The Velvet Vampire (1971)

the audience applauded

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Director Stephanie Rothman also co-wrote this present-day vampire tale with a female bloodsucker named Diane LeFanu putting the moves on her two guests, a bickering couple whose car broke down just outside of Diane's estate in the desert. Although the picture garnered some good reviews, New World and Roger Corman failed to promote it and the movie died a drive-in theater death. The touches of humor are certainly welcomed and the locale is interesting--as is the vampire-in-the-daylight scenario--but the characters merit little interest, even with the flashes of eroticism. * from ****

Throughout his career, Roger Corman has been known for his economical film making. No other producer/director can come close to his record of successful low-budgeted films. In the 1970s, Corman added something more to his films....boobies. His films never were high art but now they were often spiced up with sex--and "The Velvet Vampires" is exactly what I expected. Yep, a low budget with small-time actors and ample boobs. And, since it's a vampire film starring a hot female creature, you know that the boob quotient will be a lot higher than normal! While "The Velvet Vampire" is a very sexy film (and it might even be seen as soft-core porn by many), it is a bad film when it comes to some of the acting. In particular, Sherry Miles. I rarely point out a particular actor or actress, she was just terrible. While it's obvious why she was chosen (she got naked a lot and looked terrific), she couldn't act. She came off as whiny and annoying--and definitely NOT an actress. While the rest were okay, they were often hampered with horrid dialog---especially with the VERY silly and suggestive dinner scene. Overall, not worth seeing unless you want to see a lot of skin. As for the rest of the film, it's just silly. And, why is it that the vampire sure doesn't act like a vampire--such as going out during the daytime?! If you get a chance, trying reading Celeste Yarnall's bio on IMDb. I have nothing against the actress--she could act though had a habit of starring in bad films (such as ones made in the Philippines). But whoever wrote it was either VERY creepy or a family member, as they seemed obsessed and the language was a bit odd to say the least.

Eschewing the traditional vampire settings of old-world Europe and the modern-day big city, Stephanie Rothman's 1971 film "The Velvet Vampire" instead has as its unusual backdrop the American desert Southwest, a milieu that works far better than might be expected. In the film, we meet a (seemingly) young woman named Diane Le Fanu (a distant relation of Sheridan and/or Carmilla, perhaps?), a beautiful brunette played by Celeste Yarnall, an actress more often seen as a blonde (and who is still, amazingly, quite a beauty, 40 years later). Diane invites Susan and Lee Ritter to her house in the desert after meeting them in an art gallery, but what the Ritters don't suspect, until too late, is that Diane is more than just a vamp...she's a vampiress, and with quite an appetite, to boot! Though filmed on a very limited budget, and with nary a special visual effect to its name, this film still manages to impress. In the three leads, Celeste is by turns supremely sexy and not a little frightening; Michael Blodgett is certainly more sympathetic than he was in the previous year's "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls"; and Sherry Miles, though no great shakes as a thespian, is certainly convincing as the dim-witted Susan, not to mention an accomplished screamer. The use of some surrealistic dream sequences, and the deliciously morbid soundtrack score by Roger Dollarhide and Clancy B. Grass III, consisting largely of weird sound effects and trippy acoustic guitar, are the two elements that really put this picture over, though. Indeed, they elevate the film above the level of the mere horror flick to something quite artful. Filled with unusual touches (that voyeur's room, those raw chicken livers!) and culminating with a Greyhound bus ride from hell, "Velvet Vampire" yet manages to ultimately disappoint, insofar as Diane's undoing is concerned; perhaps the weakest and most unconvincing vampire death scene I've ever witnessed. Up until then, however, the picture is fairly riveting. The DVD that I just watched, by the way, from an outfit known as Cheezy Flicks, looks a bit on the coarse and grainy side. A shame, really, that the picture quality isn't as sharp as Diane Le Fanu's teeth....

This movie is an interesting, rare take on vampirism from a female perspective. In most movies of this genre, the women are merely adjuncts to the male lead. I (accidentally) saw this as a kid, at a drive-in double-feature in the 70's, and have ALWAYS remembered specific scenes. I hadn't seen it since until recently, in 2008. Of course, nothing is as good as you remember. My younger friend who watched the DVD with me wasn't impressed with it. I guess this'll be forgotten like so many other films - regardless of the hard work that went in to producing them. The Cheezy Films DVD has a couple of good trailers for bad films - exactly what Tarentino was paying homage to in Grindhouse.