Rent The Vampire (1957)

3.4 of 5 from 57 ratings
1h 25min
Rent The Vampire (aka El vampiro) Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
Count Lavud, an ancient vampire, comes to Mexico to revive the body of his dead brother. He discovers that the crypt where the body is buried is now part of a run-down hacienda. The suave count sets about seducing the woman who owns the hacienda. Soon she joins him on his nightly forages for blood. Then Lavud sets eyes on the woman's virginal young niece...
Actors:
, , , Carmen Montego, , Mercedes Soler, , , Julio Daneri, , Dick Barker, ,
Directors:
Fernando Mendez
Producers:
Alfredo Ripstein Jr., Abel Salazar
Writers:
Ramón Obón, Ramon Rodriguez
Aka:
El vampiro
Studio:
boum
Genres:
Classics, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers
Countries:
Mexico
BBFC:
Release Date:
14/10/2002
Run Time:
85 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles:
English
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.37:1
Colour:
B & W
Bonus:
  • Documentary on Mexican horror movies
  • Photonovel version of sequel
BBFC:
Release Date:
28/10/2024
Run Time:
88 minutes
Languages:
English, Spanish LPCM Mono
Subtitles:
English, English Hard of Hearing
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.37:1
Colour:
B & W
BLU-RAY Regions:
(0) All
Bonus:
  • Audio commentary with the vampire himself, Germán Robles (2007)
  • Interview with Claudia and Rosa Salazar Arenas (2024): chef Claudia Salazar Arenas and screenwriter and actor Rosa Salazar Arenas remember their father, the legendary actor and producer Abel Salazar
  • Interview with Abraham Castillo Flores (2024): the film programmer, curator and Mexican horror cinema expert delves into the lives and careers of the mesmerising actor Carmen Montejo and her co-stars Ariadne Welter and Alicia Montoya
  • Interview with Juan Ramón Obón (2024): the writer shares memories of his esteemed father, the prolific screenwriter Ramón Obón
  • Interview with Roberto Coria (2024): the horror cinema and literature specialist examines the life and career of actor Germán Robles and the representation of the vampire myth in Mexican cinema
  • Interview with Elisa Lozano (2024): the film historian and curator discusses the work and impact of the revered production designer Gunther Gerzso
  • Original theatrical trailers
  • Image galleries: promotional and publicity materials, and The Vampire's Coffin French photo-novel
  • World premieres on Blu-ray

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Reviews (1) of The Vampire

Viva Vampira! - The Vampire review by Count Otto Black

Spoiler Alert
01/10/2018

I've never really associated Mexico with vampires. If I was fatally allergic to sunlight it's the last place I'd want to be, except perhaps Mercury. However, according to this film, you'd be surprised how many Mexican villages have a problem with undead Hungarian noblemen rising from their graves in cloaks and tuxedos. Even the scriptwriter knows this is silly, and tries to get around it with one of those extremely specific bits of folklore movies like this often invent to justify supernatural implausibilities. But it's still silly. Though not as silly as the scenes in which the vampire transforms himself into a bat which inexplicably makes seagull noises. It doesn't help that he bears a striking resemblance to The Amazing Criswell.

This odd little film doesn't quite deserve three stars but the clumsy rating system won't let me give it two and a half. The visual quality of the print is extremely good for such an obscure old movie, and you have the options of English dubbing or the original Spanish with subtitles. Unfortunately, even in Spanish the acting ranges from entertainingly hammy, especially the two vampires, to barely adequate, apart from Abel Salazar as the hero, who is simply appalling. He's obviously trying, unsuccessfully, to channel Bob Hope's performance in "The Cat And The Canary" although that was a black comedy and this is supposed to be a serious horror film. Talking of which, I have absolutely no idea why it has an 18 certificate. One brief scene of the vampire attacking a child perhaps pushes it marginally into the 15 bracket, but otherwise it's barely even a 12.

It's not a completely dreadful film, but I can't honestly say it's good. The mist-shrouded sets are well designed and contribute more to the atmosphere than most of the cast do, it does sometimes achieve a moderate degree of creepiness, and there are even a couple of mild shocks. But it's terribly old-fashioned even for 1957, its two main influences being a 1939 Bob Hope comedy and Bela Lugosi's "Dracula" from 1931. It's hard to believe this film came out only a year before Christopher Lee made vampires truly scary again.

It's saddled with a script which completely forgets about one major subplot and often struggles to make any sense at all. Its leading man can't act, and thinks he's in a comedy even though the rest of the cast don't and the scriptwriter hasn't given him any actual jokes. It doesn't help matters that his leading lady can't act either and obviously finds him roughly as attractive as a lump of cold sick. And it could do with a bit less footage of people standing around trying to arrive at screamingly obvious conclusions the audience figured out half an hour ago, and a bit more actual horror. Still, if you're curious to see what a Mexican vampire movie is like, it's worth a look. And the bats doing seagull impressions are hilarious. Though you may be disappointed by the lack of masked wrestlers.

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