The Vampire Lovers
Tags: gothic, murder, paranormal, cult, flashback, revenge

Plot synopsis:
It is 1794 in the Austrian Duchy of Styria. Following the death of his sister, Baron Joachim von Hartog [Douglas Wilmer] vows to destroy the vampire Karnstein family. He succeeds in staking every Karnstein except for one, Mircalla Karnstein (1522-1546).Now, it is several years later. General Speilsdorf [Peter Cushing] is throwing a birthday party for his niece Laura [Pippa Steele]. All the young people have been invited including Laura's friend Emma Morton [Madeline Smith], Laura's boyfriend Carl Ebhardt [Jon Finch], a Countess [Dawn Adams] who has just moved into a nearby castle, and the Countessa's daughter Marcilla [Ingrid Pitt]. Suddenly, the Countess is called away due to the death of a friend, but Marcilla stays on as a guest of the Spielsdorfs. Marcilla and Laura become good friends, so good that Laura stops seeing even her boyfriend. Soon, Laura begins having nightmares of a large cat strangling her. Laura grows paler and weaker, and the doctor diagnoses anemia. It is not until Laura dies and the doctor listens for her heartbeat that two puncture wounds are found on her breast. And Marcilla has disappeared.One day, while out riding, Emma and her father come upon a disabled coach bearing a Countess and her niece Carmilla [Ingrid Pitt in a dual role], on their way to tend to the Countessa's dying brother. Emma and her father invite Carmilla to remain as a guest. Carmilla and Emma quickly become fast friends. Soon, Emma begins growing paler and weaker and having nightmares about a big cat with enormous eyes. When the doctor is summoned, he places garlic flowers around the room and a cross on Emma's neck. When Carmilla attempts to visit Emma, she is thwarted by the cross and the garlic. Emma's father is summoned home from Vienna. On the way, he meets up with General Spielsdorf, Baron Hartog, and Laura's ex-boyfriend Carl. Hartog tells them about his encounter with the Karnstein family. He leads them to Karnstein castle where he points out a painting of Mircalla Karnstein. "Marcilla!" says General Spielsdorf. "Carmilla!" says Morton.Meanwhile, Carmilla has convinced the staff to remove the garlic and cross from Emma's bedroom. She attempts to escape with Emma but is stopped by Carl holding the crosslike-hilt of his sword and chanting "Aparte Satana!" Back at Karnstein castle, Spielsdorf, Hartog and Morton see the vampiress return to her grave. They stake her and cut off her head. "Let us pray that Styria is rid of this evil forever," says Morton. [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl.]

Review: There's more to it than just the erotic stuff though - Ingrid Pitt and Peter Cushing are in commanding form; Tudor Gates's screenplay is pretty good; and there are some gruesome moments - including several decapitations - to satisfy gore-hounds.Elusive vampiress Carmilla (also known as Mircalla and Marcilla - and played by the luscious Ingrid Pitt) escapes death at the hands of an Austrian vampire hunter.
However, Emma's father Roger (George Cole) and his friend Von Spielsdorf (Peter Cushing) realize that something isn't quite right and eventually uncover Carmilla's sinister secret.The film is handsomely photographed and nicely directed by Hammer veteran Roy Ward Baker.
Roy Ward Baker's film the Vampire Lovers is one of the most essential movies Hammer ever released and it meant a landmark turning point for the sub-genre of bloodsuckers.
She comes off great in the role of seductress and is just barely convincing enough as the "innocent" her character pretends to be.Cushing makes only 2 brief appearances, not making much of an impression (but he's given very little to work with here in a role that just about anyone could have played).Memorable, not as good as Hammer's best vampire film "Dracula" (aka "Horror of Dracula", US) but definately one of its better, if not its best, films of the 70s..
Then beautiful vampire Pitt ingratiates herself with any virginal young lady in the household in order to slowly drain the blood from her body by biting her on the breast.This is all pretty standard Hammer fare, but now served with a steaming hot portion of female skin and eroticism.
are all very underrated and on a whole, better than the Dracula series.One thing I really enjoyed was the subplot where the butler, who figures there's a vampire in the house, engages in a battle of wills with the vamped out chief of staff.I think Ingrid Pitt is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen and I've fallen about as much in love as a (mostly) sane man can with a moving picture!Also, I agree with Ms. Pitt's assertion (on the DVD commentary track) that the original story isn't about female homoeroticism.
