Taking a look at the extras on Arrow's marvellous DVD of auteur director Mario Bava's Black Sabbath,I was thrilled to find that the first ever surviving Italian Gothic Horror film, (with all that remains of the Eugenio Testa 1920 movie The Monster of Frankenstein sadly being just a few production photos)had been included as a bonus feature,which led to me getting ready for the iVamp.The plot:As a number of women are found left dead in the rivers of Paris,the police are horrified to discover that each of them appears to have been completely drained of blood.With the country being gripped in the terror of a serial killer walking the streets,investigating journalist Pierre Lantin decides that he will do the polices work,and try to track down the killer.Whilst discovering from the autopsy reports that each victim was drained of their blood via needles, Lantin finds himself having to withstand romantic advances from Giselle du Grand,who is the daughter of elusive countess Duchess Du Grand.Getting asked by Giselle about why he is constantly turning her down,Lantin reveals that he does not want to make the same mistakes that his dad made,who got left with a broken heart by Duchess.Investigating the last sightings of each victim,Lantin uncovers a photo of a man covering his face shortly before the victim was to "disappear."After running into a group of students who recognise the man in the photo,Lantin begins to notice that a lot of activity appears to suddenly be taking place in the old castle that Duchess Du Grand lives in.View on the film:For the first attempt at a Italian Gothic Horror,the film was faced with a number of stiff challenges,from the producers giving just 12 days to shoot the movie,to director Riccardo Freda quitting due to only having filmed half the script in 10 days,which led to cinematographer Mario Bava taking over to complete the film in the remaining 2 days,that ended up bombing at the box office. Despite the behind the scenes nightmare,Bava & Freda deliver a chilling Gothic Horror with strong hints towards the Giallo genre of the future.Opening up the Du Grand castle,Freda & Bava scan the location with elegant tracking shots which open each compartment to reveal the strange events taking place.Casting the long shadow of the Du Grand castle across the screen,Bava and Freda cook up a chilling Film Noir atmosphere,by covering Lantin's face in a rich darkness,which also gives the spellbinding in-camera special effects a nerve-wrecking tension.Getting extensively re-written by Bava during the final 2 days of production,the screenplay by Bava/Piero Regnoli & Rijk Sijöstrom is a surprisingly solid work,thanks to the writers giving the Gothic Horror elements a creepy calmness,as Lantin finds himself to be the only one prepared to face the horrors that the cops are desperate to keep unpeeled.Keeping a light grip on the Gothic Horror edges,the writers superbly dip the title into early Giallo waters,by making Lantin's search for the murderer involve precise clue gathering,and stealth investigating over what is taking place in the Du Grand castle.Crossing the Giallo over with the mad scientist Gothic Horror,the writers smartly make each discovery that Lantin makes be one which sinks him deeper into the Du Grand's shrieks,as Lantin discovers the "I" in VampIre.

The way this movie is played out makes it more or a mystery than an horror really. It was also an early Italian horror production, so they were still mostly trying out some new stuff in this one. It was also the first one to involve the later to become legendary Italian horror director Mario Bava, who had some major influences on the future development of the genre.The movie its title might be a bit misleading. It's not really your average vampire flick, featuring blood sucking villains. It features a vampire like creature but she hardly gets her hand dirty in this movie. the movie picks more a detective like approach, in which the police is investigating the strange disappearances and murders of young women. Nothing wrong with this approach of course but you sort of have to know what to expect, in order not to end up disappointed.Can't always say that the story played out too well. They could had definitely done something better and more interesting with its premise at times. But like mentioned earlier, this was still being an early Italian horror production, from the time they were still searching for the right tone and balance. The movie is still lacking in its atmosphere, which is also one of the reasons why this movie doesn't really feel like an horror. It's definitely not an horrible movie, it's still being quite good to watch for most parts. It's a movie that knows to hold your interest and also still works out quite original, due to its unusual approach, for a movie of this sort.Definitely a good movie but be sure what to expect from it.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

This is a good film directed by Riccardo Freda who sometimes signed his names as Robert Hampton. Although in the headlines the make up is by Francesco Freda, it is clear there is a collaboration of M. Bava especially as regard the transformation of Gisele Du Grand, that is simply fantastic. She begins old within three seconds all in the same frame. It was an excellent example of visual effects. Unfortunately the film was a disaster from the economic point of view due to secondary unknown actors, except G. M. Canale in the role of Gisele Du Grand. Somebody said she was Freda's girlfriend in the sixties. Although the story is set in Paris many scenes have been shot in the studios. Freda was a good director but as many Italians he had few resources available. It is important to remember him for "I giganti della Tessaglia" too, that inspired Don Chaffey's "Jason and the Argonauts", but unfortunately he sank low with horror B films in the sixties. As it often happens the film was dubbed in post production with the following voices: Police inspector: E. Cigoli, Pierre the journalist: G. Locchi, Laurette's father: G. De Angelis

As far as I am concerned, Mario Bava is simply THE greatest Horror director who ever lived, and there are several reasons why. No other director has ever been capable of creating a haunting yet beautiful, dream-like atmosphere in the brilliant manner that Bava was, there is no other Horror director whose repertoire includes the most genuine masterpieces. The supreme master of Gothic Horror and undisputed inventor or the Ialian Giallo, Bava single-handedly launched the Italian Horror boom which resulted in Italy becoming the undisputed country Nr.1 in the Horror world. Italian Horror cinema found real international recognition after Bava's incomparable Gothic masterpiece "La Maschera Del Demoni" (aka. "Black Sunday"), probably my choice for THE greatest Horror film of all-time. However, the milestone that launched the raise of Horror made in Italy in 1956 is this stylish and extremely elegant gem "I Vampiri". Horror films had been banned in Italy by the Fascist regime, and it was not until the mid fifties that this ban was withdrawn. The first post-WW2 Italian Horror film was directed by Riccardo Freda (another more than great director), Mario Bava was the cinematographer. When director Freda backed out from the project because he couldn't finish it in time, Bava jumped in and finished the film (even though he remained uncredited as a director). And what an accomplishment it is! The plot does not really revolve around traditional vampires as they would appear in other contemporary Horror milestones, such as the British Hammer classic "Dracula" of 1958. This film has another morbid formula that would become one of the most popular themes in European Gothic Horror of the early 60s. A murderer is on the loose in Paris, and since the bodies of his young female victims lack even a drop of blood in their bodies, he has been nicknamed 'The Vampire'. - I shall not give away more of the plot, only that it mixes elements of mad science with the supernatural. The story is wonderfully morbid and suspenseful, however, it is arguably the cinematographic style that is the most pioneering element of this great film. The budget was actually quite low, but Bava's brilliant sense for lighting, and especially, for the dark, as well as incredibly uncanny settings create the beautifully eerie atmosphere that we so love in Bava's later films. Especially the wonderfully dark castle is a haunting and beautiful setting for such a fascinating story. The performances are also very good, the greatest coming from director Riccardo Freda's wife Gianna Maria Carnale in a mysterious role. Prolific Eurohorror/Exploitation Paul Muller began his streak of demented characters with this milestone. Overall, "I Vampiri" is not Bava's best Gothic Horror film - "La Maschera Del Demonio" is, without doubt, and other masterpieces, such as "Operazione Paura" (aka. "Kill Baby Kill", 1966), "I Tre Volti Della Paura" (aka. "Black Sabbath", 1963) or "La Frusta E Il Corpo" (aka. "The Whip And The Body", 1963) also easily surpass it. However, it was this milestone that started Italian Horror. And what an elegant, haunting and fascinating milestone it is! An absolute must for every Bava fan, Horror-buff or lover of great cinema in general!