Vampire Circus
Tags: gothic, cruelty, murder, violence, revenge, sadist

Plot synopsis:
Count Mitterhaus [Robert Tayman] was a vampire, preying on the children of the town of Stetl. With the death of one more child, the people became sufficiently enraged that they stormed the Count's castle and drove a stake through his heart. With his dying breath, Mitterhaus vowed, "Your children will die to give me back my life." Seven villagers went in, four came out -- Professor Albert Mueller (whose wife Anna had become the Count's willing consort), the Burgermeister, Dr Kersh, and Herr Hauser. Just as the castle is consumed in flames, the Count whispers to Anna, "Tell Emil. He will know what to do."Fifteen years later: The town of Stetl is dying, literally. A plague is slowly killing the people, although some believe it is the Count's curse at work. At any rate, neighboring villages, afraid that the plague/curse may spread, have placed roadblocks around Stetl, and they vow to shoot anyone attempting to leave or enter the town. Dr Kersh [Richard Owens] is among those who believes it to be a disease not a curse, and he plans to sneak out of the town and bring back knowledge and medicines from the city. With his son Anton [John Moulder-Brown] acting as a decoy, Dr Kersh manages to get away. Before his father leaves, Anton reminds him to find his girlfriend Dora Mueller [Lynne Frederick], the daughter of Professor Mueller [Laurence Payne] and tell her not to come back. Unbeknown to them, Dora is already planning to sneak through the roadblocks in an attempt to get back to her father and to Anton.Somehow, the Circus of Night manages to make it through the roadblocks. Tricks, performances, dancers, aerialists, wild animals -- the people of Stetl are, at least, to be entertained in their misery. But this is no ordinary circus. Serena [Serena], for example, dances totally nude, except for the tiger stripes on her body, aerialist twins Helga [Lalla Ward] and Heinrich [Robin Sachs] turn into owls as they soar through the air, and when the panther jumps up, he comes down in the body of Emil [Anthony Corlan], who seems smitten with the Burgermeister's daughter Rosa [Christina Paul], and she with him. Emil is a vampire, really Count Mitterhaus's cousin. The ring mistress, known simply as the Gypsy woman, is really Anna Mueller [Domini Blythe], and the twins are her children with the Count. Their purpose in Stetl is not to entertain, but to kill.First to suffer the consequences is the Burgermeister [Thorley Walters] when he is invited to make a special trip through the "Mirror of Life." At first, he is overcome with laughter at the silly distortions in the various mirrors. In the last mirror, however, he sees himself being bitten by the Count, who speaks to him, reminding him of his curse. Schilt [John Bown] and his family are among those who believe that the Count's curse is coming true. Schilt bribes Michael [Skip Martin], the circus dwarf, to lead him, his wife, and his mother out of town. Michael is happy to comply but leaves them stranded just beyond the roadblocks, where they are torn up by the panther. Next to be invited through the Mirror of Life are the Hausers, Jon [Roderick Shaw] and Gustav [Barnaby Shaw]. In the final mirror, they see the twins, Heinrich and Helga, who take them through. The next morning, their bodies are found lying on the ground, drained of blood, with holes in their necks. The Burgermeister, afraid that his daughter will be next, orders that all the circus animals be killed. Herr Hauser [Robin Hunter] shoots the monkey and the tiger, but just as the Burgermeister is about to shoot the panther, he has a heart attack, and Emil disappears. Next is Rosa's turn. Emil leads her to the crypt where the Count's body is being kept. There, Emil bites Rosa and allows her blood to spill on the Count. Emil vows that tonight Professor Mueller's daughter Dora will die, and the Count will live. During the next circus performance, Dora is invited through the Mirror of Life. Anton follows, just in time to see her go through the mirror. Heinrich prepares to bite her neck but is thwarted by the cross around it, and she is cast out of the mirror.Dr Kersh returns to Stetl with the information that the plague is actually a virulent strain of rabies caused by bats. He brings medicines, but he also brings the news that there are vampires in the land and that, in each case where people have been reported killed by vampires, the Circus of Night has stayed for a day or two. It appears that Stetl must rid itself of two plagues, not just one.Following her brush with the vampires, Dora has locked herself in the living quarters of the school where her father teaches. But that doesn't thwart the vampires. Emil gets through an open window on the second floor, changes himself into the panther, and attacks the students, killing every last one. Meanwhile, Heinrich, Helga, and the Gypsy find Dora. The Gypsy removes the cross from Dora's neck, and Heinrich and Helga draw in for the kill. Dora runs to the school chapel where she knocks over a cross