Doctor Vampire (1990)

"If the CARRY ON team ever made a vampire picture..."

That sounds crazy, doesn't it? But it doesn't take too much of a stretch of the imagination to see how those two 'genres' collide in Jamie Luk's raving mad, extremely silly vampire sex comedy that's getting a UK Blu-ray release courtesy of Eureka.

Dr Chiang Ta-Tsung (Bowie Lam from John Woo's HARD BOILED) is on holiday in the UK when his Volkswagen Polo breaks down in the middle of nowhere. He comes across a castle, and when he goes in it appears to be a fully functioning British pub complete with fruit machines. There also happen to be gorgeous girls busy draining men of blood. Our hero doesn't spot this, though, until he's seduced by a lady vampire who bites him on the penis.

Back in Hong Kong amidst the hilarity of being a doctor in a sex comedy hospital, Chiang's girlfriend spots bitemark-style spots of blood on his underpants and Chiang himself develops a need for dark glasses. The head of the vampires (Peter Kjaer) decides to come to Hong Kong because apparently the doctor's blood is the best he has ever tasted. Meanwhile the foundations of a new hospital block are about to be purged of any possible ghosts by a Buddhist ceremony. Could all of this collide in a supremely wacky climax?

Imagine Jim Dale as the hero, Charles Hawtrey as the vampire count, and Kenneth Williams as the head of the hospital and you'll quickly see how this could be a Carry On film. For slightly younger viewers, the word 'Troma' will likely pop into your head during the final act where the doctor and his friends get transformed into...well, I'm still not sure. What I am sure of is that DOCTOR VAMPIRE is exceptionally silly, but if gags like a hospital patient turned into a hopping vampire with a permanent erection make you chuckle (and I'll admit it did raise a smile here) then you may well have a good time with this.

Extras include two commentary tracks, both of which are new. One has East Asian film experts Frank Djeng and John Charles while the other has Hong Kong cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. Stacey Abbott (author of Celluloid Vampires) gives us a 20 minute piece contextualising the film in terms of other vampire nmovies around at the time, while Mary Going provides a 22 minute essay on all the ways a vampire has been slain throughout cinema history. Finally, you get a collector's booklet with new writing on Hong Kong vampire films from MR VAMPIRE to DOCTOR VAMPIRE by Katarzyna Ancuta.

DOCTOR VAMPIRE is out on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment on Monday 24th February 2025

Interview with the Vampire Part II (2024)

Following its UK TV screening on BBC2, Acorn Media are releasing the eight-part second season of the TV adaptation of Anne Rice's INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE on Blu-ray, DVD and digital. They're also releasing a box set of the first two seasons, which is the best thing to get if you haven't seen season one, as you really need to before diving into this.

Season two carries straight on with the story, with Louis (Jacob Anderson) now relating his tale to Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) in the company of Armand (Assad Zaman). It's World War II and Louis and Claudia (now played by Delainey Hayes) are seeking more of their kind in Romania. They succeed, but it's in Paris, France where they get to properly meet more of their own kind at the Grand Guignol-style Theatre Des Vampires, which acts as a front for some very real bloodletting. It's also where Louis gets to meet Armand.

As with season one, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE PART II (the onscreen title) is executed superbly - production design, photography and acting are all top notch, and even if the Anne Rice novel might not have been your thing it's still definitely worth giving the series a look as this really is as good as gothic television drama gets. 

Acorn's Blu-ray set spreads the eight episodes over three discs. Extras include a four minute pre-premiere look with brief interviews with some of the principal cast members, 'insider' featurettes for each episode which last between five to eight minutes, a behind the scenes featurette and a Making Of featurette ('Show Me More') that's 42 minutes, all of which include interviews with cast and crew. There's also a two minute blooper reel.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE PART II is out on 

Blu-ray, DVD and digital from Acorn Media, 

as is a Season One and Two Box set on 

DVD and Blu-ray, on Monday 7th October 2024

Interview with the Vampire (2023)

"Excellent New Adaptation of Anne Rice's Novel"

AMC's seven part dramatisation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, previously filmed by Neil Jordan in 1994, gets a Blu-ray, DVD and Digital release from Acorn Media International.

        Journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian from Oliver Stone's TALK RADIO) receives an invite to attend the palatial residence, located in one of the towering architectural structures of Dubai, of Louis de Point du Lac (Jacob Anderson, best known up until now for his role as Grey Worm in Game of Thrones). 

Louis wants to resurrect and revamp (sorry) an interview they did together many years ago, correcting mistakes, filling in gaps and providing more honest answers - perhaps. Daniel connects up his laptop and the story begins. 

In the New Orleans of the early 20th century, Louis is a pimp who is so successful he has attracted the interests of a number of wealthy businessmen. When he meets the recently-arrived Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) his world is turned upside down, as it turns out Lestat is a vampire with designs on his new acquaintance. By the end of the first episode Louis is Lestat's partner as well as a fledgling apprentice vampire. By the end of this first season World War II has just kicked off and the dynamic has changed considerably, but to say any more would spoil things for those who haven't read the book.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE is glossy gothic horror done very right indeed, taking the PENNY DREADFUL approach of not skimping on the graphic gore and sex while airbrushing the period setting so that it more resembles a lush Hammer film than a realistic portrayal of the times. And that's just fine because if we're ever going to really believe in someone with a name like Lestat de Lioncourt it's in the kind of environment created here. 

Everyone brings their A game to the production. The costumes and sets are lavish, Daniel Hart's music score is complex and varied, ranging from silent movie-style piano to full-on blood and thunder when needed. The first two episodes are directed by Alan Taylor who seems to well and truly have his mojo back after the disappointing blockbuster sequels THOR 2: THE DARK WORLD  (2013) and TERMINATOR: GENISYS (2015). 

Acorn's two disc Blu-ray or DVD set contains all seven episodes, with running times averaging 45 minutes each. The only extra is a panel from the 2022 San Diego comic con, but it's nearly 40 minutes of Q&A with the principal cast members as well as show 'creator' Rolin Jones. With the presence of films and shows on streaming being as transient and prone to disappearing as the vampires the show portrays, it's even more important that as fine a show as this is being preserved in a medium you can keep. Excellent stuff and highly recommended. 

AMC's INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE is already out on Digital, and is being released on Blu-ray and DVD by Acorn International Media on Monday 6th November 2023

Martin (1976)

"Romero's Finest?"

That's a matter for endless debate, obviously, but MARTIN, George A Romero's take on the vampire genre, was the favourite of the director's movies and in terms of quality is certainly up there with the original 'Dead' trilogy that will be what the late film-maker will be remembered for by most. Second Sight are releasing MARTIN on 4K/UHD and Blu-ray as well as a deluxe limited edition box set with plenty of extra goodies.

Is Martin (John Amplas in what should have been a career-making role) the young man he appears to be or the 84 year old vampire he claims to be? Travelling by train from Indianapolis to come and live with his elderly cousin Cuda (Lincoln Maazel) in Pennsylvania he certainly has a taste for blood, even if his only 'fang' is the hypodermic needle he uses to sedate his female victim. 

If Martin is under a delusion Cuda certainly does nothing to help it, calling Martin 'Nosferatu' and waving crucifixes at him at every opportunity. Martin is also warned to stay away from housemate Christina (Christine Forrest) and not to 'take' anyone in the town. Martin gets a job in Cuda's shop, and part of his duties include delivery boy, which is the way he (and we) get to meet some of the community, one of whom causes events to end in tragedy.

I've watched MARTIN many times since its original release and always take something new away from every viewing. This time the bleak locations, well-drawn characters, and sense of cynicism about both vampirism and the religion that is meant to combat it made me feel this is how Pete Walker might have tackled the subject if he had made a British vampire movie. It would also have provided an appropriate satire on the 'Confessions' films that were popular at the time. Indeed, from another angle MARTIN is the flipside of that common porn trope of the period - the delivery boy who encounters a string of unhappy older women and ends up in situations over his head.

