"The Playgirls and the Vampire," an odd Italian amalgam of sexploitation and Gothic horror, was originally released in 1960 under the perhaps more fitting title "The Last Prey of the Vampire." The five gals who are forced to spend the night at the creepy castle of Count Gabor Kernassy, along with their manager and bus driver/pianist, are more showgirls than playgirls (and, judging by a few of their dance routines, bargain-basement showgirls at that!), and the "v" word, strangely enough, is never uttered by anyone during the course of the entire film...even when the 200-year-old, bloodsucking ancestor of Kernassy is revealed to be a resident of the castle crypts. The picture's scares are few, perhaps nonexistent, and the sex elements, naturally, are very tame by today's standards (a brief topless moment, a few peeks through a filmy negligee, and one striptease down to her scanties by one of the gals). Indeed, I'm hard pressed to put my finger on just what I found so likable about this film. Perhaps it is the moldering look of the castle crypts, or the overwrought and oftentimes oddball musical score of Aldo Piga. Director Piero Regnoli does a competent job, sometimes even contributing some striking visual flourishes (such as that 360-degree pan during a funeral); Walter Brandi, in his dual role of the count and the aged neck nosher, is pretty decent (although his vampire is quite lame looking); and Lyla Rocco is strangely interesting as she somnambulates through her role of Vera, one of the "playgirls" for whom the castle holds a special attachment. Ultimately, though, the film is a real head scratcher, with some glaring plot holes (can anyone tell me why Vera herself does not become a vampire after having her neck noshed on?) and very illogical actions on the part of the quintet. The picture is a bona fide curiosity, to be sure, but an atmospheric one, at least. Just don't go in expecting anything on the order of Mario Bava's "Black Sunday," which came out that same year....
18 Reviews
Sleep in the car!
lastliberal12 June 2008
You are lost on a lonely Italian road. A storm is coming up. There is no motel around. You spot a castle. Stay away, you dolt! Sleep in the car. Do not enter the creepy castle.
Alas, our group does not heed the warning and end up in a castle. The owner, Count Gabor Kernassy (Walter Brandi), tries to shoo them away, but there seems to be a connection with one named Vera (Lila Rocco). She even knows where the smokes are kept, even though she has never been there.
Despite warnings, one of the girls (Maria Giovannini) goes wandering and surprise, she's found dead the next day. I guess the story would have ended too soon if they all obeyed the Count.
There was not a lot of blood in this early Italian classic, and there was only a brief flash of nudity. The girls did, however, do a lot of running around in their see-through nighties. I always though castles were cold and damp. I guess this one had central heat.
For true vampire aficionados only.
Alas, our group does not heed the warning and end up in a castle. The owner, Count Gabor Kernassy (Walter Brandi), tries to shoo them away, but there seems to be a connection with one named Vera (Lila Rocco). She even knows where the smokes are kept, even though she has never been there.
Despite warnings, one of the girls (Maria Giovannini) goes wandering and surprise, she's found dead the next day. I guess the story would have ended too soon if they all obeyed the Count.
There was not a lot of blood in this early Italian classic, and there was only a brief flash of nudity. The girls did, however, do a lot of running around in their see-through nighties. I always though castles were cold and damp. I guess this one had central heat.
For true vampire aficionados only.
Hen-pecked vampires!
Bezenby24 January 2018
Notable actors: Walter Brandi! Walter Brandi again!
More vampire madness from Italy as five exotic dancers, one grumpy manager, and one level headed musician end up at the creepy castle of Walter Brandi. We've already been alerted that something's amiss in this place with the atmospheric opening credits, but when dancer Vera seems to recognise the place, including where the cigarettes are kept (?), the mystery deepens...if you haven't watched a vampire film, ever. Walter Brandi and his minions tell the group to beat it but when he sets his sights on Vera, he quickly changes his tune, instead letting them stay on the condition that everyone stays in their rooms at night and definitely do not go wandering around the place at night. Of course, the dumbest of the girls, Katya (who is completely obsessed with her legs!), goes out to find the shower and ends up being attacked by someone, ending up dead outside the next day.
Everyone of course is very upset so they decide they best thing to do is to perform a bit of a dance routine! Better still, one of the girls decides to turn it into a full on striptease instead. I know the girls are supposed to be upset, but the crapness of their dancing is a sight to behold. Except the striptease which is quite good unless you do the mental arithmetic and figure out that the woman you are looking at in well into her seventies, you perv!
