poe426 Review of Grave of the Vampire

Grave of the Vampire (1972)

What no-budget film-making is all about...

[8/10 · 30 August 2008]

GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE is an excellent example of what can be done when both time and money are in short supply, but imagination is not. At the time of its initial release, it seemed like a strange idea for a feature (I remember reading the synopsis in CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN- an excellent horror movie magazine from the antediluvian late '60s or early '70s- and thinking that such a blatant mix of sex and violence had no place in a fright film; not that I was so straightlaced that I couldn't appreciate the "twist"; I was just young and looking to be scared senseless; sex was, at that time, a whole 'nother box of worms... so to speak). The premise is far less shocking, now, of course, but still a great twist on an old turn... so to speak. Pataki as the father is truly scary, and William Smith was always an imposing figure (and there was something in his eyes that invariably suggested that he wasn't quite... right, is you take my meaning). The final knock-down, drag out brawl rivals the infamous toe-to-toe Smith engaged in with Rod Taylor in DARKER THAN AMBER and if the final shot doesn't creep you out, have your pulse checked.