Second Sight's 4K transfer is, as one would expect, fabulous, presenting the film in 4:3 aspect ratio. Extras include a whopping four commentaries, two of which are new (by Travis Crawford and Kat Ellinger respectively) and two archival (Romero, Amplas and Tom Savini on one, Romero, Savini, both Rubinsteins and Michael Gornick on the other). Taste the Blood of Martin is a new 69 minute making of 'hosted' by John Amplas, DP Michael Gornick and assistant cameraman Tom Dubensky as they walk around the locations for the film. It also includes interviews with Christine Forrest, Tony Buba and Tom Savini.

Scoring the Shadows is 17 minutes with composer Donald P Rubinstein who discusses his life and career, scoring the film, and how Romero came up with creative ways to sort things out when the music written didn't always match the final footage. Making Martin: A Recounting is 10 minutes of cast and crew ported over from the old Arrow release, and there are nearly five minutes of trailers and TV spots. The limited edition comes with a 108 page book with new essays on the film, a soundtrack CD of the film's score, and five art cards. Finally, the only thing this set does not have that was in previous versions is the Italian WAMPIR version with Goblin score, so you may want to hang onto your Arrow DVD even if you get this.

George A Romero's MARTIN is out from Second Sight on 4KUHD, Blu-ray and Special Limited Edition on 

Monday 27th March 2023

Post No. 1000: The Count Yorga Collection (1970, 1971)

The Count Yorga Collection, consisting of 1970's COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE and its 1971 sequel THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA, both starring Robert Quarry as the title character and directed by Bob Kelljan, is due out in a bit from Arrow Films.

But hang on a minute, I hear you cry! Didn't Arrow Films already release The Count Yorga Collection back in 2016? And you'd be quite right. But the Count has had an upgrade, with both films getting brand new 2K restorations from 4K scans of the original negative (they look fantastic, by the way) and a whole host of new extras. So let's dive in and take a look.

Disc One: Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)

With the vampire being so much of the gothic it's perhaps surprising to realise that the USA has a long tradition of presenting movie vampires in modern-day settings. Even Tod Browning's 1931 DRACULA is set in the 'present day' and here we have Robert Quarry's suave Count Yorga, popping up in Los Angeles (or rather, being delivered in a crate from the docks) and setting himself up as a medium in order to avail himself of the city's bright young things.

Shot with virtually no money at all, COUNT YORGA VAMPIRE still holds up as a smart, witty, and dead serious when it needs to be, contemporary vampire tale. Quarry is excellent in a pitch-perfect performance, but I'd agree wholeheartedly with Tim Lucas in his brand new commentary that the secret weapon of this one is Roger Perry's haematologist who has to do the heavy lifting in getting the cast (and the audience) to take the vampire threat seriously and is the closest thing this movie has to a Van Helsing. He was always my favourite character when I watched this & it's good to see both the character and the actor getting some recognition.

As well as the extremely listenable Lucas commentary, David Del Valle's and C Courtney Joyner's 2016 commentary track has been ported over. Other new extras include The Count in California in which Heather Drain discusses the film for ten minutes, and I Remember Yorga in which Frank Darabont reminisces about watching the film both as a child and an adult. A Vampire in LA is ten minutes of Michael Murphy talking about the making of the movie, while Fangirl Radio is a 45 minute podcast in which Jessica Dwyer talks to Tim Sullivan, close personal friend of Robert Quarry and director of I WAS A TEENAGE WEREBEAR amongst others. You also get trailers, radio spots, an image gallery with 83 still and poster images, and another gallery of Tim Sullivan's own personal Quarry memorabilia.

Disc Two: The Return of Count Yorga (1971)

A year later Robert Quarry was back in what's most likely a sequel but could also be considered a 're-imagining with more money and a better director of photography' to quote David Del Valle from the 2016 archival commentary he does with C Courtney Joyner that's been ported over. There's a new commentary track as well, this time from Stephen R Bissette who is so clued up he's even listened to Tim Lucas' new commentary on the previous film to avoid repeating anything on the first disc. Now that's dedication, and the extra detail here makes this commentary track also well worth a listen. 