Of course someone digs up Katya's body and before you know it she's prancing about the about in the nude trying to put the bite on various people (and at this point the film steals the 'earliest boobs' crown from 1964's Castle of Blood. The plot thickens as Walter Brandi seems to be hiding something but if he's a vampire, why is walking about during the day? Walter and Vera fall in love (do I even need to mention that she's the reincarnation of a distant relative?) and there's a vampire or two to be taken out before the film ends.
(Spoilers next, if you're mental and didn't figure out what's going on)
You see, Walter's ancestor is a vampire and living in the basement, and he also recognised Vera. However, he killed Katya by mistake because she was wearing Vera's coat, but the funniest thing about this is Katya's incessant, instant nagging of vampire Walter! She just won't stop henpecking him, which leads to a pretty bloody staking. Also, when Walter himself gets impaled on the bizarre family crest, the results are rather bizarre.
While not as stupid/enjoyable as The Vampire of the Opera, this one tries to give it a run for its money.
More vampire madness from Italy as five exotic dancers, one grumpy manager, and one level headed musician end up at the creepy castle of Walter Brandi. We've already been alerted that something's amiss in this place with the atmospheric opening credits, but when dancer Vera seems to recognise the place, including where the cigarettes are kept (?), the mystery deepens...if you haven't watched a vampire film, ever. Walter Brandi and his minions tell the group to beat it but when he sets his sights on Vera, he quickly changes his tune, instead letting them stay on the condition that everyone stays in their rooms at night and definitely do not go wandering around the place at night. Of course, the dumbest of the girls, Katya (who is completely obsessed with her legs!), goes out to find the shower and ends up being attacked by someone, ending up dead outside the next day.
Everyone of course is very upset so they decide they best thing to do is to perform a bit of a dance routine! Better still, one of the girls decides to turn it into a full on striptease instead. I know the girls are supposed to be upset, but the crapness of their dancing is a sight to behold. Except the striptease which is quite good unless you do the mental arithmetic and figure out that the woman you are looking at in well into her seventies, you perv!
Of course someone digs up Katya's body and before you know it she's prancing about the about in the nude trying to put the bite on various people (and at this point the film steals the 'earliest boobs' crown from 1964's Castle of Blood. The plot thickens as Walter Brandi seems to be hiding something but if he's a vampire, why is walking about during the day? Walter and Vera fall in love (do I even need to mention that she's the reincarnation of a distant relative?) and there's a vampire or two to be taken out before the film ends.
(Spoilers next, if you're mental and didn't figure out what's going on)
You see, Walter's ancestor is a vampire and living in the basement, and he also recognised Vera. However, he killed Katya by mistake because she was wearing Vera's coat, but the funniest thing about this is Katya's incessant, instant nagging of vampire Walter! She just won't stop henpecking him, which leads to a pretty bloody staking. Also, when Walter himself gets impaled on the bizarre family crest, the results are rather bizarre.
While not as stupid/enjoyable as The Vampire of the Opera, this one tries to give it a run for its money.
Minor camp item, small genre landmark
FilmFlaneur3 November 2003
Ragnoli's film focuses on the travails of a group of five dance hall girls and their manager who, after defaulting on a hotel bill, find themselves bumping through unfamiliar countryside at night looking for late accommodation. Ignoring the warnings of a local, they continue along a side road to the castle of a mysterious Count Kernassy (Walter Brandi), where one of the girls, Vera experiences strong feelings of déjà vu. At first treated with coldness, it soon appears that the beautiful-yet-mopey Vera bears a startling resemblance to one of Count Kernassy's ancestors, Margherita. Ominously, the Count has an infatuation with this long-dead beauty. As sudden storms wash out bridges behind them, the troupe are obliged to spend more than one night at the castle and, despite warnings, venture out of the their rooms at night...
A minor camp item with some historical interest today, The Playgirls And The Vampire first saw light of day on the continent as L'ultima preda del vampiro (trans: The Vampire's Final Prey), an Italian attempt to capitalise on the vogue for the contemporary Hammer product with a suitably spiced-up Euro version. Adding lashings of female titillation in a way which was unthinkable to the Anglo Saxon market (the film includes a brief topless shot), director Piero Ragnoli made up a package which was both more lascivious than that produced by the studio at Bray, and one to which critical opinion has been less kind. Predictably, the heady cocktail was a commercial success at the time, and some commentators have since seen the results as anticipating the sexy vampire cinema of Jean Rollin a few years later, although the sheen of erotic sophistication brought by the French auteur is conspicuously missing here. American producer Richard Gordon, sensing money from the exploitation market, promptly picked up the English language rights to the original film, did a rush-dubbing job and re-titled it with an eye on maximum marquee appeal. (He also prepared a cut print for those areas in which censorship was more squeamish, under the title of Curse Of The Vampire - a version that by all accounts approached the incoherent).
