1973
Director- Luigi Batzella, Joe D'Amato
From Italy
Cast- Mark Damon, Rosalba Neri, Esmeralda Barro, Xiro
Papas, Enza Sbordone
I have
to confess, I came across this movie by accident by way of Elvira’s Movie Macabre,
which is fine by me. If I had my way, all B movies would be hosted by Elvira.
And make no mistake, this is a B movie. Its super confusing sometimes but this
movie stands out not because it is well put together but because it is so
original. It definitely wasn’t written by formulaic studio executives cashing
in on tried and true tropes.
Franz (long
time Hollywood veteran, Mark Damon) is a scholar in search of the fabled Ring
of the Nibelung (yes the same Ring that is at the center of the Wagner operas,
bet you weren’t expecting that!) So he sets out on a quest for Castle Dracula
in Transylvania where his research has told him that it has ended up. Franz is
familiar with the region’s vampiric reputation so he takes some protection.
Does he take a cross? No, he takes an amulet of the demon Pazuzu (yes, that
Pazuzu, the antagonist of The Exorcist).
Franz
arrives to find he is on the eve of a night that the local villagers fear, The
Night of the Virgin moon, a night that occurs once every 50 years. On that
night, virgin girls disappear to who knows what end. Franz goes to the castle
and rather than finding Dracula, he finds a beautiful countess and her exotic
servant girl. The Countess seduces him and turns out to be a vampire herself.
She turns him into one too and at this point the movie goes a little off the
rails with some vaguely psychedelic montage that does include some hot
Elizabeth Bathory-esque imagery.
Did I
mention that Franz has a twin brother? Taking a page from Twins of Evil, Franz’s brother shows up (also played by Damon). The
Countess uses her magic Ring to summon up some hot virgins, invokes various
Lords of Hell, and has herself a Black Mass with lots of nudity and virgin
sacrifice, all for the purpose of enabling the dear departed Dracula to inhabit
Franz’s body. His brother of course tries to foil this scheme.
The
movie feels like the product of loving fans, the same kind that write fan
fiction where Superman fights Galactus or Indiana Jones teams up with Hellboy.
I mean, in one movie we get Norse mythology, Pazuzu, Dracula, and Satanism all
with a heavy Hammer influence and generous helpings of nudity. If only more
movies were this gutsy (crazy?)
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