When I was a youngster, my grandparents had a copy of this on VHS which they'd never, ever let me watch, for fear that it would warp my fragile little mind. Now, some twenty years later, I've finally sourced a copy and seen what all the fuss was about, I think the only danger this film could have put anyone in is a slow, lingering death induced by absolute boredom. As with Jess Franco's films, Joseph Larraz spends a lot of time going nowhere, padding out the skimpy story with coy nudity, tracking shots of nothing in particular, 'meaningful' glances, occasional snatches of tedious dialogue and characters doing very little. VAMPYRES could have easily been cut to thirty minutes and lost none of whatever impact it has. True, the two bloodthirsty leading ladies are easy on the eye and some of the interior shots are arresting, but this isn't enough to sustain our attention over ninety minutes. The acting is dismal throughout, the gore is unconvincing and the whole production has a deadly amateur feel. For a better example of a foreign director working on British soil, try LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE from the same year.
Review of Vampyres