While the beginning of this version of the film, which features a long tracking shot from a dungeon window to a stone sarcophagus and an emerging, spidery hand, momentarily recalls some of the splendours of such films as Bava's Mask Of The Demon (aka: La Maschera del demonio, 1960), such atmospherics are rarely repeated. The most effective moment occurs during the big burial scene later, where Aldo Greci's camera performs a 360-degree pan around the faces of the mourners from a low angle. Here the combination of a daring, continuous shot, allied with the distortions of a wide-angle lens produces the sense of dread a film like this so badly needs. Elsewhere the cinematography is more careless, with at least one scene suffering from a distracting focus problem, and the sparse interiors of the Count's castle being lit without subtlety. Unfortunately, the plot hardly distracts one from such shortcomings. Containing more holes than a ghoul's winding sheet, in execution it only emphases that for the most part Ragnoli's technical competence is mediocre. Given the electric possibilities which exist when sex and horror are combined, his film rarely aspires to the erotic, even though the glamorous playgirls are frequently to be seen wandering through chilly grounds and corridors, clad in nothing but their nighties.
What makes the film enjoyable is the passing campness of it all, the ineptness of the characters and the ludicrousness of some of the dialogue. The girls form part of a truly terrible dance troupe: when, after a tragedy, they gather to lose themselves in a rehearsal ("the girls have been very upset, and this is the only way to make them stop worrying about it" we are assured) and one performs a striptease, their lack of professionalism and poise in ensemble is laughable. Their manager, Lucas, (Alfredo Rizzo) is a crabby, cynical showman who is at least a more believable stereotype than the dull vampire fodder he escorts. In one of the more amusing moments of the film, we see him snuggling down in his room with a girlie magazine before being confronted by a nude, newly dead girl. Here his mugging is entertaining and the often self-conscious dialogue, which is a feature of the film, doesn't intrude. Elsewhere the non-sequiturs can be amazing ("I just don't understand it"/ "What don't you understand?"/ "Nothing, nothing at all" is one worthy of Ed Wood). As various mysterious events unfold, such conversations contribute to an atmosphere that can be just as bewildering to the audience as to the principals. Supporting characters, such as the groundskeeper, the limping Zoltan (probably Antoine Nicos), and the housekeeper (Marisa Quattrini) remain woefully undeveloped which given the nature of the genre, where every servant is a satanic stooge it seems, is surprising. One especially regrets the waste of the housekeeper. A demonic Mrs Danvers would have been a useful bonus in taking up some of the dramatic slack.
As "one of the first horror films from any country to mix Gothic horror and explicit eroticism," the film is a slight genre landmark. Perhaps a director with a greater sense of visual style would have made more of the opportunity, but the result is still watchable, if a little slow. For those who enjoy continental horror from this time - the start of a classic production period, which until recently has been hard to see - this is worth seeking out, if not essential viewing.
A minor camp item with some historical interest today, The Playgirls And The Vampire first saw light of day on the continent as L'ultima preda del vampiro (trans: The Vampire's Final Prey), an Italian attempt to capitalise on the vogue for the contemporary Hammer product with a suitably spiced-up Euro version. Adding lashings of female titillation in a way which was unthinkable to the Anglo Saxon market (the film includes a brief topless shot), director Piero Ragnoli made up a package which was both more lascivious than that produced by the studio at Bray, and one to which critical opinion has been less kind. Predictably, the heady cocktail was a commercial success at the time, and some commentators have since seen the results as anticipating the sexy vampire cinema of Jean Rollin a few years later, although the sheen of erotic sophistication brought by the French auteur is conspicuously missing here. American producer Richard Gordon, sensing money from the exploitation market, promptly picked up the English language rights to the original film, did a rush-dubbing job and re-titled it with an eye on maximum marquee appeal. (He also prepared a cut print for those areas in which censorship was more squeamish, under the title of Curse Of The Vampire - a version that by all accounts approached the incoherent).