that impales Helga and, by twin empathy, the gaping hole also appears in Heinrich's chest. Emil and the Gypsy escape, but the Strongman [David Prowse] breaks into Dora's house and takes her and Gerta Hauser [Elizabeth Seal] to the crypt. Hauser, Mueller, Dr Kersh, and Anton form a brigade of vampire hunters and they storm the circus, killing the Strongman. Hauser sets the Mirrors of Life on fire, but he becomes trapped in the flames and burns to death. The vampire hunters figure that the Count is probably in the crypt, so they head there.Meanwhile, Emil has just finished feasting on Gerta Hauser and turns his attentions to Dora. As he leans forward for the bite, the Gypsy (who has been holding Dora) aka Anna suddenly pushes her daughter to the side, and Emil bites Anna instead. Anton attempts to chase off Emil with a crucifix, but a bat knocks it out of his hand. Suddenly, the other vampire hunters break into the crypt and tussle with Emil. Emil kills off a number of them, but Mueller manages to pull the stake out of the Count's body and uses it to stake Emil. With the stake removed from his chest, the Count wakes up. He goes after Dora, but Anton beheads him with a crossbow. Only Dora, Anton, and Dr Kersh manage to survive the carnage. [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl]

Review: Not sure why 'Vampire Circus' isn't mentioned when people talk about the best Hammer movies, because it certainly deserves to be.
The Strong Man, The Twins Who turn into bats, The Midget Clown and The Panther who turns into a man, The Body Paint Dancers, Um...OK, maybe they are not your usual circus folk, but they sure do make for an interesting and freaky film.
This is part of Hammer Films later output, when they finally figured out they could put nudity in their movies instead of just implied sexuality What you have is sort of a confused mess of a story where a bunch of villagers kill off their Vampire Count, who swears revenge before they blow up his castle.
(One of them played by Doctor Who's Lalla Ward.) So apparently, these villagers don't think anything is strange about a circus showing up and people mysteriously disappearing or dying in their midst.So some nudity, some gore, some nice Hammer stylistic visuals, but lacking the gravitas that Cushing and Christopher Lee usually brought to these things..
Good and original vampire movie from Hammer Film Productions and Rank Organisation.
Enjoyable performance for all casting , Adrienne Corri as a circus ringmaster , she subsequently worked in 'Clockwork orange' ; Anthony Corlan as a panther man , he has a long career as Anthony Higgings ; Thorley Walters , a Hammer usual ; Lynne Frederick who married and inherited to Peter Sellers , though she died early ; David Prowse as a strongman , he posteriorly became famous as Darth Vader's Star Wars .
) and for much of this movie we're treated to some substandard production values typical of Hammer studios in the early 1970s , the circus arena is supposed to be in the open air but is obviously filmed on an interior film set , the editing and special effects are really poor , there's a sequence with villagers being thrashed to death with a rug ( Well that's what it looked like to me ) while the cast are very uneven with John Moulder-Brown as Anton being just about the most unlikely hero I've ever seen in a horror movie .
I don't know if it's because I've seen too many smart ass post modernist American horror flicks recently but a story featuring a Central European village being cut off from the outside world because of plague and its inhabitants being killed one by one by a bunch of vengeful vampires appeals to me more than a self referrential story set in 21st century America .
Since this carnival people are actually vampires (even the animals are vampires and could transforms to human begins!) getting their revenge of their master Count Mitterhaus (Robert Tayman) got staked in the heart 15 years ago.
In a long pre-credits sequence,the men of Stettel finally summon up the courage to oppose Count MItterhouse.The vampire has gone too far this time,taking schoolteacher Mueller's wife as his lover and,with her help,luring little Jenny Shult to her death.The townsfolk storm Mitterhouse's castle and stake him.The Count swears revenge:"None of you will live.The town of Stettel will die.Your children will die to give me back my life."Fifteen years later,Stettel is afflicted by plague and cordoned off from the rest of the world.The mysterious "Circus of Nights" arrives in town,come to "steal the pennies from dead men's eyes".Having somehow got through the roadblocks,the circus seems to the townsfolk a welcome distraction from their plight.What they don't realize is that this is the Vampire Circus,come to avenge the Count..."Vampire Circus" is one of the strangest and most erotic vampire flicks from Hammer.The film is well-acted and surprisingly sensual.There is a good amount of blood,so I was pleased.The 'circus' theme was well used;the acrobats and dancers were superb,and the clown was pretty creepy.Give this one a look.8 out of 10..
