Such a frustrating disappointment

just watch it!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

At a finishing school for girls in 1830 Austria, one of the students goes missing; the administration is in a quandary, not knowing that another beauty from the village was recently murdered and her virginal blood was used to reincarnate Carmilla, a female vampire of the devilish Karnstein family, who arrives at the school under the guise of a new student. Screenwriter Tudor Gates (again mining Joseph Sheridan Le Fanuand's novella "Carmilla" for inspiration) and producers Michael Style and Harry Fine all return from 1970's adequate Hammer horror "The Vampire Lovers", but results are tepid this time. With new restraints handed down by the British censors, the team has scaled back on the lesbian overtures predominant in their previous film. Worse, the bloodsucker action also seems toned down in favor of a corny star-crossed romance between the vampire-heroine and a handsome human, an author and Royal heir who falls hard for the blonde beauty (they have sex in a grassy field to the strains of a pop love ballad!). Under these conditions, crack horror director Jimmy Sangster (filling in at the eleventh hour for an ailing Terence Fisher) might be excused for his flaccid handling--and yet, amazingly, there is not one drop of suspense in this scenario. Sangster is probably responsible for the picture's strongest sequence, with smitten school co-founder Ralph Bates groveling at the feet of the new Carmilla/Mircalla (Yutte Stensgaard), though this scene, too, finishes poorly. Strong-jawed Michael Johnson positively eats his heart out after making love with the girl and finding himself rebuffed the next day, while a police inspector is killed while sniffing around and nothing is mentioned of him again. The writer and producers tried their luck a third time later the same year with "Twins of Evil", the final chapter of the Karnstein Trilogy. * from ****

Quite amusing latter-day Hammer outing, loosely based on the novella 'Carmilla' by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Featuring an enjoyable amount of lovage, including the female/female kind of affection-sharing. Mark Raven is no Christopher Lee, so fortunately his role as Count Karnstein is limited. Yutte Stensgaard, however, is very pleasing on the eyes, taking on the role of Mircalla/Carmilla, the freshly arrived nubile student of a boarding school for girls. Jimmy Sangster in general might be considered as not being on par with some of his fellow Hammer directors, but he does manage to concoct a couple of fairly atmospheric scenes (like the nightly encounter between Mircalla and teacher-turned-servant-of-the-occult Barton). The amusing goings-on make up for an entertaining intrigue, leading up to a suitably satisfying fiery climax.

Sequel to "The Vampire Lovers". Vampire Camilla from the first film is resurrected from the dead (played by Ingrid Pitt in the first film and here played by Yutte Stensgaard). She changes her name to Mircalla and attends a nearby finishing school full of nubile young girls and begins to put the bite on them.Pitt was supposed to recreate her role in this one but she (understandably) passed after reading the script. "Vampire Lovers" was an OK horror movie but this is just terrible. I had to watch it three times to get through it all--I fell asleep the first two times! The script is OK but the acting kills this one. Stensgaard was certainly a beautiful woman with a great body--but couldn't act at all. Her line readings were so wooden it was embarrassing to watch. In an interview the director of the film said he tried to get her to emote but she couldn't (or wouldn't). Everybody else is poor too--even the usually wonderful Ralph Bates! The seduction scenes and blood scenes are boring and the production values are pretty low. The WORST scene has to be when she bites Bates and a SONG (called "Strange Love") starts playing! This is one of the last films Hammer made and easily one of their worst. Watch "The Vampire Lovers" or "Twins of Evil" instead.

Following Roy Ward Baker's brilliant "The Vampire Lovers" (1970), Jimmy Sangster's "Lust for a Vampire" is a vastly inferior, yet highly entertaining second entry to the Hammer Studios' Karnstein-trilogy. "The Vampire Lovers" was truly one of Hammer's most atmospheric films, wonderfully eerie, greatly acted (with a role for icon Peter Cushing), ground-breaking as the first Lesbian Vampire film, brilliantly photographed and blessed with the most ravishing female cast imaginable, lead by erotic Horror queen Ingrid Pitt. While "Lust for a Vampire" is neither as atmospheric, suspenseful and creepy, nor as beautiful as its predecessor it is still recommendable to my fellow Hammer fans. Set in 1830 Austria (my home country), "Lust for a Vampire" is the second tale about the Karnstein family of Vampires. The film begins when Marciella/Camilla Karnstein is once again resurrected. This time, the film is mainly set in a remote girls' college, which is mainly populated by gorgeous, young beauties with exhibitionist and bisexual tendencies. People begin to disappear, when the ravishing Camilla (Yutte Stensgard) attends the posh boarding school... Danish actress Yutte Stensgard is stunningly beautiful, but she doesn't reach the level of hypnotic eeriness that Igrid Pitt gave the role. Yet Miss Stensgard as the female Vampire is one of the most memorable aspects of "Lust for a Vampire". The film was originally supposed to be directed by master director Terence Fisher and star icon Peter Cushing, both of whom were replaced at a short notice. Jimmy Sangster, who was then chosen to direct this film, deserves huge praise as the brilliant screenwriter of such Hammer-milestones as "The Curse of Frankenstein" or "Dracula", but he sadly wasn't as goody as a director. Whereas Sangster's filmography as a screenwriter includes more than a few brilliant films, the two films he directed that I've seen, "The Horror of Frankenstein" and this one, were both mediocre. Ralph Bates, who plays a sinister teacher here, was a very good actor, in my opinion, but his role here is a bit ridiculous. Mike Raven, who plays the vampire count Karnstein here, is clearly made up to look like the all-mighty Christopher Lee, which remains a sorry attempt. Leading man Michael Johnson, who plays an author of Gothic novels who becomes a teacher at the school, is not very good either. The best parts of the cast are its female members, Yutte Stensgaard, Suzanna Leigh, who plays a beautiful young teacher, and lots of girls who provide female eye candy. Harvey Hall, who was in "The Vampire Lovers" already, plays a police inspector. The film has several gory moments, as well as a nice Gothic atmosphere. The photography is nice and the settings are eerie. Most of the score is also good, but a vocal song that is used seems terribly out of place. Overall, "Lust for a Vampire" does in no way compare to "The Vampire Lovers". I haven't seen the third part in the Karnstein trilogy, "Twins of Evil", so far, but I hope it will be more like "The Vampire Lovers" than this one. Even so, "Lust for A Vampire" is by no means a bad film, and should be enjoyed by Hammer fans.