"The Vampire Lovers" is easily among the greatest Hammer's productions ever made.This movie as well as "Lust for a Vampire" is based on J.Sheridan Le Fanu's often filmed novella "Carmilla".The last film of the trilogy "Twins of Evil" is less closely related to these two wonderful horror movies.Polish-born Ingrid Pitt plays Mircalla Karnstein alias Carmilla who,with the connivance of her mother,arranges to stay in a series of homes of young women with single fathers:first General Spielsdorf,and then Mr.Morton.The daughters,Laura Spielsdorf and Emma Morton each slowly becomes deathly pale and subject to bizarre nightmares as the vampiric Mircalla seduces them."The Vampire Lovers" offers a good deal of sensuality and lesbianism,so fans of classy exploitation films will be pleased.The few gore effects are effective and the visual look of the film is absolutely stunning.The location sets are shrouded in fog and the interiors of the various castles are genuinely impressive.So if you are a fan of erotic horror give this gem a look.Recommended..
The Vampire Lovers (1970) *** (out of 4) This Hammer film, the first in a trilogy, is far from a good film but there's still no question that it's the studio's most erotic feature and that alone makes it worth seeing.
In the film Ingrid Pitt plays Mircalla Karnstein, a vampire who with the help of her family goes around to various rich people in Germany and take their young daughters.
Peter Cushing plays vampire hunter Gen. von Spielsdorf.For the most part, this movie wasn't much different from other Hammer vampire flicks, but there's an interesting aspect here: I interpreted it as implying that Marcilla was a lesbian, the way she goes after women.
Can you go wrong with the likes of horror icon Peter Cushing, striking buxom ladies in Ingrid Pitt (who really has an hypnotic pull when she puts the moves on the ladies), Pippa Steel, Kate O'Mara and Madeleine Smith tagging along for the enticingly nightmarish ride of flowing blood, screams from the bottom of the lungs, creeping bare skin and the undead of the night.
RELEASED IN 1970 and directed by Roy Ward Baker, "The Vampire Lovers" is a Hammer horror based on Irish novelist Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla," which was published in 1872 and predated Bram Stoker's "Dracula" by 25 years.
I saw it 15 years ago and wasn't impressed but, seeing it again, I now grasp it and it's virtually revelatory.The female cast is superb, rounded out by: Madeline Smith (Emma), Pippa Steel (Laura), Kate O'Mara (The Governess, aka Mme. Perrodot), Janet Key (Gretchin, the maid), Kirsten Lindholm (the blonde vampire in the opening; also shown later), Olga James (Village Girl), Joanna Shelley (Woodman's Daughter) and Dawn Addams (The Countess/Karnstein matriarch).
For all the strength of the cast in this film – George Cole and the obligatory Peter Cushing, for all it's whimsical, dreamlike eroticism and relatively slick (by Hammer standards) execution this film rises head and shoulders above its peers solely by virtue of it's leading lady.Essentially defining the vampire for the generation of films that would follow Ingrid Pitt carries the cast and production effortlessly on a tide of charisma, charm, grace and almost preternatural beauty.While this film is undoubtedly exploitative and resolutely sexist, it manages to inadvertently empower it's female lead albeit at the cost of the bevy of blushing, fainting beauties who line up only to fall under her spell.
This free adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu's classic Gothic novel "Carmilla", is rightfully, one of the best Hammer films, not only of their late period, but of all time.On a remote region in Germany, a series of death among villagers bring back the ancient rumors of vampires, specially when Laura (Pippa Steel), the niece of the General Von Spielsdorf (Peter Cushing), falls sick to the strange disease that it's killing the villagers.
Keeping a balance between the eroticism and the terrifying nature of the vampire, "The Vampire Lovers" offers an attractive sexuality never before seen in the studios' movies, but that certainly became the standard for future vampire movies where the seductive nature of the vampire was the focus.The experienced Roy Ward Baker (director of the excellent "Quatermass and the Pit") takes on the screenplay keeping in tone with the class and elegance of the Gothic horror films that made Hammer famous.
Ingrid Pitt as the lead character is breathtaking, and not only because of her looks, she makes her Carmilla a seductive evil creature that one can't help but love, in one of the most erotic roles she ever played.
Kate O'Mara delivers another of the great performances of the movie, and along with George Cole, Douglas Wilmer and the legendary Peter Cushing, bring an excellent support due to their experience and great talent.Many people tend to dismiss "The Vampire Lovers" as another erotic film about lesbian vampires, but this movie truly offers a lot more than that.
Roy Ward Baker directed this film that stars Ingrid Pitt as beautiful(but evil) Carmilla Karnstein, a female vampire who ingratiates herself into the household of General Von Spielsdorf(played by Peter Cushing) whose daughter Laura becomes a target of Carmilla.
"The Vampire Lovers" is just one of many adaptations of Sheridan Le Fanus' "Carmilla" that have been filmed over the years, and it provides the material for a very sexy Hammer horror film that takes full advantage of the assets of a strikingly attractive female cast.