While the beginning of this version of the film, which features a long tracking shot from a dungeon window to a stone sarcophagus and an emerging, spidery hand, momentarily recalls some of the splendours of such films as Bava's Mask Of The Demon (aka: La Maschera del demonio, 1960), such atmospherics are rarely repeated. The most effective moment occurs during the big burial scene later, where Aldo Greci's camera performs a 360-degree pan around the faces of the mourners from a low angle. Here the combination of a daring, continuous shot, allied with the distortions of a wide-angle lens produces the sense of dread a film like this so badly needs. Elsewhere the cinematography is more careless, with at least one scene suffering from a distracting focus problem, and the sparse interiors of the Count's castle being lit without subtlety. Unfortunately, the plot hardly distracts one from such shortcomings. Containing more holes than a ghoul's winding sheet, in execution it only emphases that for the most part Ragnoli's technical competence is mediocre. Given the electric possibilities which exist when sex and horror are combined, his film rarely aspires to the erotic, even though the glamorous playgirls are frequently to be seen wandering through chilly grounds and corridors, clad in nothing but their nighties.
What makes the film enjoyable is the passing campness of it all, the ineptness of the characters and the ludicrousness of some of the dialogue. The girls form part of a truly terrible dance troupe: when, after a tragedy, they gather to lose themselves in a rehearsal ("the girls have been very upset, and this is the only way to make them stop worrying about it" we are assured) and one performs a striptease, their lack of professionalism and poise in ensemble is laughable. Their manager, Lucas, (Alfredo Rizzo) is a crabby, cynical showman who is at least a more believable stereotype than the dull vampire fodder he escorts. In one of the more amusing moments of the film, we see him snuggling down in his room with a girlie magazine before being confronted by a nude, newly dead girl. Here his mugging is entertaining and the often self-conscious dialogue, which is a feature of the film, doesn't intrude. Elsewhere the non-sequiturs can be amazing ("I just don't understand it"/ "What don't you understand?"/ "Nothing, nothing at all" is one worthy of Ed Wood). As various mysterious events unfold, such conversations contribute to an atmosphere that can be just as bewildering to the audience as to the principals. Supporting characters, such as the groundskeeper, the limping Zoltan (probably Antoine Nicos), and the housekeeper (Marisa Quattrini) remain woefully undeveloped which given the nature of the genre, where every servant is a satanic stooge it seems, is surprising. One especially regrets the waste of the housekeeper. A demonic Mrs Danvers would have been a useful bonus in taking up some of the dramatic slack.
As "one of the first horror films from any country to mix Gothic horror and explicit eroticism," the film is a slight genre landmark. Perhaps a director with a greater sense of visual style would have made more of the opportunity, but the result is still watchable, if a little slow. For those who enjoy continental horror from this time - the start of a classic production period, which until recently has been hard to see - this is worth seeking out, if not essential viewing.
Why do people in horror movies insist on staying in creepy old castles?
bensonmum230 July 2005
Warning: Spoilers
- After running out on an unpaid hotel bill, a bus carrying five showgirls, their manager, and a driver becomes stranded because of bad weather. They seek shelter in a nearby castle (Is it a European custom to ask any stranger with a spooky castle if you can spend the night when you're stranded?). At first, the owner, Count Gabor Kernassy, is reluctant to let them stay, but eventually changes his mind after noting that one of the girls looks like a dead relative. During dinner, the Count tells his guests that they must remain in their rooms at night. Unfortunately for Playgirl Katia, she didn't listen and begins exploring (What a shocker!) the castle after everyone has gone to bed. The next morning, her dead body is found on the castle's grounds. Was it an accident or was she murdered? And who else will die in Castle Kernassy?
- Let's get this out of the way up-front, The Playgirls and the Vampire is remembered for one thing - it was one of the first Italian horror movies (if not the very first) to mix nudity with horror. As a curiosity piece, it's interesting, but it's hardly the basis for a good movie. If you're interested in a slow moving Italian Gothic horror, there are far better movies to be found than this one. The Playgirls and the Vampire moves too slowly for even the most patient and disciplined fan. The first 3/4 can best be described as drudgery.
- The American title is a bit misleading. It suggests that the movie's plot is about a group of scantily clad women being terrorized by a vampire. Let's see, one woman is bitten and the vampire is one of the least threatening I've ever seen. Walter Brandi plays the vampire (and the Count) and his performance is best described as stiff. He acts like his arms might fall off if he moves too quickly. The Playgirls in the title are the most untalented group of showgirls ever assembled. And the emotions they feel for their fallen comrade consist of rehearsing their sad dance routine within minutes of the funeral.
