SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

HeadlinesExotic Boring

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Leofwine_draca SLAUGHTER OF THE VAMPIRES is an Italian Gothic made in the midst of that country's horror period which roughly lasted from 1957 to 1965. Released in America in a shortened form that eliminates eleven minutes of unknown footage, this is in fact a subtle and slow-paced dark romance involving the traditional vampiric elements of a Dracula-style Count who seduces and vampirises the wife of a wealthy nobleman. The American re-titling instead makes it sound like we're in for some gory mass-vampire-killing action so fans looking for such action are likely to be largely disappointed. This is a ponderous yet well-made Gothic drama with a pacing so slow that only the most patient fans will find it rewarding.The film is frankly dull, lacking in action or much of a story. Basically, a vampire seduces a woman and bites a few others. A traditional and already over-filmed tale that adds nothing new that we haven't seen before to the vampire cinema. Sure there are a couple of off-screen stakings and some cross wavings but this movie is almost action-free. Even the final brief battle between hero and villain and the tacky "skeletonising" of the latter is pretty uninteresting. A shame, because Roberto Mauri's direction is assured and occasionally stylish and the movie benefits from some fairly good acting and passable dubbing. As Wolfgang, the nobleman whose wife falls victim to the vampire, Walter Brandi gives us an accurate portrayal of sadness and grief, a downbeat character who ends the film having lost almost everything he had lived for (indeed at one moment he says that he would rather die than be without his wife, yet he survives at the end and she does not).Luigi Batzella is also fine as Dr Nietszhe, the vampire fighter in the mould of Peter Cushing's Van Helsing and his character seems very similar to that of Clifford Evans in Hammer's KISS OF THE VAMPIRE - maybe even a possible inspiration. However the finest actor of note in the movie is Graziella Granata, the victim and later the vampire bride. This actress simply oozes sex appeal and her performance as the smouldering victim accounts for the film's high level of charged eroticism as she welcomes the vampire into her bed and wanders around the gloomy cellars of the mansion in a revealing negligee. Good stuff. Not so good is Dieter Eppler whose vampire count looks more like a made-up dame (with too much eye make-up) than a scary supernatural enemy - definitely a miscast actor here who flounders to make an impression.Script-wise there are very few surprises to offer, with the exception of the governess who turns out to be a vampire herself. The one memorable thing is the classic piano work which makes up the film's score, haunting and melancholy music which adds to the atmosphere of the production. Efficiently and sometimes skilfully made, SLAUGHTER OF THE VAMPIRES would have benefited from a more original or pacy story and the cast and director deserve more than they're left with here. As it stands, it's just another traditional vampire story, no different to a hundred others and too much time is spent imitating other productions. Fine to watch just once but expect time spent fidgeting.

Scott LeBrun "The Slaughter of the Vampires" tells what is a pretty standard story. It does things competently but never extravagantly. Written and directed by Roberto Mauri, it stars the creepy looking Dieter Eppler as a blood sucker. On the run from angry villagers, he holes up in the basement of a castle. This castle belongs to newlywed couple Wolfgang (Walter Brandi) and Louise (Graziella Granata). In no time our night stalking antagonist is seducing Louise. Fearful for her life, Wolfgang turns to a specialist, Dr. Nietzsche (Luigi Batzella), who's a pretty fair stand-in for Van Helsing.The atmosphere is decent, the dialogue fairly eloquent, and some of the performances are adequate. Eppler and Batzella are clearly standouts. It doesn't hurt any that there are some very attractive ladies present. However, Wolfgang is a pretty big dummy, as one will see, and it's a good thing Dr. Nietzsche is so competent. Pacing is deliberate, and the running time is a reasonably short 79 minutes. Overall, the film is romantic and sexy, and eerie enough, if never exactly scary. However, none of this really makes up for what is such trite material.Certainly watchable, but hardly inspired.Six out of 10.

MartinHafer Although this movie sports the cool word "slaughter" in its title, this movie is very much the old Dracula story all over again (with only a minor twist at the end). While there are a few differences (such as the vampire looking pretty weird--a bit like a blond Liberace with raccoon eyes) as well as more cleavage than usual, the essence of the film is the same old same old--though the names have been changed. Although there is no one named Van Helsing or Nina Harker, the characters are still there but with different names. The biggest difference is that the entire first portion of the book and original movies is absent--and it begins later in the story. The only serious negatives are the silly music (which might have sounded better in a sci-fi flick) and the silly look of the vampire. Because the story is so similar and there isn't any new innovation to make it memorable, this is a story horror fans don't need to rush out to see, as the Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee versions cover the same territory but do it much better.By the way, there were some complaints about the dubbing, though for a 1960s import, the quality isn't bad (except for the little girl--which sounds like an adult trying to sound like a girl). The voices seem appropriate and it wasn't a noticeable problem. Still, like many viewers, I would have preferred this to have been subtitled instead of dubbed into English.

vtcavuoto "Slaughter of the Vampires" was made around the same time as another Italian Vampire film, Mario Bava's classic "Black Sunday". Unlike "Black Sunday", there isn't the sense of atmosphere or thrills. "Slaughter of the Vampires" plays out pretty much like any other run-of-the-mill Vampire flick. The dubbing is only average. The film plods along at times and there is little in the way of action. The Italian countryside locales are beautiful though. I also have to admit that the women are quite lovely(I may be a little biased due to my Italian heritage). The film isn't a total loss though I wish it were better than the title suggested. Worth a peek.