When car trouble strands a honeymooning couple in a small Southern European village, an aristocratic family in the area reaches out to help them with sinister consequences.When car trouble strands a honeymooning couple in a small Southern European village, an aristocratic family in the area reaches out to help them with sinister consequences.When car trouble strands a honeymooning couple in a small Southern European village, an aristocratic family in the area reaches out to help them with sinister consequences.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- Party Servant
- (uncredited)
- Mourner
- (uncredited)
- Woman at Graveyard
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe rubber bats used in the movie were bought from a local branch of Woolworths.
- GoofsWhen the newlyweds arrive at the hotel, they get caught in a sudden downpour. Water can be seen on their shoulders and on their hats, as well as on the wooden porch as they ring the doorbell. They are however bone dry when they step into the reception, despite the innkeeper remarking that they are soaked through.
- Quotes
Dr. Ravna: [referring to Marianne] I will not say that she has not changed in any way, Mr. Harcourt. She has, as you may put it, grown up. Tasted the more sophisticated, more exotic fruits of... life.
Gerald Harcourt: [realizing that she has been initiated into vampirism] Oh, my God!
Dr. Ravna: [officiouly] God is hardly involved, Mr. Harcourt.
- Alternate versionsRetitled "Kiss of Evil" for American TV, and considerably tampered with. Bloody scenes are cut: e.g., when Herr Zimmer cauterizes his wrist after Tanya bites him, and the pre-credits scene in which blood gushes from the coffin of Zimmer's daughter after he plunges a shovel into it (even her scream is cut from that scene). A couple of the cuts result in scenes that don't make sense any more: in the cut-for-TV version, we never do find out what Marianne sees behind the curtain, a sight which makes her scream. And when Harcourt frees his hands after being clawed by Tanya, the TV version has him escape by running across the room untouched by the vampires, who just watch him get away. As originally filmed, Harcourt, after freeing his hands, immediately smears the blood on his chest into a cross-shaped pattern: the vampires now *can't* touch him. The cut running time was made up for by the addition of scenes of a family (middle-aged husband and wife; teenage daughter) who fret and argue about the influence of the vampiric Ravna clan, but never interact with anybody else in the movie. The married couple are inserted into the pre-credits graveyard scene in place of a couple of old crones. Even the final scene of the tampered-with version features this family, instead of the original cast! The theme of the family's scenes is the social disruption the vampires bring to town: specifically, women get uppity. The wife becomes the breadwinner (by sewing the vampire clan's white robes!) as the husband's business suffers, and she browbeats him about it. The daughter disses her boyfriend in favor of Carl Ravna. Carl, unseen in these scenes, has given her a music box which plays the same hypnotic tune that he plays on the piano elsewhere in the movie. The final scene has the men magnanimously forgiving the women, who meekly apologize as they all head off to church.
- ConnectionsEdited into Cynful Movies: Kiss of the Vampire (2019)
- SoundtracksVampire Rhapsody
Performed by James Bernard
The main problem where the plot is concerned isn't necessarily the story - as that's classic vampire stuff - but rather in the way that it's handled. It just goes too slow, and while this gives you time admire the scenery; I want a little more stimulation than that. It takes ages to get going, and it isn't really until the last half hour that it picks up properly. It's nice when it does, but really it's too little too late. The ending is very nice, however, and the effects are typical Hammer, and therefore very much enjoyed by me. The Kiss of the Vampire doesn't feature any of Hammer's big stars. This shouldn't really harm it, but it does. Part of what makes many Hammer films work is the fact that there's a centrepiece actor that you can admire even when the plot isn't too good. This film doesn't have that, and while the cast of lesser-known actors do their collective best to keep the film interesting; there isn't one unique enough to really take the reins. There's still a lot to like here, however, and despite the low points with the plot, The Kiss of the Vampire never actually becomes boring. Just make sure you see the likes of The Vampire Lovers and Twins of Evil first.
- The_Void
- Oct 4, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- El beso del vampiro
- Filming locations
- Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(Forest Exteriors)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
- 1.66 : 1