Vampyres (1974) [w/Commentary]

This Hammer-flavored gothic outing (originally titled Daughters of Dracula) involves the sanguinary exploits of two female vampires (Marianne Morris and Playboy centerfold Anulka) who bed down together in a queen-sized coffin by day and seduce male and female victims by moonlight, leading to lots of steamy soft-core sex scenes followed by copious amounts of the red stuff. One of their victims (Murray Brown) falls in love with Moore, even as he grows increasingly anemic due to her nutritional requirements.

Moody photography and lush sets enhance the film's fatally hedonistic atmosphere, and the stars assay temptingly feline performances that render their characters' seductive powers chillingly real. This was a late entry in the European "lesbian vampire" sub-genre, a 1970s phenomenon made popular by such filmmakers as Jean Rollin and Jess Franco that made a comeback in the late 1990s.



Audio commentary track with Director José Ramón Larraz and Producer Brian Smedley-Aston. The participants jump straight in and recall the look and performances of the two lead female vampires, the politics surrounding the production of the picture, the assemblage of the cast, shooting locations, and more.