Lust for a Vampire is one of Hammer's lesser known films, and that's hardly surprising as none of their A-list stars were involved in it. Even so, this film actually features one of the more interesting vampire plots that the studio had to offer, although it has to be said that it isn't executed as well as it could have been. The film starts off slowly, and despite a brief period of interest around halfway through Lust for a Vampire is never overly exciting, and too much focus is put on mildly sensuous tones of the vampires' lusts. It's clear that Hammer were being heavily influenced by the trashy films coming out of Europe by the seventies, and that's a shame as sex was never Hammer's strongpoint. The plot is something of a mess, and focuses on the common vampire theme of someone being resurrected. In this case it's Mircalla, formerly known as Carmilla; a beautiful vampire countess. The home of the vampires is conveniently located right next to a finishing school, which just happens to be populated by beautiful buxom bisexuals with huge breasts, and teachers with a fascination for vampirism.
The IMDb trivia section sheds some light on this production - the great combination of Terence Fisher and Peter Cushing had to drop out, and Ralph Bates and Jimmy Sangster were brought in at short notice. While Sangster is a capable director, and Bates has provided some great supporting turns for Hammer; neither is up to the standard of the pair that dropped out. Ralph Bates does the steal the show, however, with by far the most memorable performance of the film. Yutte Stensgaard takes the female lead, and impresses constantly with her body and angelic good looks. The locations used are generally of a high standard and provide a good Gothic atmosphere for the film to bathe in...but all this style isn't enough. There's a complete lack of tension and the plot isn't intriguing enough to draw the audience into the film. The finishing touch is the rubbish Mike Raven performance, which just made me wish for Christopher Lee. This is part of a trilogy of films from Hammer studios that revolve around the Karnstein's, and it's by far the weakest. Not a patch on the great Twins of Evil or the good Vampire Lovers; Lust for a Vampire is just about worth watching, but I wouldn't make it a priority.
The IMDb trivia section sheds some light on this production - the great combination of Terence Fisher and Peter Cushing had to drop out, and Ralph Bates and Jimmy Sangster were brought in at short notice. While Sangster is a capable director, and Bates has provided some great supporting turns for Hammer; neither is up to the standard of the pair that dropped out. Ralph Bates does the steal the show, however, with by far the most memorable performance of the film. Yutte Stensgaard takes the female lead, and impresses constantly with her body and angelic good looks. The locations used are generally of a high standard and provide a good Gothic atmosphere for the film to bathe in...but all this style isn't enough. There's a complete lack of tension and the plot isn't intriguing enough to draw the audience into the film. The finishing touch is the rubbish Mike Raven performance, which just made me wish for Christopher Lee. This is part of a trilogy of films from Hammer studios that revolve around the Karnstein's, and it's by far the weakest. Not a patch on the great Twins of Evil or the good Vampire Lovers; Lust for a Vampire is just about worth watching, but I wouldn't make it a priority.