El vampiro

A young woman (Ariadna Welter) arrives at the isolated town of Negro Sierra at the same time as a wooden crate full of Hungarian soil and a happy-go-lucky salesman (co-producer Abel Salazar) after being summoned by her uncle to the sickbed of one of her aunts. Hitching a ride with the strange man who arrives to collect the crate, the pair arrive at her family's grand hacienda to find it in a state of disrepair and her aunt already apparently dead and buried. The woman's other aunt, however, seems unchanged since the girl's visit as a child and is strangely lacking a reflection…

El Vampiro was my first taste of Mexican horror, and for some reason I was expecting some low-budget, low-talent effort. While this flick from Fernando Mendez clearly doesn't have the kind of budget enjoyed by the contemporaneous Hammer films, it certainly is the work of a decent talent. Read most of the reviews on this page and you'll find one word that keeps popping up again and again: atmosphere. This film has got it to spare with good use of light and shadow - and lashings of misty smoke - giving it a real touch of class. The film doesn't exactly gallop along, but its never dull, and overcomes the drawback of a hero who initially seems irritating but actually ends up being quite likable.

The storyline follows pretty much the same template as the Hammer flicks: virginal heroine, in danger of seduction and/or death by suave but evil vampire, is saved by dashing, heroic type (even though the hero here has a touch of the comical about him). If you're not a fan of old horror films you're not likely to be impressed by this example of the genre: by today's standards it's very tame (even though it was rated 18 on the DVD), and unlikely to scare even a ten-year old.

Mexico made some great horror films in the fifties and sixties, and thanks to Casa Negra, we're now getting to enjoy some of them. Casa Negra set the bar high when they released the likes of The Black Pit of Dr M, The Curse of the Crying Woman and The Witch's Mirror, and while El Vampiro doesn't quite live up to the brilliance of those releases; it's still a more than decent little vampire flick and the atmosphere alone is likely to keep many horror fans entertained. The back of the box professes this film to be an influential classic; though to me it seemed like more of a Dracula rip-off. Anyway, as the title suggests; the film focuses on vampires, and in particular, Count Karol de Lavud. The Count has been surviving on the blood of young woman, and plans to get inside his brother's crypt to resurrect him too. The story picks up when a young girl named Martha returns to her once beautiful hometown to find it a graveyard. The vampire plans to drink her blood and add her to his list of immortal brides, and her only hope lies with the doctor who travelled with her and her butler...

The plot will be largely familiar to anyone who has seen the classic Dracula films, and that is likely to be everyone who goes to the trouble of seeing this film. However, it's easy to forgive the film for taking ideas from Bram Stoker's tale as the film does manage to stay interesting despite the familiarity of it all, and while it largely lacks substance; the film does continually look very nice, the shots of the smoke filled streets being the best that the film has to offer. The role of the vampire is taken by Germán Robles, who does well with it. He's no Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee, but he's easy to believe in the role and looks sinister enough, which is the most important thing. A problematic element of his performance, however, is the fact that he doesn't ever pose much of a threat - which is a pretty big problem. Director Fernando Méndez would go on to direct one of the best films that Casa Negra released in The Black Pit of Dr M, as well as the disappointing The Living Coffin. Overall, I can't say that this is the best Mexican horror film you're ever likely to see; but it is worth seeing and I can recommend it.

I have just seen El vampiro during a Latin American Film festival held in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, where its protagonist German Robles was present as guest of honour.

El vampiro is imaginative rather than talkative and has imagery no American fifties vampire flick can match. The story, of course, is lame and predictable, and, as Latin movies go, there is a lot of supernatural hokum coming with it. The overriding presence of Robles, together with the humor and the menacing, beautiful atmosphere, make up for it.

Vampiric action is kept to a bare minimum and the man-to-bat-metamorphosis (and vice versa) challenges in no way the 1932 standard. Nevertheless, it is one of the classics of the genre.

If you want to know how a vampire lady looks when she tries very hard to look like a vampire lady - well, the film gives you ample chance. One last thing: the soundtrack, however primitive, is a revelation: good vampire music and sound effects culminate in the humorous ending, when the leading man's words are drowned by the departing train's whistle. Nearly perfect.

...and probably the best one to date.

Surprisingly creepy and atmospheric black and white Vampire movie. This looked like the Coffin Joe series at times because it has excellent settings, music, and cinematography. On the other hand, the movie has some parts that were meant to be funny but that's just Mexican typical humor that maybe some others won't understand. The direction is truly memorable, it deserves a special mention because it is very stylish and atmospheric. For example, whenever the vampire is about to attack, you can clearly see advanced camera and lightning techniques (for it's time). The way the lightning focuses on Robles' face is creepy. The events are fast paced but in a suspenseful manner.

The vampire characterization is pretty good as our main hero (or villain?) is a sui generis Mexican vampire. Germàn Robles delivers a fantastic performance based on erotism, and creepiness. Believe me, he is a unique vampire, like none other you haven't seen. Once he said that he liked how this vampire is an erotic, dark character because he appears at night, 99.9% of his victims are women that use sexy lingerie, and he likes to possess souls through their blood. His presence is creepy enough.

As one of the reviewers said, this movie obviously inspired the Hammer vampire flicks. That makes me proud as I'm Mexican and I'm a big fan of Hammer.

This movie is heavily underrated to the point that only avid Horror fans from around the world know about it; not even Mexicans seem to recall this cult Horror movie.

Please, watch this movie and you will be pleased. Recommended for Vampire Horror fans, and Horror fans of Black and White movies.

My first time seeing this solid Mexican horror film properly in its original language, as intended. It's certainly one of the finest of its genre, with German Robles in good form as Count Lavud, the Vampire. A pretty young woman travels to the eerie mansion of her ancestors, accompanied by a doctor (Abel Salazar). Something is not quite right when she learns that one of her aunts has just mysteriously died, and another aunt seems rather strange and exceptionally young. It turns out that the blood-sucking Lavud is behind it all, and Salazar has to take on the role of hero. I was very impressed with the consistency in set design, production values, and all-around creepiness and foggy atmosphere that helps make this winner a classic of its kind. Abel Salazar produced this himself, reportedly very keen on following in the step of the old Universals, and it pays off handsomely. *** out of ****