Marcilla, the young beautiful daughter of a Countess, is taken on as a house guest by General von Spielsdorf. Soon after her arrival, villagers begin to turn up dead. As the General's own daughter falls ill and becomes weak and pale, whispers begin to spread through the village about the legendary Karnstein family - vampires who once terrorized the land.
Marcilla soon finds a new family to take her in and becomes close with their teenage daughter who soon begins to meet the same fate as the General's daughter. von Spielsdorf becomes suspicious and seeks the assistance of Baron Hartog, who once laid waste to the Karnstein's, and now believes one may have survived.
The Vampire Lovers is the first of Hammer's Karnstein trilogy. As noted in my review of Twins of Evil, Hammer attempted with this series and some other films of the day to break in to the modern horror market, which was evolving quickly around them.
As such, The Vampire Lovers is chock-full of beautiful scantily clad women, sexuality, and increased violence. By today's standards, and even by those of the 1970's, the violence is actually quite mild. The sexuality, on the other hand, is perhaps less so. There's nothing particularly explicit going on, but these films are noted for their strong themes of lesbian sexuality, and they definitely pushed the envelope in terms of same-sex action in non-X rated movies at the time.
Unfortunately it is all presented in a pretty negative light over-all. Even though the film makers clearly cranked up the sex volume on purpose to draw in viewers, lesbian sexuality is definitely presented as something that is tied in with evil and villainy - the demonic Marcilla corrupting the young daughters of the village. Not exactly your positive messaging to say the least.
Otherwise, The Vampire Lovers is an entertaining film. It has all the makings of the usual lovable Hammer flick; great sets, wonderful gothic atmosphere, a trustworthy cast of the usual suspects, and a reasonably well thought out plot. Generally a well done, compelling opening shot to one of Hammer's later film series.
3.5 decapitations out of 5
Rated R for violence, frightening scenes, sexuality, nudity.
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