The concept of a high powerful vampire taking revenge on the villagers and their families, through a group of circus vampires and other freaks, who killed him works very compelling, as simple as the story might sound.The movie has a great atmosphere, that is mostly a mysterious one.
The vampires prey on the villagers and try to revive the count.This is a fairly good vampire movie, typical Hammer fare with some nudity, blood and gore, nice colorful sets, and good acting.
David "Darth Vader" Prowse shows off his incredible physique as the circus' silent strongman.Showcasing the kind of sex appeal and gore that would mark later entries in Hammers' filmography, "Vampire Circus" isn't a great shocker, but it certainly is fun.Seven out of 10..
Fifteen years after staking Count Mitterhaus, the vampire that had been preying upon their children, the people of a remote European village suffer once again as a mysterious plague begins to claim their lives.
It eventually transpires that the creepy entertainers, some of whom are vampires, are out to seek revenge for Mitterhaus's death, and ultimately aim to raise the Count from his tomb.A better-than-average offering from Hammer studios, Vampire Circus offers all of their trademark elements—lush visuals, lavish sets and costumes, beautiful women, handsome heroes and Gothic atmosphere to spare—plus quite a bit of blood and gore, and a generous amount of gratuitous nudity from several beautiful babes (although the stunning Lynne Frederick unfortunately remains fully clothed).Director Robert Young ensures that the film is effectively creepy from start to finish, paying special attention to the scenes featuring the bizarre circus folk, which prove to be genuinely freaky (the dwarf, with his evil grin and painted face, is particularly disturbing).
Occasionally the film suffers from some poor special effects, and the odd spot of hammy acting, but this does not detract from one's enjoyment (on the contrary, they actually made the whole experience more fun for me).Best watched at night, with the curtains drawn, lights out, and accompanied by a big box of popcorn, this solidly entertaining vampire yarn is well worth checking out..
Hammer really got their money's worth out of that particular set, as it appears over and over in all their vampire films."Circus" opens nicely, with the locals aghast over the peccadilloes of resident castle-dweller Count Mitterhouse.
It all takes place in what seems like slow motion.A strange take on the vampire mythos from your friends at Hammer, who tried the sex-and-horror thing long before mainstream studios realized that nudity trumped scares.
I don't remember much about Vampire Circus, because at the time, horror movies deeply disturbed me, and I would watch until a scary part and then change the channel.
This one features Domini Blythe as Anna, the vampire's aide in the long prologue; Adrienne Corri as the Gypsy ringmaster; Christine Paul as Rosa, who has the hots for the Count's cousin; Lynne Frederick as the winsomely youthful Dora; and Lalla Ward as the acrobat twin, Helga.No doubt superior later films "Something Wicked this Way Comes" (1983) and "Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" (2009) were influenced by "Vampire Circus."The movie runs 1 hour, 23 minutes and was shot at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England.GRADE: C+/B-.
Gory, unabashed, and filled w/ colorful characters, VAMPIRE CIRCUS is another great HAMMER film from the period.
I first saw this movie years ago in a chopped-up edited for television form, although I was recently able to see it in what looks like its complete version.I remember distinctly that Vampire Circus got terrible reviews in the 1970s.
For what it's worth, the script is actually a little better than some other more highly regarded horror films.While it's not the best thing Hammer ever produced, you'll want to see it at least once if you're a fan of those movies..
Some fifteen years later the village is struck down by a deadly plague and is visited by a traveling circus of vampires lead by a gypsy woman (Adrienne Corri) who are out to avenge the death of the Count.
Moreover, if you like this film and 70's Hammer Horror in general, check out 'The Vampire Lovers', 'Lust For A Vampire', 'Twins Of Evil', 'Countess Dracula', 'From Beyond The Grave', and 'Psychomania', they are all great fun..
Having watched VAMPIRE CIRCUS now, it seems like everything about it was done to extremes  being one of the most erotic and gory efforts Hammer turned out  but that, in itself, does not make it a good film!
