I vaguely remembered this movie from watching Elvira ( Mistress of the Dark) back in the early 80's. So this movie must have been categorized as a low-budget amateur production for being featured as a relic on Elvira. But it did strike a chord with me since I remember the creepy villain, Lemora, and her prurient obsession with this nubile girl. Perhaps it was the sexual innuendo that drew my attention. But I was only a teenager at the time so I was undergoing the early stages of my sexual awakening and couldn't form my thoughts about this theme.
Fast-forward 30 plus years later and I notice this movie on Youtube under some 1970's Horror video of some sort. It was then I had to watch this movie to satisfy that vague memory that left me latently curious. I have to say that the overall idea of the Vampire lesbian was enticing. The atmosphere, as noted numerous times by other reviewers, is remarkable considering the production's meagre budget. But the plot has a couple of problems that don't follow through with the initial setting. The gangster fugitive never gets resolved. It only serves as a premise to lead our nubile character, Lila Lee, into an inexplicable and random world of evil and witchcraft. The zombie characters that roam the forest and attack readily are unclear to me. Are they helpers of the Vampire Lemora or are they just wandering mutants to serve as haunting background? I understand that this is a morality tale that shows how the holy are tempted into sin and that evil can ruin anyone's salvation, but the meandering pace and deliberate tempo seemed to drag.
The standout of the film is the presence and performance of Lesley Taplin, Lemora. She has a truly unnerving and frightening presence. Her skeletal features, deep-set eyes and black coif are enough to affect the most unshakable viewers. Watching her overpower and seduce the fragile Lila is curiously sinister and uncanny. Her purpose is to make this young and angelic girl her bitch and transform her into one of her everlasting victims. The set designs, lighting and camera angles are quite effective as well. The sound effects are horrifying and chilling, if not a bit over the top. Cheryl Smith's performance is adequate if not totally bland. But she is too pale and thin to pass off as some sexually enticing dish. Sorry, but this was a miscast.
The finale was just a ridiculous mess. It simply didn't work. Watching those vampires, dawned in black cloaks and brim hats, bounding over church goers in slow motion didn't make sense on a logical or even a symbolic level.
Fast-forward 30 plus years later and I notice this movie on Youtube under some 1970's Horror video of some sort. It was then I had to watch this movie to satisfy that vague memory that left me latently curious. I have to say that the overall idea of the Vampire lesbian was enticing. The atmosphere, as noted numerous times by other reviewers, is remarkable considering the production's meagre budget. But the plot has a couple of problems that don't follow through with the initial setting. The gangster fugitive never gets resolved. It only serves as a premise to lead our nubile character, Lila Lee, into an inexplicable and random world of evil and witchcraft. The zombie characters that roam the forest and attack readily are unclear to me. Are they helpers of the Vampire Lemora or are they just wandering mutants to serve as haunting background? I understand that this is a morality tale that shows how the holy are tempted into sin and that evil can ruin anyone's salvation, but the meandering pace and deliberate tempo seemed to drag.
The standout of the film is the presence and performance of Lesley Taplin, Lemora. She has a truly unnerving and frightening presence. Her skeletal features, deep-set eyes and black coif are enough to affect the most unshakable viewers. Watching her overpower and seduce the fragile Lila is curiously sinister and uncanny. Her purpose is to make this young and angelic girl her bitch and transform her into one of her everlasting victims. The set designs, lighting and camera angles are quite effective as well. The sound effects are horrifying and chilling, if not a bit over the top. Cheryl Smith's performance is adequate if not totally bland. But she is too pale and thin to pass off as some sexually enticing dish. Sorry, but this was a miscast.
The finale was just a ridiculous mess. It simply didn't work. Watching those vampires, dawned in black cloaks and brim hats, bounding over church goers in slow motion didn't make sense on a logical or even a symbolic level.