The Velvet Vampire

Nicely done vampire tale, an early effort for Roger Corman's New World Pictures, breaks from convention in some ways and gives it a refreshingly different environment in which to play out: the California desert.

Super sexy Celeste Yarnall is the enigmatic Diane, a desert dweller who invites young couple Lee (Michael Blodgett, "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls") and Susan (Sherry Miles, 'Hee Haw') to her isolated mansion.

Co-writer / director Stephanie Rothman, the woman behind such other drive-in gems as "The Working Girls" and "Terminal Island", incorporates elements such as eroticism, voyeurism, and mysticism into this often artfully done, dreamlike horror film with palpable desert atmosphere, excellent music, and impressive sun baked cinematography by Daniel Lacambre. The dream sequences are especially enjoyable, even more so when we learn Lee and Susan are having almost the same dreams in unison. Susan often comes off as too whiny and insecure, although one couldn't blame her too much for the latter when they see just how powerfully attracted Lee is to Diane. In fact, both Lee and Susan end up rather intrigued by their cagey and alluring hostess, just not at the same time.

The isolated setting ensures that escape is, while definitely not impossible, certain to be a daunting task. The sequences in the cemetery, as well as those aforementioned dream sequences, are the best in the movie. Restrained use of violence helps to make the bloodier parts that much punchier when they do occur, and in general the use of colour is quite striking. Blodgett and Miles are okay as the couple, but this is definitely Yarnall's show, and she makes the most of her role; both she and Miles show off an appreciable amount of skin. Supporting players Gene Shane, as Carl, and Jerry Daniels, as Juan, are decent as well, with familiar character players Sandy Ward, as Amos the service station attendant, and Robert Tessier - playing a biker, naturally - making appearances as well.

"The Velvet Vampire" is a good little movie for discerning vampire movie lovers to check out, as it continues to remain an overlooked item.

Seven out of 10.

Uneven pacing and some bad acting detract from The Velvet Vampire's bizarre and dreamy tone as a modern vampire lures a young married couple to her isolated desert home for a weekend of debauchery and neck biting.

Thematically very similar to the better Daughters of Darkness, but there's a lot of new stuff here. For one, the titular vampire has no problems with sunlight or mirrors. For all we know she might not even be a real vampire and could just be some insane woman.

There's not a lot of narrative drive in the film, so if you're someone more interested in plot driven horror films, you might want to think twice before giving this one a spin. If you like slower, more dreamlike films, you'll like it a lot.

Okay, first things first, Velvet Vampire emphasizes neither Vampires, nor Velvet. This film has much more in common with that strange sub-sub-genre of 70's sexual awakening films where a person, or couple, meets an unusual and erotic woman, or man, and travels to a far off place secluded from the reality of everyday life never to return home the same again. In this case it is a couple made up of beefy bodied, effeminate-featured Lee, and his extremely awkward wife, Susan. They travel to the middle of the desert as guests of the weird, beautiful and eccentric Diane LeFanu, the Velvet Vampire. Most of the film involves the erratic far-out shenanigans of these three and slowly but surely the vampire angle builds.

While VV may not involve a lot of hissing, pointy teethed nightcrawlers - it does weave a strange entrancing spell mainly due to the sheer utter weirdness of the trio of folks at its core. These are three actors you would never normally see in a film. Coupled with a very unusual vampire location - a dessert villa - this is tale of the undead that likely has not been seen before or since. And again - it is very 70's!! For this reason alone, I highly recommend a viewing to all fans of Gothic, Vampire or Strange 70's Flicks - as it offers a slightly skewed version of each.

Stephanie Rothman's "The Velvet Vampire" is an intriguing slab of erotic vampire horror.The desert setting with the ghost town the characters visit provide plenty of unsettling atmosphere.Stunningly beautiful Celeste Yarnall plays the mysterious beauty Diana who after meeting married couple Susan and Lee Ritter at an art gallery lures them into staying the weekend at her Mojave Desert home.Soon both husband and wife find themselves sexually drawn to their mysterious host who suffers from a rare blood disease."The Velvet Vampire" was one of the first horror movies released by Roger Corman's company New World.The female vampire played by Celeste is a fascinating and deeply sensual character.The only known master print belongs to Quentin Tarantino's private collection and he is graciously lending it for the occasion.8 out of 10.

THE VELVET VAMPIRE opens with a woman walking alone at night. She's suddenly attacked by a biker (Robert Tessier) with an unexpected result. This is no ordinary, defenseless female. This is Dianne LeFanu (Celeste Yarnall), the title character.

After meeting a young couple (Michael Blodgett and Sherry E. DeBoer) at an art exhibit, Dianne invites them to her remote, desert estate where the real fun begins.

This is a wonderfully trippy example of early 1970's horror, packed to the gills with semi-erotic nudity, wonky dream sequences, vicious vampire attacks, and wild dune buggy action. There's also a certain clunky charm that adds to the overall enjoyment of the film.

If your tolerance for cheeeze is high, you'll have no problem with the visible swim trunks on Blodgett when he's supposed to be stark naked during the aforementioned dream scenes.

While the supporting actors are rather wooden, Ms. Yarnall is quite convincing in her seductively eeevil role.

The absurd, crucifix-filled finale is the icing on the cake...