Vampyres

Dir: Joseph Larraz
Starring: Marianne Morris, Anulka, Murray Brown,
Brian Deacon, Sally Faulkner

This one comes in with a bit of a reputation, having been hacked to ribbons by the censor on its British release. It doesn't live up to the hype - while probably the raunchiest British vampire move, beating all the Hammer entries, it fails on just about every other level. The storyline is badly thought-out, especially the bookending scenes which make no sense; the acting is woeful (when both blood-sucking leading ladies need their performances dubbed over, you're in trouble); and the photography features some awful day-for-night work and the least convincing "candlelight" you'll ever see. Apart from the copious sex - impact diminished by the awful 70's sideburns sported by leading man Brown, who becomes the "pet" of our vampires - the main point of interest is an ambiguity as to whether they're actually supernatural or just a pair of delusional serial killers. This angle is left to die in a corner, however, in favour of concentrating on a terribly British couple, parked in a caravan near the "vampires" mansion. After four days of nothing but thunderstorms and mysterious happenings, you'd think they'd get the hint. A couple of the killings have a nasty quality to them, and this level of commitment would certainly have aided the rest of the production.

D+

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