15 years later, the village is struck by a plague and more deaths are caused with the sudden arrival of an unusual circus troupe; led by Adrienne Corri, Anthony Corlan (later Higgins  he had previously been the young hero of TASTE THE BLOOD OF Dracula [1970]) and Skip Martin (a dwarf), these performers seem to have the ability to metamorphose into animals (which the audience of villagers, apparently, think nothing of!).
A few of the foremost villagers  mayor Thorley Walters, schoolteacher Laurence Payne and doctor Richard Owens  contrive to organize resistance against both these crisis but, soon, the only two remaining children are John Moulder-Brown (Owens' son) and Lynne Frederick (Payne's daughter).Corlan and Robert Tayman (as the Count) are both overly mannered in their roles, while Corri's twin vampire children are rather ineffective  however, the film does offer the afore-mentioned trio of lovely leading ladies.
Other action sequences are, however, well-handled  for instance, the messy death of the twins and a lively climax in which, among other things, Martin is tossed against a rock-face (hilariously enough, the villagers repeatedly seem to find him a convenient vessel for venting their wrath!), a vampire bat is set on fire and the all-too-briefly revivified Count is beheaded (by an arrow fired at point-blank range)!While VAMPIRE CIRCUS certainly displays an admirable sense of style throughout (largely through elegant and inventive production design by Scott Macgregror, such as a hall of mirrors being the portal to a cave where the body of the vampire Count has been unnaturally preserved), dramatically it comes across as one incredible muddle  reportedly, the film went over-budget and some scenes had to be unceremoniously dropped from the shooting schedule!.
Thankfully, they had one good film left in them, which went back to a period setting, and told a slightly macabre, unconventional vampire story, that is rich in both gore and sexual content.This tale of lust-ridden vampires who gleefully kill children amongst a plague-ridden landscape is surprisingly dark given my previous experience of Hammer's output.
No Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee in sight, and yet Robert Young's "Vampire Circus" of 1972 is, as far as I am concerned, the arguably greatest film ever to come from the glorious Hammer Studios.
Had the Brothers Grimm lived to the time of moving images and made a Horror film, the outcome would have probably been something like "Vampire Circus".
Fifteen Years later a traveling circus come to the village, which is in the meanwhile infested by a mysterious plague, which many of the villagers see as a result of the Count's curse...Count Mitterhaus (played by Robert Tayman) must be one of the most evil Vampires in cinematic history (maybe THE most evil).
So delightful vampire tale from Hammer, unusual and aplying several ellements by this outstanding genre, the black plague made a scary atmosphere in the little village surrounded by neighbors when arrives a little weird Circus, the dance scene is a high point of the picture well choreographed on a naked body painted only, this remarkable sexy scene pay the movie itself, a stunning and bizarre to offer the audience a breathtaking spetacle a priceless piece of real cinema means to be and fine sample how make a cult picture without spend much money using more creativity and feeling a sort of thing that hammer had in large scale!!!!Resume:First watch: 2011 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD: / Rating: 7.25.
One the most vicious, bloody, and downbeat of the Hammer horrors, 1972's Vampire Circus is these days held in relatively high regard by fans, but despite its attempts to differ from the Hammer norm in many respects, it displays the scars of its relatively troubled production quite plainly and is by no means the mini-masterpiece it is often hailed as.Telling the story of a plague-ridden Central European village visited by the Ray Bradbury-influenced Circus of Nights, a vengeance-fuelled carnival troupe of child-murdering, animalistic, and randier-than-normal blood-drinkers, it is both intriguingly offbeat and at the same time very typical of the standard early-1970s' Hammer output in terms of its setting, locations, and visual style.
By 1972, the usual mock-Transylvanian hinterland of castles, inns, cleavage and a ridiculous number of men named 'Hans' as seen in the vast majority of their period horror flicks was practically a parody of itself; though several of the company's later movies attempted to shake things up with some extra violence, nudity, and a much less 'conservative' storyline than had previously been the case, they were still limited by the rigid conventions of their brand of period Gothic, and as such Hammer struggled to move with the times as quickly and easily as they should have, which Vampire Circus illustrates all too well.Everything about the movie, in fact, is a game of two halves.