However, the men of the village are starting to get wise to her ways; characters such as Roger Morton (George Cole), Baron Joachim von Hartog (Douglas Wilmer), Carl Ebhardt (Jon Finch) and General von Spielsdorf (veteran vampire slayer Peter Cushing) set out to do what needs to be done.In the capable hands of director Roy Ward Baker ("Quatermass and the Pit", "Asylum"), "The Vampire Lovers" is good fun for fans of the genre.
It's the best of both worlds, as far as I am concerned.Vampire Lovers, the first in Hammer's trilogy based on Sheridan LeFanu's Carmilla, not only offers horror fans all the lavish Gothic trappings, scrumptious production values, and great cast one has come to expect from 'the studio that dripped blood', but also some delightfully gory moments (stakings and decapitations) and, perhaps best of all, Ingrid Pitt, Pippa Steel and Madeline Smith shedding all for the camera.
There's also some groundbreaking scenes of lesbianism to boot (a little more restrained than the sapphic love to be found in continental efforts of the same period, but not bad for us usually rather restrained Brits!).Hell, even those artsy-fartsy types who wax lyrical about the visual poetry of Euro-horror are catered for, with some wonderful dreamlike imagery during the marvellously atmospheric pre-credits sequence.Negative points include the rather basic plot (the standard 'enigmatic stranger seducing the innocent virgin' schtick) and a couple of unanswered questions—if Carmilla Karnstein is the last of her line, then who is the woman who introduces her at the beginning of the film?
The film, which is based on Sheridan Le Fanu's novel "Camilla" has a lot to be recommended for, be it the suspenseful story, the elegant photography, Horror deity Peter Cushing in supporting role, or, most memorably, the beautiful female cast, above all the stunning Ingrid Pitt.
The Novel, and the film, is set in the Austrian Province of Styria.The 'Evil' of this story comes in the form of Ingrid Pitt, who plays Mircalla Karnstein, a centuries old Vampire.
I think Ingrid Pitt played the part well, some people say she was just good in 'nude' scenes but I think she is a good actress and especially good at facial expressions and showing emotions.The cast of this film include Peter Cushing as General Spielsdorf, Madelyne Smith as Emma Morton, Pippa Steele as Laura Spielsdorf, George Cole as Mr Morton, Douglas Wilmar as Baron Hartog and a virtually mute John Forbes-Robertson as The Man in Black aka Count Karnstein.'The Vampire Lovers' is a surprisingly close adaptation of Le Fanu's 'Carmilla and a ground breaking film for Hammer, as it was the first Hammer film to have nudity and first to get an X rating.
She seems to have been having a great time as the femme fatale, leaving large sways of lovely young women dead in her wake.This film is the first of the trilogy of Karnstein vampire movies made by Hammer, based on the book Carmilla by Sheriden Le Fanu.
Sheridan LeFanu's celebrated "Carmilla" (which I hadn't done when I first watched THE VAMPIRE LOVERS) - it was interesting to note just how faithful the film really is; of course, it also introduces new elements to the fray (like the mysterious "Man In Black" character played by John Forbes-Robertson) which may or may not please fans of the story, but I had no problems with this!
The cast certainly brought their somewhat stereotypical characters to life: Ingrid Pitt makes for a classy female vampire (though she was perhaps too 'mature' in comparison to her mostly juvenile co-stars); Peter Cushing is compelling as always and is nicely abetted here by veterans George Cole, Ferdy Mayne and Douglas Wilmer (it is somewhat amusing, however, to see Cushing - perhaps the screen's definitive Van Helsing - being 'schooled' here by vampire hunter Baron Hartog, played by Wilmer, in how to go about destroying vampires!); still, the various characters who fall under Carmilla's spell range from bland (Jon Finch and Pippa Steele) to fairly composed (Kate O' Mara and Harvey Hall), with Madeleine Smith emerging as the most charming of all.The film has other notable scenes: the many vampire attacks which actually show very little (although I cannot understand why, with a household full of convenient victims, Carmilla still feels compelled - apparently at the behest of the sinister-looking Forbes-Robertson - to quench her 'thirst' out into the open!), the best one perhaps being the death of the doctor played by Ferdy Mayne with an especially effective reverse shot of Ingrid Pitt (reflected in a pool of water); of course, we know vampires shouldn't cast their reflections, but the film seems to ignore that part of the 'established' vampire lore (in a later scene in the film, Pitt also 'appears' in a mirror, so this was no fluke!; again, at the end, the film is pretty emphatic about having the vampire's head cut off as, apparently, a simple staking through the heart won't do!).
The lesbian scenes and occasional nudity, while hardly explicit (indeed, one might say that the film-makers lacked the courage of their convictions somewhat by 'bailing out' of such scenes rather too quickly!), were certainly a novelty for the studio at the time - though it was subsequently done to death in their few remaining efforts - and, for what it's worth, I'd say that the seduction scene between Ingrid Pitt and Kate O' Mara is the most erotic sequence I have seen in a Hammer picture!
