarnate their dead vampire queen. Their process involves some sort of, well, horniness spell that, ahem, agitates everybody in the castle, except for the cross-wearing doctor who's agitated enough by incestous feelings toward her brother, who's too busy gettin' busy with the Swedish sex siren parenthetically mentioned above to notice. There's also a beautiful young brunette who is the alleged reincarnation of the dead vamp, though she's barely a footnote to the proceedings until the last 20 minutes or so, and her lesbian caretaker, who also gets it on with the SSS and willingly joins the vampire cult. Got all that? It doesn't matter, really, as the plot, while fascinating, plays second fiddle to the hallucinatory atmosphere. Every person, male or female, gets naked at least once. There's very little gore but a whole lot of psychedelic tribal drumming, and the spooky castle should get its own co-starring credit. Nobody's gonna put this on their list of all-time faves, but it's a vastly entertaining watch for the erotic horror enthusiast.

This German film, which was actually released in 1973, would seem to offer fans of erotic horror a nice little treat. Perhaps it did at the time of its release, but the whole thing comes across as rather bland these days, and this resulted in a little disappointment for this viewer. The storyline itself also has some virtues to it, but the film's rather sparse elaboration of what is actually going on combined with its actors'/actresses' sometimes hard-to-understand English accents keep it from realizing its true potential. The plot revolves around the infamous Baroness Danielle Vaga, an infamous German aristocrat who cut a bloody swath through the pages of mediaeval history, taking delight in impaling many a victim and reportedly drinking her victims' blood. Strangely enough, the local villagers look upon her as a vampire and eventually burn her at the stake. Unfortunately, they forgot to thrust a "cross of Vaga" (actually, I could never really understand the word associated with the cross, so I'm just guessing it was "Vaga") through her heart. Thus, the Baroness swears she will return some day.

It just so happens that a few ladies have been invited to the old castle, ostensibly to discover which of them is a true ancestor of the Baroness. Only two of these girls really matter (and I might add that these are the only two attractive women in the entire film); the constantly hot and bothered Helga carries the movie, as far as I'm concerned, during certain stretches. You also have a pair of uninvited guests who are looking for help following an automobile accident: this is a female doctor of arcane lore and superstition and her seemingly useless brother. Brother and sister are very close - much too close. With everyone in place, we learn bits and pieces about the Baroness' return, watch half-naked women dance and chant to annoying drum music, and meet with only mild erotica on our way to a finish I found disappointing.

There is no gore to speak of, the erotic horror claims are highly exaggerated, all but two of the characters are either unimportant or unlikable, and there is nothing the least bit disturbing or frightening about the castle environment. Despite these facts, the movie actually holds together pretty well - if you can figure out the vague and hard to comprehend dialogue that tries to explain the point of the whole story. One should be aware that this film has also appeared under the titles The Devil's Plaything, Revenge of the Black Sisters, and Veil of Blood. I wouldn't go to the trouble of searching for a copy of the film, but it's worth watching.

Joe Sarno was an early director of erotic films who always added a bit of psychological depth to his tales, as well as hints of perverse sex (incest is a favored topic in many of his works). We're not talking Ingmar Bergman here, but unlike many other grindhouse directors, Joe's films are elaborately plotted, well acted, and nicely shot. No blurry out of frame compositions here. Devil's Playthings exhibit many of these traits. The vampirism is left in a gray area, as we are never sure if the Countess is a real vampire, or simply acting out the influences of the cult who believe they have reincarnated her. There is implied brother/sister incest, and true to the period, writhing females painted with mystic symbols. Where are these cults, anyway? Sign me up! The film is soft core, but exudes an erotic throb, and the gals are swell. The head of the cult is one of those women who is creepily sexy. If you're looking for an offbeat piece of retro-erotica, this film will do nicely. And try other Joe Sarno works, they don't disappoint.

This German film, which was actually released in 1973, would seem to offer fans of erotic horror a nice little treat. Perhaps it did at the time of its release, but the whole thing comes across as rather bland these days, and this resulted in a little disappointment for this viewer. The storyline itself also has some virtues to it, but the film's rather sparse elaboration of what is actually going on combined with its actors'/actresses' sometimes hard-to-understand English accents keep it from realizing its true potential. The plot revolves around the infamous Baroness Danielle Vaga, an infamous German aristocrat who cut a bloody swath through the pages of mediaeval history, taking delight in impaling many a victim and reportedly drinking her victims' blood. Strangely enough, the local villagers look upon her as a vampire and eventually burn her at the stake. Unfortunately, they forgot to thrust a "cross of Vaga" (actually, I could never really understand the word associated with the cross, so I'm just guessing it was "Vaga") through her heart. Thus, the Baroness swears she will return some day.

It just so happens that a few ladies have been invited to the old castle, ostensibly to discover which of them is a true ancestor of the Baroness. Only two of these girls really matter (and I might add that these are the only two attractive women in the entire film); the constantly hot and bothered Helga carries the movie, as far as I'm concerned, during certain stretches. You also have a pair of uninvited guests who are looking for help following an automobile accident: this is a female doctor of arcane lore and superstition and her seemingly useless brother. Brother and sister are very close - much too close. With everyone in place, we learn bits and pieces about the Baroness' return, watch half-naked women dance and chant to annoying drum music, and meet with only mild erotica on our way to a finish I found disappointing.

There is no gore to speak of, the erotic horror claims are highly exaggerated, all but two of the characters are either unimportant or unlikable, and there is nothing the least bit disturbing or frightening about the castle environment. Despite these facts, the movie actually holds together pretty well - if you can figure out the vague and hard to comprehend dialogue that tries to explain the point of the whole story. One should be aware that this film has also appeared under the titles The Devil's Plaything, Revenge of the Black Sisters, and Veil of Blood. I wouldn't go to the trouble of searching for a copy of the film, but it's worth watching.

This is a female vampire story. The historical background is similar to Vlad the Impaler, except it involves a baroness whose spirit is kept alive at this castle. In the basement of the castle, topless women in long loin cloths perform rituals to bongo music. Some young girls arrive at the castle unaware of the rituals. They are enticed to come to the basement through the enchanting bongo music. Here they get naked and have sex. No silicon. The vampire aspect was kept to a minimum.

Nudity, minor full frontal nudity, sex, lesbian sex, female masturbation. While this sounds pornographic, it is actually less graphic than today's soft core.

One of Joe Sarno's masterpeices, a soft porn horror flick that's more than just a T&B fest-a fairly well thought out plot that would keep you interested even if the rarely clad,and frequently misbehaving female cast could not. Brings back fond memories of the 70's!

Don't go in expecting the film "Vampyres". But honestly, there is something magical about this film. It is dark and creepy in a "Hammer" sort of way. The head mistress is very cunning and seductive and the actress plays her part very well. Creepy bongo-type music plays throughout the film. Not super erotic like "Vampyros Lesbos" and "Vampyres" but still a good old-school film. More on the line with "The Vampire Lovers".

First, while there is some biting there are no fangs. In other words, no vampires. Lots of nudity and some sexual scenes, but over all I could have gotten more for my money by buying a adult anime or any other vampire movie. True, the woman are pretty and show no problem getting undressed. In fact there is a scene where Marie Forsa is naked and there seems to be no reason for it. The collector's edition has a commentary where we do find out a little about filming in Europe, how they got a real castle, how the crew got along and so on. There is also interviews, but they seem to cover the same ground. Over all I am interested in Marie Forsa and may get some of her other films, she did a total of three, but I would suggest skipping this film. No vampires, not a lot of ecstasy, not really what the cover promised.