Female Vampire (1973)

Countess Irina of Karlstein resides quietly in a hotel on the island of Madeira, where she sustains her immortality by feeding on the life essence of men and women. When new victims are found fatally drained of potency, forensic scientist Dr. Roberts consults his colleague, Dr. Orloff, who confirms that a vampire is responsible. Meanwhile, Irina is confronted by a poet who believes he is destined to become her lover and join her among the immortals! Jess Franco's influential erotic horror film is presented here in its full-strength version, and for the first time in a widescreen format. The uninhibited Lina Romay makes her starring debut as Countess Irina in a role that established her as a sex and horror film icon. Submit yourself to the life-consuming thirsts of EuroHorror's most famous Female Vampire!

Just because it is foreign doesn't mean it isn't trash

OK ... I know a lot of folks are going to think I am just an uneducated and uncultured American, but this movie was HORRIBLE. I am a HUGE fan of 60s and 70s horror movies and vampire movies in particular and this was neither.



Our heroine(?) seemed to be able to transform herself into a bat and fed on the life force and sexual fluids of her victims (both male and female) but that is where the vampire theme ended. The last member of the Karnstein family, she believes herself to be cursed and cannot find love without killing her paramours. OK, now you know about as much of the plot as you are ever going to find out. No fangs, walking around in the daylight, no fear of religious symbols (which seemed to be mysteriously lacking), none of the traditional vampire traits other than a trail of bodies.



Basically this movie is soft-core porn. The french title translated roughly to "The Countess with bare breast" and our heroine is rarely seen wearing anything except a cape, belt and over-the-knee length boots. She has 1 other outfit to wear but no one seems to ever notice the fact she is allergic to fabric. And the shame of it is the love scenes are so horribly done, with the actress'es hair covering her lover's genitalia 90% of the time. 100% of the time would be an improvement because we could actually believe the love scene if it weren't for the times we see a flaccid penis hanging 3-4 inches below her bottom lip. Bad bad bad editing.



And the storyline? Well, it is not remotely horror. There is nothing scary about it! No frights, no suspense, no mystery, no plot twists, every action can be seen a mile away and by the time it happens you are bored waiting for it to happen. There seemed to be an investigator and a coroner investigating the murders, but do they ever meet our vampire? Well, the coroner sees her in her bathtub, but thats all.



I think I have finally found a movie worse than Satan's Cheerleaders. At least it was camp. June 18, 2007

The best of Franco

Jess Franco is either the most incompetent director ever or the most avant garde. What to make of his often incomprehenisble edits, is confusion of time (one of his films takes place in the 19th century, but features a car), and his free use of the zoom? But this film is possibly his best, along with the the Awful Dr. Orloff, his first. Like many of Franco's works from this period, the film has a great soundtrack. Lina Romay is no Soledad Miranda, but she is okay as a fluid draining vampire who satiates herself on her lovers blood & sexual fluids. Although the zoom is present, it's not as annoying as in his other films. And this film isn't boring, a condition that afflcits many of his other films. Franco was actually an assistant to Orson Welles on his aborted Don Quixote project. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall to hear Welles talk to Franco! May 4, 2007

Get this movie for Lena Lomay ONLY !!

For those of you who are fans of Lena Lomay (you might have seen her in another Jess Franco flick "Ilsa, the Wicked Warden"), then you'll want to get this one if you enjoy seeing her charms. (And by "charms" I don't mean acting talent. Her body does all the work for her.) First of all, this is not really a vampire flick. If you are looking for a good vampire movie, search elsewhere; but if you are looking to see a constantly naked and writhing Lena Lomay, then get this Euro-flick. She'll make you forget all about the plot of the movie. (Wait....this movie has no plot to begin with.) Anyway, there are some really good shots of her in this film (some with legs in the "eagle" fashion), and throughout the entire movie, she behaves like a nympho on steroids--she just can't get enough. The sex scenes themselves are pretty lousy, but like I said, this film is all about seeing HER. If you are a fan of the female form, then this flick is a huge chunk of eye candy, Lena Lomay style. April 2, 2005

BAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF!

It never fails that every time I experience this film, and I've seen it now about three times in the past year, it produces a vastly different reaction each time I view it. I bounce from absolute admiration for Franco's directorial style, dreamy camerawork and musical score, and committed performances from the cast, to thinking that this is nothing but a cheap, porno-wanna-be-flick with absolutely nothing to do with "vampires", and no artistic integrity whatsoever. Fortunately, the positive vibes win out over the negative and I, once again, admire this film and all that is right and wrong with it. If I fail to make sense, well good then, because neither does this flick. Ms. Romay is, to say the least, totally uninhibited as she romps about the beautifully filmed outdoor scenes while a Chopin-like score lusciously underscores her every movement. Her scenes with the bed posts are, er...., quite a moment in the Euro-Erotic field, and the way she swishes and moves about on her bed like a pent-up, totally horny young woman about to have an orgasm for the first time is, well...... something to see. I love the moments of male frontal nudity, especially a scene where Ms. Romay is seducing a hotel masseur. The simulated sex is quite laughable, especially since our young man can't seem to "get it up". This is quite an atmospheric film and, if you love your 70's horror/vampire flicks, I think you will find much to admire in this one.
Luigi - NYC
February 24, 2005

Wow

That Jess Franco sure was wacky. This ultra-sexy 70's vamp flick probably arouses me more than any modern softcore film, but it's still not as good as Vampire Femmes or Vampyres. The woman here isn't really a vampire in the monster sense of the word. She's more of an energy sucker, kills by sucking sexual energy from her victims. The bad acting will get on some's nerves, and the plot is ludicrous, but if you buy this film to begin with, you can't expect Citizen Kane. A good b-movie sexfest. May 23, 2004

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