disgusting, overrated, pointless

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

RELEASED IN 1970 and directed by Roy Ward Baker, "The Vampire Lovers" is a Hammer horror based on Irish novelist Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla," which was published in 1872 and predated Bram Stoker's "Dracula" by 25 years. The story concerns a family of vampires, the Karnsteins, who prey on people in Austria by finding an excuse to leave their daughter at a rich manor. She then proceeds to patiently seduce the nubile woman of the abode as she drinks the blood of local peasant lassies and whomever else.The main antagonist, Carmilla/Marcilla Karnstein, is played by Ingrid Pitt, who's effective, but a little too long-in-the-tooth for the role. While she prefers to prey on wealthy nubile girls and there are overt Sapphic undertones, she's just as willing to suck the blood of dudes when it suits her diabolic purposes. Her pretense of passionate romantic love is just that as she's intrinsically evil and referred to as a "devil" elsewhere in the movie. Make no mistake, she's solely out to find and feed off victims.While vampires are fantastical, Carmilla is figurative of evil women who purpose to seduce or convert people and destroy them. This IS real life and I've seen it happen several times. The tale isn't for immature audiences because it's too convoluted, dramatic, weighty and mature. I saw it 15 years ago and wasn't impressed but, seeing it again, I now grasp it and it's virtually revelatory.The female cast is superb, rounded out by: Madeline Smith (Emma), Pippa Steel (Laura), Kate O'Mara (The Governess, aka Mme. Perrodot), Janet Key (Gretchin, the maid), Kirsten Lindholm (the blonde vampire in the opening; also shown later), Olga James (Village Girl), Joanna Shelley (Woodman's Daughter) and Dawn Addams (The Countess/Karnstein matriarch). There's a little bit of tasteful top nudity and Pitt is shown totally nude on two occasions in a classy manner. She's a beautiful woman, for sure, but she doesn't trip my trigger.As far as the male cast goes, Peter Cushing has a side role and Jon Finch is on hand as the gallant hunk. There are others.FYI: "The Vampire Lovers" is the first part of the so-called Karnstein Trilogy, which includes the quasi-sequel "Lust for a Vampire" (1971) and the prequel "Twins of Evil" (1971).THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 31 minutes and was shot in Hertfordshire, England.GRADE: B+/B

It was, of course, because of Peter Cushing that I picked up this movie, which is 5 years older than I am, and sit down to watch it. I had next to no expectations for the movie, so it would take a lot to disappoint me."The Vampire Lovers" was certainly lacking originality, as it was essentially just a clone of Bram Stoker's "Dracula".It should be said that the movie had a rather good cast and good acting performances from the cast. One of the biggest thing that kept the movie afloat as being watchable was the fact that the characters in the storyline were quite interesting.The movie also had good special effects, especially taking into consideration that it is from 1970.

I haven't read the original story from the pen of J. Sheridan Le Fanu, but I believe this is a pretty faithful adaption of his 1872 vampire tale. Made by Hammer Films in 1970, there are two things to be considered when addressing this movie.Firstly, Hammer's resident genius in chief Anthony Hinds retired several months before the film went into production, and they decided to allow outside producers into the stable. Michael Style and Harry Fine had formed a company called Fantale, and it was they who proposed adapting Carmilla to Hammer.And on 1st January 1970, The British Board of Film Censors bowed to common sense and changed the certification system for movies. In came the "AA" certificate which allowed people in if they were 14 years of age or older and the "X" viewing age was changed from 16 to 18 years and over, allowing for more graphic content to be seen.And so Hammer got boobs! The film itself is a pretty good movie, though it has some limitations. Telling the story of Mircalla Karnestein, a beautiful vampire who mingles in Austrian society, we get plenty of mild sexy stuff as Ingrid Pitt cavorts topless with some English Totty! The nudity is always pretty tasteful, and Hammer (who produced the film with AIP) were merely dipping a toe into the new permissive society.After about 25 minutes it gets bogged down for a while, playing like an expanded version of Lucy Westernra's seduction by the Count in Dracula. This goes on too long, as it's the sort of film where the audience is way ahead of the characters as to what is actually going on. However things pick up considerably after the hour mark, and the final third of the film is engaging and highly watchable.The cast? Well, Peter Cushing appears, though not in a major role, and it's Ingrid Pitt who has to carry most of the film. She's a bit old for the part, and occasionally over the top. But her rather sad-eyed vampire is quite affecting. And with Jon Finch, Ferdy Maine and Arthur Daley himself George Cole on hand it's always decently acted. Okay there are some shots of tennis courts on show at the beginning of the film, but it doesn't look as cheap as say Scars of Dracula, and is effectively shot by director Roy Ward Baker.The Vampire Lovers is the first part of a loose trilogy Hammer made on the Karnsteins: it was followed by the hopeless Lust For A Vampire and the extremely good Twins Of Evil. And they both have boobs in 'em too!

With the exception of Interview With the Vampire, it seems like the best vampire movies come out of Europe- Nosferatu and Vampyr from Germany, Let the Right One In from Sweden and the Hammer films from Britain. The Vampire Lovers is a Hammer horror film with a great deal of bite. It deals with the legendary lesbian vampire Carmilla, played in this version by Ingrid Pitt.From the female vampire who is quickly beheaded in the movie's prologue, The Vampire Lovers is filled with beautiful women. Chief among them is Pitt, whose eyes look both seductive and deadly. Carmilla feasts on nubile young virgins Laura and Emma. There's some great nudity, including in the scene where Carmilla is in the bath and Emma tries on a dress. Carmilla puts on a towel, but only around her hips, leaving her breasts still exposed. Gratuitous nudity? Well, the scene with the two half-naked women playfully chasing each other around the bedroom has a point: the lesbian eroticism is unmistakable.Beyond the erotic aspects of the film, The Vampire Lovers has what every vampire movie needs: good atmosphere with good sets and costumes, as well as mostly smooth dialogue and acting. At the same time, they had the good sense not to actually show the giant cat Carmilla morphs into; it probably would have made a terrible special effect. There are still questions, like if Carmilla's family was wiped out, where did the man in black and her "mother" come from? Probably just victims she made into vampires after the opening scene. My main regret is Carmilla dies at the end (gruesomely). Beyond that, I don't understand the problem people have with this film.Happy Halloween.