Des filles pour un vampire

This film was of interest to me because it was the first horror film that I ever saw. At the time, I was attending college in Newcastle, and one day on leaving college, I passed the Essoldo, Westgate Road which was showing this film. On a whim, I decided to go in and see it. With the X certificate, I was expecting that my blood would be well and truly curdled, but it did not turn out that way. In fact, I found it rather dull. Looking at the DVD today, it all seems rather tame. Perhaps it's interest lies in that for cinemas like the Essoldo with little access to the major new releases, this was the sort of thing that they had to show.

Notable actors: Walter Brandi! Walter Brandi again!

More vampire madness from Italy as five exotic dancers, one grumpy manager, and one level headed musician end up at the creepy castle of Walter Brandi. We've already been alerted that something's amiss in this place with the atmospheric opening credits, but when dancer Vera seems to recognise the place, including where the cigarettes are kept (?), the mystery deepens...if you haven't watched a vampire film, ever. Walter Brandi and his minions tell the group to beat it but when he sets his sights on Vera, he quickly changes his tune, instead letting them stay on the condition that everyone stays in their rooms at night and definitely do not go wandering around the place at night. Of course, the dumbest of the girls, Katya (who is completely obsessed with her legs!), goes out to find the shower and ends up being attacked by someone, ending up dead outside the next day.

Everyone of course is very upset so they decide they best thing to do is to perform a bit of a dance routine! Better still, one of the girls decides to turn it into a full on striptease instead. I know the girls are supposed to be upset, but the crapness of their dancing is a sight to behold. Except the striptease which is quite good unless you do the mental arithmetic and figure out that the woman you are looking at in well into her seventies, you perv!

Of course someone digs up Katya's body and before you know it she's prancing about the about in the nude trying to put the bite on various people (and at this point the film steals the 'earliest boobs' crown from 1964's Castle of Blood. The plot thickens as Walter Brandi seems to be hiding something but if he's a vampire, why is walking about during the day? Walter and Vera fall in love (do I even need to mention that she's the reincarnation of a distant relative?) and there's a vampire or two to be taken out before the film ends.

(Spoilers next, if you're mental and didn't figure out what's going on)

You see, Walter's ancestor is a vampire and living in the basement, and he also recognised Vera. However, he killed Katya by mistake because she was wearing Vera's coat, but the funniest thing about this is Katya's incessant, instant nagging of vampire Walter! She just won't stop henpecking him, which leads to a pretty bloody staking. Also, when Walter himself gets impaled on the bizarre family crest, the results are rather bizarre.

While not as stupid/enjoyable as The Vampire of the Opera, this one tries to give it a run for its money.

A fan of the late night horror, black and white genre, a fan from early childhood. The title to this movie is tantalizing of itself. The date of production early 60's adds another level to curiosity.

The campy movie is undeniable every cliché is in this movie. Don't go down this road. Don't leave the castle. Don't leave your room. You are for a surprise as the girls are beautiful and you care for them with little to no character development.

Maria Giovanni (Katia) early demise leaves one scratching his head. The end of the movie, you realize that Pierno Regnoli crafted a minor masterpiece.

Erika Di Centa dance performance rivals Salma Hayek's From Dusk to Dawn performance.

The dialogue is campy and compelling with dashes of comedy interwoven.

This is not your typical vampire movie; Dracula having side chick problem?

Scantily clad women, sensual dance number and a minor plot twist: worth the late night or rainy afternoon.

You are lost on a lonely Italian road. A storm is coming up. There is no motel around. You spot a castle. Stay away, you dolt! Sleep in the car. Do not enter the creepy castle.

Alas, our group does not heed the warning and end up in a castle. The owner, Count Gabor Kernassy (Walter Brandi), tries to shoo them away, but there seems to be a connection with one named Vera (Lila Rocco). She even knows where the smokes are kept, even though she has never been there.

Despite warnings, one of the girls (Maria Giovannini) goes wandering and surprise, she's found dead the next day. I guess the story would have ended too soon if they all obeyed the Count.

There was not a lot of blood in this early Italian classic, and there was only a brief flash of nudity. The girls did, however, do a lot of running around in their see-through nighties. I always though castles were cold and damp. I guess this one had central heat.

For true vampire aficionados only.

The Playgirls and the Vampire is the English-language version of Piero Regnoli's L'ultima preda del vampiro, released in the US by enterprising producer and distributor Richard Gordon.

The film sees a troupe of exotic dancers, their piano player Frank (Leonardo Botta) and manager Lucas (Alfredo Rizzo) seeking refuge at a remote castle after they are forced to take a detour in their minibus. The owner of the castle, Count Gabor Kernassy (Walter Brandi), reluctantly allows the visitors to stay but neglects to tell them about the vampire that stalks the place at night...

The plot for this film is pedestrian (it's very similar to the equally desperate The Vampire and the Ballerina, released earlier the same year) and the script is uninspired, the film relying on the allure of its scantily clad women to retain the viewer's interest. The ladies are certainly attractive, but even with plenty of 'cheesecake' (and a brief glimpse of nudity), The Playgirls and the Vampire is a colossal bore, director Regnoli handling matters with zero sense of style or finesse.

The most entertaining things about the film are the hilarious dance rehearsal, in which each girl does their own thing, all of them gyrating awkwardly out of time to the music, and the terrible special effects used to show the vampire disintegrating when he is impaled. But as funny as these scenes are, they're not nearly enough to make up for the rest of this clumsy Eurohorror, which is as dull and dreary as the castle in which it is set.