Despite there being more money this time around the music is still performed by a small group of only eight players. We learn this in David Huckvale's excellent 35 minute piece 'Chamber Music of Horrors' in which he goes almost note by note over Bill Marx's score to both films. I'll admit I've never taken that much notice of Mr Marx's score before but having the influences and structure pointed out means if you're a movie music nut (and I certainly am) and you've already seen the movies before you might like to watch this before revisiting them.

Maitland McDonagh provides an 18 minute piece on 'The Count and the Counterculture' in which she discusses vampires with specific reference to how America was changing at the time the Yorga movies were made. You also get a trailer, radio spots, and a massive gallery of 148 stills and another of poster and front of house images.

But that's not all. Arrow's new Yorga set comes with a perfect bound book featuring new writing on the films, double-sided fold-out posters for both films, twelve double-sided lobby card reproductions and a reproduction press book:

Bob Kelljan's The Count Yorga Collection is out on Limited Edition Blu-ray from Arrow Films on Monday 24th October 2022

Vampyr (1932)

"Superb Package For a Uniquely Strange Film"

Carl Dreyer's strange, fascinating, highly influential vampire picture gets a 90th anniversary Blu-ray release of a 2K restoration by the Danish Film Institute (that apparently took ten years) from Eureka.

'Dreamer' (so the opening text informs us) and H P Lovecraft lookalike Allan (or David depending on the version) Gray arrives in the small French village of Courtempierre, only to become immediately involved in strange goings-on. One of the two daughters of a rich family is sick. The cause may be an old lady who is in fact a vampire and aided by a weird doctor. Reality becomes blurred as Gray becomes more involved, imagining himself being buried alive and eventually discovering the tomb of the vampire, whom he stakes with a metal spike. 

Based on not just Carmilla but apparently Carl Dreyer's response to the entire collection of Joseph Sheridan LeFanu's stories in which that novella first appeared (In a Glass Darkly), VAMPYR is a unique piece of genre film-making that, a little like the events its protagonist experiences, seems itself to exist somehow out of time. Released the year after Tod Browning's DRACULA (1931) had set the template for 'mainstream' horror. Dreyer's film is stubbornly experimental, light on both plot and action, and very much the art house piece.

Despite its poor distribution and lack of commercial success, watching it today  it's easy to see just how much many celebrated horror film-makers (especially Europeans) were influenced. One can imagine Jean Rollin viewing that narrow grandfather clock and thinking how he'd like to see a very thin vampire lady emerge from it (he also pinched the swivelling skull for his 1971 LE FRISSON DES VAMPIRES), and the cracked vampire's tomb at the end looks a lot like Dr Freudstein's at the climax of Lucio Fulci's 1981 HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY.

Eureka's disc comes packed with extras. There are two commentary tracks, one by film critic Tony Rayns and the other by film-maker Guillermo del Toro. Kim Newman has a 22 minute talking head piece in which he compares VAMPYR to Robert Eggers' THE WITCH, stating that if you're in the wrong mood when you watch these films you'll find them tedious but if you're in the right mood they'll haunt you for the rest of your life, and I'd definitely agree with him on that.

David Huckvale offers a superb and detailed breakdown of Wolfgang Zeller's music score, and Mr Huckvale is back to tell us more about In a Glass Darkly and its influence on the film. The Baron is a short film about Baron Nicolas de Gunzberg, VAMPYR's star, who essentially funded it in return for the lead role (and he's not bad at all), and Jorgen Roos' 1966 Dreyer documentary is on here too. Don't forget to watch the censored scenes, which offer more footage of the staking and of the evil doctor's climactic suffocation in the grain mill. Finally, you get a 100 page book featuring stills, interviews, and essays and the entire package is housed in a hardbound slipcase. 

The 90th Anniversary 2K Restoration of Carl Dreyer's VAMPYR is out from Eureka on Monday 30th May 2022

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989)

"Uniquely Entertaining Horror Comedy Western"

The film director Anthony Hickox made between his 1988 debut WAXWORK and its sequel, WAXWORK II: LOST IN TIME (1992) gets an extras-packed Blu-ray release as part of the Vestron collection.

