Edgar Soberon Torchia Mexican horror films are bizarre, as many know. They mix a bit of German Expressionism with their Spanish legacy, add a touch of local folklore, and come out with something quite original, even if the execution is betrayed by small budgets. This is the case of this peculiar item of my 2014 discoveries, a film that turned out to be much better than expected. Produced by Abel Salazar, star and producer of many of those films (including the classic "El vampiro"), it exceeds in atmosphere, zaniness and pretty women, as usual, with a handsome vampire this time: Guillermo Murray had just arrived from Argentina and was given the lead in this tale of vampires fighting for world supremacy. Murray plays Sergio Subotai, a European count that wants to take revenge from the last member of a family that hunted the undead and killed his own family. To achieve his goal he uses the man's nieces, two sisters played by Silvia Fournier who takes the leading lady role, and ex-Miss Mexico Erna Martha Bauman as the wicked sister. What Count Subotai did not count with is that there is a guy in town who has the ability to disturb hounds, call the undead, and neutralize vampires with strange pieces of music. Unfortunately Subotai only has an army of inefficient ugly batmen and sexy vampire girls. As in many of these productions, the tone is ironic and different elements make up for the shortcomings, as the admirable underground sets in Subotai's castle, and the dark cinematography, thanks to old pro Jack Draper. The score composed by Gustavo César Carrión for Salazar's production of "El vampiro" is used one more time to good effect. A recommended horror film with quite decent amusement value.

Coventry ~ the spoilers are only minor ~ During the first minutes of the opening sequence, when the vampire (Guillermo Murray) emerges from his coffin and descents further down to the catacombs of his sinister castle, you'll inevitably think that this is the typical opening of just another routine Gothic vampire movie with a textbook storyline and an overuse of all the dreadful clichés of the genre. However, you're promptly forced to think differently, because "The World of Vampires" introduces a handful of ingenious new themes and unusual gimmicks before the same opening sequence is even finished and the credits start to roll! "The World of Vampires" is a very interesting, albeit slightly ridiculous, variation on the good old fashioned topic of vampires, as the ambitious script presents an entirely new (and goofy) method to kill malicious vampires! The key element in "World of Vampires" is music! Music to control the acts and movements of vampire-slaves, music to wake the dead and music to destroy them! So forget about wooden stakes through the heart, stinking garlic and dull natural sunlight! Just play some rhythmic tunes. The plot may be a little unusual and slightly experimental, but director Alfonso Corona Blake nevertheless remains faithful to the Gothic style and atmosphere of other contemporary Mexican horror-highlights. This means the film is literally stuffed with fog-enshrouded cemeteries, mentally disabled & hunchbacked servants, loud and eerie thunderstorms and much, much more! To get back to the plot: Count Subotai isn't just any random vampire, he's a vampire with a mission! More than 300 years ago, vampires tried to wipe out the human race and take over the earth, but one man named Colman prevented them from doing so. Now Subotai has to complete the mission, but not before he eliminated the last three descendants of the Colman family, namely an elderly man and his two ravishing nieces. Unfortunately for him, one of the girls' lover researches the influence of various tunes played on the piano and discovers an interesting sound. Okay, the plot is pretty stupid if you think of afterwards, but at least it's compelling as long as the film lasts and it's finally something different! Guillermo Murray is probably one of the least menacing vampire ever, but his organ made of skulls & bones is spooky and especially his army of docile slaves are genuinely creepy! They all wear identical masks and walk even slower than the zombies in "Night of the Living Dead", but damned they scared me! He also has a collection of gorgeous vampire wenches, but they mainly just serve to decorate the cavern beneath his castle. There are probably too many weird scenes and absurd twists to really call "The World of Vampires" a great piece of Mexican horror, but it's definitely an admirable and entertaining effort.

FloatingOpera7 From 1961, this vampire film as some critic has already mentioned lacks the more chilling or impressive aspects of some later vampire films. It is nothing like American vampire films starring Bela Lugosi or Christopher Reeves. The Mexican actor who portrays the head vampire played the same part in various films. He has a touch of sex and elegance as well as wicked intensity. The plot: a brilliant pianist in decent society is truly a vampire who controls people with music- an organ. He has a huge vendetta against the Coleman family who are vampire-hunters. He makes one of the Coleman daughters into a vampire and is about to do the same to another when he is stopped in his tracks by a vampire hunter who catches on to his power and plays the organ so that the vampires become inactive. The film is long and talky and there are only a few moments of real horror. Most of the film depends on the mood and the atmosphere. It is well done for what it is but it's in Spanish and it's a low-budget production and should only be viewed by Mexican horror fans who would truly appreciate its place in cinema.

evilskip Ahh youth.I remember struggling to stay up to see this at 1:30am on a friday night back in the late 1960's.Needless to say when the first vampire attack happened I shot up to my room for the night. This recently came out on dvd after being bootlegged for years.So it was nice to see a print that while a bit speckled was superior to the tapes. The plot boils down to the evil Count and his plans of revenge against the Colman family.There has been much blood spilled between the two and this night may prove to be the end of the line for the Colman family (a man and his two nieces). Count Subotay (Subotai?) plays an organ made of human bones and skulls in his misty underground lair. He summons his minions to help him carry out his plot against the Colmans.His female vampires are pretty hot looking.The male vampires are blind, hairy handed(a self abuse warning perhaps?) and quite ugly.Of course this way the Count can keep the women for himself. A young couple is viciously attacked to begin the evening.Then the Count moseys over to the Colmans to join a party.One of my faults with this movie lies in the fact that if your family has been decimated by vampires don't you think you'd do what you could to learn the name of the vamp?Especially after some strange pale dude in a tuxedo and cape shows up in your neighborhood? We meet the hero (Rudy) and learn that vampires can be killed by a certain tune.He plays it on the piano and the Count does everything but wet his pants in screaming agony.He slams down the piano key cover on Rudy's hands(a la Tom & Jerry)to make him stop. The Count leaves but he vampirizes one of the girls who in turn vampirizes Rudy.Rudy begins to grow hair on his hands and his eyesight begins to dim.Mr Colman vanishes and Rudy finally adds up that Subotay is a vampire and responsible for the attacks. The film becomes a race against time.Rudy is captured and the other niece is prepared for vampiric sacrifice. Can Rudy defeat the Count before he turns into a mindless vampire creature?Will the Colman family be destroyed forever? There is a lot of atmosphere and an oppressive mood in this film.It is better than most of the Mexican vampire films(Bloody Vampire,Invasion Of The Vampires or the Nostradamus series).But it does fall short of El Vampiro (then again so do most vampire films). Worth picking up if you can find it cheap.