- The movie does pick-up the pace and become fairly entertaining for the last 1/4 of the running time. The underground passages are creepy and provide the only atmosphere to be found. The final fight between the two vampires is enjoyable in a campy/cheesy sort of way. This portion of the movie saves it from becoming a total waste of time.
- If any of this sounds interesting, I recommend watching Bloody Pit of Horror instead. The plots are almost identical (just replace a homicidal lunatic for the vampire), but Bloody Pit of Horror is so much more fun.
THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE (Piero Regnoli, 1960) **
Bunuel197616 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This was one of 3 popular Italian films dealing with bloodsuckers (all starring the brooding-but-bland Walter Brandi) from the county's initial Gothic Horror outburst. Some years back, I had watched (and was not exactly impressed by) Renato Polselli's THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA (1960) – having now caught up with the other two in quick succession, I can see that their reputation has more to do with nostalgia than anything else
or, if you like, for providing a quaint alternative to the contemporaneous Mexican/Hammer model!
As can be gleaned from the title, this sees a group of entertainers (incidentally, their sleazy yet awkwardly-choreographed routines – and especially the taskmaster's own over-eagerness – are positively embarrassing to watch!) stranded on a stormy night and who manage to find shelter in a remote ancient castle (despite being specifically told not to go there!). Unsurprisingly, one of the many dancers in the troupe proves to be a dead-ringer for the host (Brandi)'s long-lost love!; likewise, while they are warned not to wander about at night, the liveliest lady among them disobeys orders and (apparently) pays the price with her life! However, since it transpires that she was bitten by a vampire, the girl is soon seeking her own victims – and she settles upon the comic-relief manager (played by Alfredo Rizzo, later director of the even worse THE BLOODSUCKER LEADS THE DANCE [1975], which is actually a period Giallo!) who used to give her a hard time. Though she fumbles the attempt, the scene is a striking one because she turns up completely naked before him and, in fact, stays that way for the rest of the duration (though, of course, this being the early 1960s still, we are actually shown very little except brief glimpses of her breasts)!
As for Brandi, it is eventually revealed that he plays two roles: the afore-mentioned aristocrat/castle owner and the rampaging vampire (presumably his revived ancestor). However, the former also dabbles in Science in an effort to cure the latter of his curse! The film definitely scores a few points on atmosphere (particularly the very first wraith-like appearance of the bloodsucker, predating by two years Herk Harvey's in his own CARNIVAL OF SOULS, hiding from the heroine's sight by the cemetery) and the climax – with the vampire first bloodily disposing of the jealous undead dancer and, then, the Brandis facing it off in the family crypt (where the tombs are adorned by a life-size engraving of their respective occupants!).
Though, at one point, the leading-lady is herself 'infected', there is the expected happy ending: she leaves with the troupe, who had conveniently exited the picture during its last act, until it is time for the hero (needless to say, the two have fallen for one another) to join her. For the record, director Regnoli was more usually credited as scriptwriter but, recently, I did catch a not-too-bad noir of his (with mild horror trimmings) from the same year i.e. I'LL SEE YOU IN HELL.
As can be gleaned from the title, this sees a group of entertainers (incidentally, their sleazy yet awkwardly-choreographed routines – and especially the taskmaster's own over-eagerness – are positively embarrassing to watch!) stranded on a stormy night and who manage to find shelter in a remote ancient castle (despite being specifically told not to go there!). Unsurprisingly, one of the many dancers in the troupe proves to be a dead-ringer for the host (Brandi)'s long-lost love!; likewise, while they are warned not to wander about at night, the liveliest lady among them disobeys orders and (apparently) pays the price with her life! However, since it transpires that she was bitten by a vampire, the girl is soon seeking her own victims – and she settles upon the comic-relief manager (played by Alfredo Rizzo, later director of the even worse THE BLOODSUCKER LEADS THE DANCE [1975], which is actually a period Giallo!) who used to give her a hard time. Though she fumbles the attempt, the scene is a striking one because she turns up completely naked before him and, in fact, stays that way for the rest of the duration (though, of course, this being the early 1960s still, we are actually shown very little except brief glimpses of her breasts)!
