Nigel P Britt Nichols plays Luisa Karlstein who visits her terminally ill mother. Rather coldly, the rest of the family appears to have turned up simply to stand and watch as the ill old Baroness succumbs to death. With her dying breath, she tells her daughter of a family curse.Even before this reveal, a number of ongoing, gruesome murders have been occurring. Nubile young women, often in a state of undress, have been spied upon and are then killed by what is clearly a female vampire.As always for Jesus Franco films, such story-line as there is meanders greatly with protracted scenes of women in jeopardy, and is enlivened by ongoing scenes of soft-core sex - here, Karlstein reveals her lesbian tendencies in a number of scenes which have no bearing on the wafer-thin plot-line. This is usual for such films, as is the stunning leading lady - here, Nichols continues the tradition of delights such as Lina Romay and Soledad Miranda, but doesn't seem to have attracted the same level of attention. This may be because her appearance bolsters a film that is otherwise desperately reserved for Franco's style than a more general audience. Some time regular Anne Libert gives her usual effective and mesmerising performance as Karine.Even the eroticism here is ... odd. There is a routine in which a 'dancer' (prior to her murder, of course) simply rolls around on the floor in a red lit nightclub. She is clearly performing an act (as opposed to suffering a fit). People watch in stony silence, she rolls around some more, smiling. Then, she stands up and they applaud! Why? It is only shocking because she wasn't escorted out of the place by medics. Where is the exotic eroticism of 'Vampyros Lesbos' or 'She Killed in Ecstasy?' Whilst hardly polished films themselves, they did nevertheless escape the drudgery that fuels each dialogue-heavy scene here.A constant delight with Franco films is the juxtaposition of horror set in beautifully filmed, exotic sun-kissed locations. Such visual conflict often works, but not so much here, for what panoramic views we get of Portugal (where this is filmed) are rare and the footage is often used more than once.Back to whatever passes as a story, and it appears that the undead Count Karlstein (Franco regular Howard Vernon, robbed of dialogue here) is in fact Dracula himself. He doesn't get to contribute a huge amount. In fact, his two scenes involve simply rising from his coffin, watched by a horrified Luisa, shortly before she too becomes a vampire. And yet, his wide-eyed somnambulism offers an interesting take on a more bestial Dracula - it's just a shame he hasn't more to do.What begins as an interesting idea soon becomes choppy viewing, with one scene following another with little or no obvious cohesion or structure. Little effort is made to make any of the events entertaining or horrific or even particularly sexy. Among the points in its favour - we are treated to many brave close-ups of teeth baring fangs. Brave because, such close-ups invite scrutiny, but the fangs are very realistic - something the otherwise superior 'exploitation' film-maker Jean Rollin couldn't always get right.Despite the flaws, I actually rate this quite highly because it is Franco at his ... Franco-ist! The mood is suitably strange and ethereal, and there is a sense of the unnerving, despite the lack of any obvious choices to make it so. The choice of locations, always one of Franco's greatest talents help immeasurably, and the musical score by Daniel White is, as always, terrific.

morrison-dylan-fan As I gathered up movies to watch by writer/director/actor Jess Franco for an upcoming 'Horror Challenge' being held on IMDb's Horror board,I found myself feeling disappointed that I would be unable to include a Giallo title in my Franco viewings.Catching me completely by surprise,a very kind IMDber revealed to me a Franco film which combined Gothic Horror with Giallo elements,which led to me shaking hands with a black glove wearing Dracula.The plot:Laying on her death bed, Baroness Karlstein decides that this is the perfect time to reveal to Luisa Karlstein that her dad is a vampire called Count Karlstein,and that Luisa is the rightful heir to a hidden family secret.Taken aback by the revelation that her mum delivers with her final breath,Luisa decides to visit a small village,where Count Karlstein appears to be a residence.As Luisa heads to the village, Inspector Ptsuschko begins to investigate a series of murders being committed by a stranger wearing black gloves and walking around with a cane.Holding a firm view that the killer must be within his sights,Ptsuschko dismisses mutterings from locals that the killings have a noticeable vampire appearance.Finding the castle that her dad lives in,Luisa discovers to her horror,that along with her dad,she has also found Count Karlstein's friend:Count Dracula.View on the film:Offering a tantalising combo of Gothic Horror and Giallo,the screenplay by writer/director/co-star Jess Franco is disappointingly unable to fully connect both threads,due to Franco taking a very halfhearted approach to the Gothic elements,and stabbing the Giallo elements with a real lack of focus,which leads to it re- appearing/disappearing from the centre of the title.Whilst Franco shows himself to be a bit too zoom-in happy with his stilted directing,the stunning Britt Nichols gives the film a strong mystique atmosphere,as Luisa opens the tomb to her secret family history.

Boba_Fett1138 Actually I can be very positive about this movie, since it's a Jesus Franco movie that I didn't hated watching for a change. Still, it's far from being a great movie but it at least is watchable and even has some good moments in it.Best thing about this movie is that it manages to create a good atmosphere. It's honestly a good looking movie and especially all of the sex sequences are filmed very well. Yes, it's a Jesus Franco movie, so it of course features quite a lot of nudity and sex in it. This time it involves girls only, so prepare yourself for some steamy lesbian moments. I'm actually getting real tired of these lesbian undertones in vampire movies but it's done quite well in this movie, so I have simply nothing to complain about, in this case.The story is being somewhat pleasant and easy to follow, which is not something you could say for every Jesus Franco movie. Haven't said that, it's nothing too solid or original really. Even it's title is incredible formulaic but oh well, at least it still sounds good in French.And this goes for the dialog as well. It's all better sounding in French and lets the actors come across as if they knew what they were doing. Still it's very obvious that most of the actor's voices got dubbed because they were non-French speaking ones. But this at least isn't anything too distracting and I don't know, it sort of adds to the charm of these sort of movies a well.I'm not sure about it though that there is plenty for the horror/vampire lovers to enjoy. It's a movie that is more about its atmosphere really and not so much about its blood or scares. If this sound appealing enough to you, this movie is still worth checking out.Not a great movie by any means but by normal Jesus Franco standards, it's definitely still a good and watchable enough movie.5/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

tedg Spoilers herein.I admit I find current Spanish-speaking filmmakers the most interesting. And because of that, I'm plowing through Franco films. They all sort of blend into one another after a while, except for those featuring a lover.The thing I like about them generally is how self-conscious the camera is, what with the zooms and sweeps and such. Usually, they also include him as a character, often as observer or investigator in a folded narrative. (Nico Mastorakis does this much better in 'island of Death.')No narrative in film could be more formulaic than the vampire film, especially one that focuses on the sex of the wives (here 'daughters'). On that he attempts layers. These aren't intelligent or deep, but they are there and pave the way for Pedro and Julio.Along the way, he got the business about one of Dracula's wives being redhaired and confused. That's important, that.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.