Internal logic is unclear, as for a village as terrified of the supernatural as this vampire-haunted hamlet professes to be, they have an awful lot of tolerance (at first anyway) for the Circus of Nights, whose performers are visibly capable of genuinely impossible feats like turning into animals before the audience's eyes, but to which this set of dolts just laugh and clap; also, what amounts to a live sex show between a man with a whip and a naked woman painted like a tiger is greeted with quiet acceptance by the assembled throng of parents and children (!), which makes their subsequent pious wittering and gripping of crucifixes when people start turning up dead (a tedious horror cliché at the best of times) appear somewhat out-of-character.The performances are a mixture of the good, the bad, and the OTT.
Robert Young directed this unusual vampire tale set in a 19th century Austrian village where the townspeople storm the castle of Count Mitterhaus, an evil vampire.
15 years later, the village is under quarantine because of a plague, but a traveling circus sneaks through, and at first is welcomed as a much needed diversion, but they will later realize that they are really a troupe of shape-shifting vampires determined to exact the curse, and bring back the Count from the dead with their blood...
At the same time, however, the studio was releasing a number of more imaginative vampire movies, of which Vampire Circus is a prime example.Hammer returns to its Gothic roots here, with the setting a 19th-century Serbian village.
Surrealistic, innovative, slow paced and plenty of creepy moments, "Vampire Circus" ranks among the best of Hammer Films.
The producers were quite right in their unusual approach and managed to bring then a new life to an already tired genre.I haven't seen this movie for years, but I still remember how chilling some of its scenes were, thanks to the ingenuous combination of circus life and some really different bloodsuckers' adventures on the side.I second Celine in asking for this title to be released on video as soon as possible, together with other flicks of that time, like "Twins of Evil" and "Vampire Lovers"..
I mentioned all this because "Vampire Circus" is one of the best examples of this new Hammer film--one with lots of boobies and a distinctly adult flair.
Directed by Robert Young this has to be Hammer's best vampire film.
VAMPIRE CIRCUS Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound format: MonoMany years after a dying vampire (Robert Tayman) placed a curse on the inhabitants of a small European village, a terrible plague descends on the area, quickly followed by a travelling circus which turns out to be a hotbed of vengeful vampires.Though the production was shut down before fledgling director Robert Young (THE WORLD IS FULL OF MARRIED MEN) could shoot all the footage he needed, this exemplary horror film retains a fairy tale quality unlike anything produced by Hammer before or since.
Robery Tayman's Count Mitterhaus may just be the most fiendish, savage vampire to appear in a Hammer film - and that includes the work of Christopher Lee. Not even the children are safe in Vampire Circus.
I got "Vampire Circus" on an old VHS and was quite impressed.Being a Hammer film we have a well-cast Gothic period piece with (despite some dating of effects etc.) some still shocking moments.Adrienne Corri (whom buffs may remember as Patrick Magee's victimised wife in "A Clockwork Orange") is excellent as the 'Gypsy Woman' who heads the titular circus and is well-backed by Skip Martin (who coincidentally sets fire to Magee in "Masque of Red Death") as rhyming dwarf Michael, Robin Sachs and Lalla Ward (later Dr. Who companion) as acrobatic vamp twins Heinrich and Helga and Dave Prowse (who needs no explanation) as the mute Strongman.Robert Tayman and Anthony Higgins (credited as 'Corlan') as Count Mitterhaus and his cousin Emil make dashing, dishy and vicious vampires.As for 'heroes and heroines' Lawrence Payne is suitably angst-ridden as the maudlin Albert Mueller, Lynne Frederick is a babe as his 'damsel in distress' daughter Dora, Richard Owens as the cynical, though later convinced Dr. Kersh, John Moulder-Brown as his most unlikely hero son Anton.Robin Hunter and Thorley Walters are deserving victims as arrogant Hauser and the pompous Bugermeister and are well-supported by Elizabeth Seal and Mary Wimbush as their long-suffering wives."Vampire Circus" is most shocking in its' portrayal of victimised children, something you couldn't get away with now, and a family mauled to death by Emil in his panther-shape.I'd give it a higher rating if the vamps won!.
It will take the village elders to muster the support they need to rid the town of the plague of vampires that now hold them hostage as they attempt to being Count Mitterhaus back.For a movie made in 1972 the first striking thing is the amount of gore and nudity in the film.