According to Leonard Maltin, the version of this film shown in the United States was severely truncated. Fortunately, Hammer Films recently released an eight film set ("The Franchise Collection") that included the full version of THE KISS OF THE VAMPIRE. This review is based on this original longer version.
A young married couple run out of gas in some god-forsaken portion of Europe that appears to be Germany or Hungary or some such place. There is an inn nearby and all but one of the rooms are empty. In fact, they are the first new guests in what could be years. So, they're stranded there for who knows how long--in the middle of nowhere. Then, out of the blue, a man they don't even know invites them to his house for a lovely dinner. Dr. Ravna is a nice host and the couple have a nice time with him and his two grown children.
A few days later, the couple are invited back for a masquerade party. However, at the party, the wife is kidnapped and attacked by Ravna--who turns out to be a vampire running some sort of weird vampire cult. When the husband, who had been drugged, awakens, he's thrown out of the mansion and everyone denies having any knowledge of his wife!! So here he's stuck--in the middle of nowhere with no way to locate his wife.
This is a very unusual vampire film because some of the usual vampire lore is present and some isn't. For example, the vampires are very much light sensitive, but they CAN come out during the day provided it's overcast. Also, while crosses and garlic indeed have great power over these undead jerks, instead of a Dracula-like vampire, they have Ravna who is leader of a cult of beautiful people who are more akin to Satan worshipers than vampires. Plus, the way they are defeated in the end is one of the weirdest I've ever seen.
Still, despite all the differences, this is a dandy film--with an excellent DVD transfer, good acting and a script that has a lot of neat twists. If you're looking for a Dracula-like film, then you may be disappointed, but if you don't mind the changes, this is well worth your time.
FYI--The guy who plays Ravna looks for all the world like what you'd expect Peter Cushing's brother to look like--the similarity is quite striking. I assume Hammer knew that and that was why he was chosen.
A young married couple run out of gas in some god-forsaken portion of Europe that appears to be Germany or Hungary or some such place. There is an inn nearby and all but one of the rooms are empty. In fact, they are the first new guests in what could be years. So, they're stranded there for who knows how long--in the middle of nowhere. Then, out of the blue, a man they don't even know invites them to his house for a lovely dinner. Dr. Ravna is a nice host and the couple have a nice time with him and his two grown children.
A few days later, the couple are invited back for a masquerade party. However, at the party, the wife is kidnapped and attacked by Ravna--who turns out to be a vampire running some sort of weird vampire cult. When the husband, who had been drugged, awakens, he's thrown out of the mansion and everyone denies having any knowledge of his wife!! So here he's stuck--in the middle of nowhere with no way to locate his wife.
This is a very unusual vampire film because some of the usual vampire lore is present and some isn't. For example, the vampires are very much light sensitive, but they CAN come out during the day provided it's overcast. Also, while crosses and garlic indeed have great power over these undead jerks, instead of a Dracula-like vampire, they have Ravna who is leader of a cult of beautiful people who are more akin to Satan worshipers than vampires. Plus, the way they are defeated in the end is one of the weirdest I've ever seen.
Still, despite all the differences, this is a dandy film--with an excellent DVD transfer, good acting and a script that has a lot of neat twists. If you're looking for a Dracula-like film, then you may be disappointed, but if you don't mind the changes, this is well worth your time.
FYI--The guy who plays Ravna looks for all the world like what you'd expect Peter Cushing's brother to look like--the similarity is quite striking. I assume Hammer knew that and that was why he was chosen.