The town of Purgatory (which from the nicely shot locations appears to be in Monument Valley) is home to a community of vampires, led by Count Mardulak (David Carradine). They've been trying to perfect a blood substitute but something has gone wrong withe process, so they call in inventor David Halloran (Jim Metzler) to help his old university rival Shane (Maxwell Caulfield) sort out the process. Unfortunately plans are afoot by Jefferson (John Ireland) for a vampire rebellion. Add in the arrival of the last of the Van Helsings (Bruce Campbell) who falls for local girl Sandy (Deborah Foreman) and the scene is set for a ridiculous over the top vampire gunfight finale.

Back when SUNDOWN was being made Anthony Hickox said he purposely didn't want an opening title sequence so as not to spoil the surprise of all the familiar exploitation faces who appear in the film. It's certainly fun spotting all the above as well as M Emmet Walsh, Dana Ashbrook, Morgan Brittany and others. The sharp-eyed will spot a poster for THEATRE OF BLOOD, the movie directed by Hickox's father Douglas (apparently at his son's insistence), at the beginning of the film.

But is SUNDOWN any good? There's certainly nothing else quite like it. It's not as quirkily entertaining as the original WAXWORK and not as full-on horror as Hickox's later HELLRAISER III, but it's still a great deal of fun.

One of the undisputed highlights of the film is the lush, sweeping, Western pastiche-style orchestral score by Richard Stone and so it's a delight to have a feature-length commentary all about it (and tying it into the sequencing of tracks on the soundtrack album) from acknowledged movie music expert Randall D Larson (composer Stone is sadly no longer with us). There's also a more traditional commentary track with director Hickox and Director of Photography Levie Isaacks.

Other extras include Wild Weird West - a new 16 minute interview with the director; Bloodsuckers From Purgatory -  a new 14 minutes with special effects creator Tony Gardner; and archival interviews from 2008 with Bruce Campbell (12 minutes), David Carradine (13 minutes) and M Emmet Walsh (11 minutes), plus the usual trailer and stills gallery. Nice package. Now I'm off to buy the soundtrack CD.

Anthony Hickox's SUNDOWN: THE VAMPIRE IN RETREAT is out on Blu-ray as part of the Vestron Collection through Lionsgate on Monday 15th November 2021

Climate of the Hunter (2021)

"A Peter Greenaway-Style Vampire Movie"

        Well, a bit, anyway. The new feature from Oklahoma-based film-maker Mickey Reece, known as 'the Soderbergh of the Sticks' or so it says here, gets a cinema and digital release from Bulldog Distribution.

Two middle-aged sisters, Alma (Ginger Gilmartin) and Elizabeth (Mary Buss) await the arrival of Wesley (Ben Hall with his Stephen McHattie voice) at their remote cabin hideaway. Once he's there the conversation turns to events of the past over a succession of 1970s-themed meals that look as if they've come straight from Vincent Price's actual cookbook. As the days pass it seems that Wesley may be a vampire. We also learn he has placed his wife in an asylum. But is she still there?

Described as a cross between Harry Kumel's DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS and the films of Jean Rollin, fans of the work of those directors may find themselves scratching their heads at the comparison. With its measured pacing and accent on dinner table conversation between the three leads CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER feels more like a cross between DROWNING BY NUMBERS and a 1970s AIP picture, as if Peter Greenaway had directed COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE. 

It's well shot and acted and obviously not the work of a hack, but certain viewers should be warned that in terms of horror we're very much in IT COMES AT NIGHT territory here in terms of slow pacing and if that's not your kind of thing you may find the 82 minute running time feels rather longer than it actually is. That said Reece obviously has talent and is definitely a director to be watched and I very much suspect his best work in the art house horror genre is yet to come. Anyway, here's the trailer for CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER:

Mickey Reece's CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER is out in cinemas from Bulldog Distribution on Friday 13th August 2021 and on Digital rent and download-to-own on Monday 23rd August 2021