The confrontation scenes between Pitt and Jon Finch and later between Pitt and Peter Cushing, in which the vampire comes to a sticky end, also turned out quite well (though the two beheadings we are witness to in the film are both conspicuous by their singular lack of blood-letting: could it be the vampires needed blood because they were themselves anaemic?!); the Dorian Gray-like ending (which also looks forward to Pitt's next Hammer venture, COUNTESS Dracula [1971]) is nicely done, too.I've yet to watch Hammer's other two entries in "The Karnstein Trilogy", namely LUST FOR A VAMPIRE and TWINS OF EVIL (both 1971); as for other lesbian vampire movies, THE VAMPIRE LOVERS certainly does not hold a candle to the likes of DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (1971) and VAMPYRES (1974) - nor, come to think of it, is it sensible to compare the film to the definitive (if extremely loose) screen version of LeFanu's novella, i.e. Carl Theodor Dreyer's brilliantly minimalistic yet hauntingly poetic VAMPYR (1932)!.
In a small Austrian town in the 18th century, a 240-year-old female vampire (Ingrid Pitt) charms her way into the homes of a general (Peter Cushing) and later a nobleman (George Cole), seducing both their comely daughters and leaving her mark above their breasts.
This is the lull in the movie because it almost is a repeat of the first part of the film.The third part the movie picks back up when the men put their heads together to hunt down the vampire Mircalla Karnstein and end her murderous terror.Marcilla / Carmilla / Mircalla Karnstein is in fact the same woman/vampire played well by the beautiful Ingrid Pitt.
After The Vampire Lovers, Ingrid Pitt also made Countess Dracula for Hammer, which I highly recommend if you enjoy this film.
She had previously appeared in "Taste the Blood of Dracula" (1969) and go on to do "Theatre of Blood" (1972) and "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" (1972) before going even more mainstream as a Bond girl.Further, director Roy Ward Baker is perhaps best known for his work with Hammer and Hammer horror, but actually had a long, distinguished career in Hollywood, including directing the Golden Globe-winning "A Night to Remember" (1958) and a young Marilyn Monroe in "Don't Bother to Knock" (1952).This is seen as a "female-driven film" when seen from a feminist perspective, and more generally thought of as a lesbian vampire film.
Subsequent films in the trilogy are Lust for a Vampire (1971) and Twins of Evil (1972).It was a real shame to see the buxom Kirsten Lindholm beheaded in the opening, but there would be more treasures to come.Carmilla (Ingrid Pitt) stays with Roger Morton (George Cole), and his daughter Emma (Madeline Smith).
Subsequent films in the trilogy are Lust for a Vampire (1971) and Twins of Evil (1972).It was a real shame to see the buxom Kirsten Lindholm beheaded in the opening, but there would be more treasures to come.Carmilla (Ingrid Pitt) stays with Roger Morton (George Cole), and his daughter Emma (Madeline Smith).
Title: The Vampire Lovers Director: Ray Ward Baker Cast: Ingridd Pitt, Peter Cushing, Madeline Smithl, George Cole, Kate O Mara Review: I'm noticing that I have enjoyed those films that deviate from Hammers usual vampire movie formula and just goes in a totally different direction.
so so vampire flick has lots of lesbians and a great performance by Peter Cushing but other then that the acting is weak although i enjoyed all the naked women the plot is weak and the story is dull and there is a bit of blood here and there but it will disappoint gore hounds and it has a good plot but this is just too slow to really work another hammer dud this proved that hammer was fading  the women are good looking and Peter Cushing is fun to watch it's just i wasn't too into the story because it wasn't too particularly interesting so all and all this is worth a rent for vampire movie lovers like me but other then that pass *1/2 out of 5.
Their answer was to up the quotient of both, and the cleavage on display here is provided by no less than three main players – Kate O'Mara, Pippa Steele, Maddie Smith and especially Ingrid Pitt.Based on Sheridan de Fanu's masterful 'Carmilla' tale, this forms the first in a trilogy of films to feature the titular character, although 'The Vampire Lovers' is the only one that really uses the original novel as its inspiration.
By 1970, Hammer Films had made something like 1647 vampire movies--and most of them about Dracula.
This time, however, the main vampire is not Dracula but Carmilla (aka Marcilla and Mircalla), played by the beautiful Ingrid Pitt.
The Vampire Lovers is a Hammer horror film with a great deal of bite.
It deals with the legendary lesbian vampire Carmilla, played in this version by Ingrid Pitt.From the female vampire who is quickly beheaded in the movie's prologue, The Vampire Lovers is filled with beautiful women.