2014 Horror Countdown: Lust for a Vampire (1971)

Lust for a Vampire (1971), dir. Jimmy Sangster, Hammer Film Productions

The Vampire Lovers was a rather large hit for Hammer, so much so that Harry Fine, Michael Style, and Tudor Gates began scripting and shooting the sequel before they had even finished the first one. Most critics would argue they should have saved themselves the effort.

In 1830, sometime after the Vampire Lovers, and Mircalla Karnstein (Yutte Stensgaard) was destroyed. The rest of her family, however, was not. The Countess (Barbara Jefford) and Count (Mike Raven) aren't going to let a thing like death stop their plans and one virgin sacrifice later Mircalla walks again.

Down in the village that the Karnstein castle overlooks, author Richard Lestrange (Michael Johnson) is chatting with the innkeeper (Michael Brennan), who implores the younger man to avoid the local girls, especially the pretty ones. Not out of any sense of morality, mind you, it’s just that odds are more than likely any beautiful woman in the area is going to be a vampire.

Richard, on the other hand, wants that as it would be a boon to his work. He is an author, and encountering a genuine supernatural creature would be keen, he thinks. Rushing off to the castle ruins that night, he finds the evidence of Micalla’s resurrection although he doesn’t know it. Several cloaked figures appear and menacingly cut off all routes of escape, although Richard is saved when school headmaster Giles Barton (Ralph Bates) appears and orders his students to behave.

Yes, school; it seems that Barton and his assistant Miss Simpson (Helene Christie) opened a finishing school right across from the castle. In the morning light, Richard sees the school physical education teacher, Miss Janet Playfair (Suzanna Leigh) teaching a class in calisthenics. The school uniform also appears to be togas, at least for gym class.

Richard then promptly enquires about any openings in the school. Miss Simpson shoots him down. While this is going down, a carriage shows up with a new student; one Mircalla Herritizan...AKA Mircalla Karnstein. Pretty soon the bodies start piling up, most notably Barton and seemingly every student who Mircalla shows attraction to. Naturally Miss Simpson will need help in covering everything up, so it is awfully kind of Mircalla’s mother to offer to stay on and manage the student body. She even brings in her personal physician Dr. Froheim (actually the Count) to make the official death certificates.

Richard finds himself ensnared in Mircalla’s charms and unable to do much even when he starts to suspect the truth. It falls to the father of one of the missing students and the local bishop to put an end to the vampires before more people die.

Overall, a disappointing follow-up; most of the cast has changed and while they are not terrible they just aren’t that good.  The script doesn’t do anyone any favors either, with Richard being the biggest jackass I’ve seen in a horror film.