As for Brandi, it is eventually revealed that he plays two roles: the afore-mentioned aristocrat/castle owner and the rampaging vampire (presumably his revived ancestor). However, the former also dabbles in Science in an effort to cure the latter of his curse! The film definitely scores a few points on atmosphere (particularly the very first wraith-like appearance of the bloodsucker, predating by two years Herk Harvey's in his own CARNIVAL OF SOULS, hiding from the heroine's sight by the cemetery) and the climax – with the vampire first bloodily disposing of the jealous undead dancer and, then, the Brandis facing it off in the family crypt (where the tombs are adorned by a life-size engraving of their respective occupants!).
Though, at one point, the leading-lady is herself 'infected', there is the expected happy ending: she leaves with the troupe, who had conveniently exited the picture during its last act, until it is time for the hero (needless to say, the two have fallen for one another) to join her. For the record, director Regnoli was more usually credited as scriptwriter but, recently, I did catch a not-too-bad noir of his (with mild horror trimmings) from the same year i.e. I'LL SEE YOU IN HELL.
The girls are the best part of it
LJ2724 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
*POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD* I watched this movie once a long time ago and it is passable entertainment for one viewing I would say. The women in it are very hot but I suspect it was made by the same people who made SLAUGHTER OF THE VAMPIRES since it contains drawings with dissolves between them to depict the climactic disintegration of the vampire. I know make-up solutions to such technical problems are challenging but I think someone with some imagination and inventiveness could have come up with something better than what's on display here. I seem to recall it was well-shot and the castle sets looked nice. As is the case with many European horror films from the 1960s, it can be more than a little bit dull at times. I expected to at least see some fun bargain-basement special effects or make-up though. I found this one disappointing. I guess if you want to find that though, it's best to stick with the "brand name" horror specialists of the time, Mario Bava and Antonio Margharetti. Either of them could have made something better out of this same script.
Somebody sic Katia on me!
lee_eisenberg24 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
OK, we've probably all figured out by now that any exploitation film from the early '60s (in fact, possibly from any era) has to feature a bunch of hot babes. You'd better believe that "L'ultima preda del vampiro" (called "The Playgirls and the Vampire" in English) has some! Featuring a group of models having to spend a few nights in a castle where a vampire apparently lived, the movie doesn't disappoint one bit. To be certain, after seeing that one scene with Katia, I would consider it an honor to have her suck my blood! Anyway, maybe this is the sort of movie that can only appeal to teenage boys, but it's worth seeing.
Hot Italian babes. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hot Italian babes. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice girls, lame vampire
Stevieboy66615 November 2022
As was often the case with European horror movies from the 1960's and 1970's this film had many titles but I watched it on DVD as "The Playgirls and the Vampire". Five very attractive showgirls, their annoying manager and driver seek refuge at a castle during a night storm, but as so often happens the old building is resident to a centuries old vampire. And sadly he isn't a very good one, his ultimate demise is rather disappointing too. Hammer were doing this so much better, this is just a cheap imitation. I watched the English language version and the bad dubbing didn't help. On the plus side the five Playgirls are very attractive, we are treated to several scenes in which they are either scantily dressed or in perhaps the film's most notable moment naked. This movie apparently features the first nude on-screen female vampire, we see her breasts though not full frontal. A staking has blood running down her bare leg, quite strong for 1960. The theatrical trailer states for "Adults only" but decades on this is very tame stuff, only recommended for fans of Italian horror.
Better than the title "Playgirls and the Vampire"
dbborroughs4 November 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Five show girls, their manager and his assistant end up at a secluded castle when they are forced to take a detour when the road is washed out. At the castle they are warned to stay in their rooms during the night, but one of the girls wanders out and falls to her death. Meanwhile one of the other other girls, who look is exactly like an ancestor, is wooed by the Count who owns the place. She is rightly confused when a more demonic twin of the Count shows up and tries to do her harm. Notorious horror film was once shown at adults only screenings because of the hints of female flesh, but is now quite tame. A good little Euro shocker this is quite better than its reputation and its lurid title suggest thanks to some good performances and the fantastic black and white photography which sets the mood early. Its the sort of horror movie that would be perfect on a dark and stormy movie night on the couch.
Dull sixties horror from Italy
jongibbo1 January 2020
This film was of interest to me because it was the first horror film that I ever saw. At the time, I was attending college in Newcastle, and one day on leaving college, I passed the Essoldo, Westgate Road which was showing this film. On a whim, I decided to go in and see it. With the X certificate, I was expecting that my blood would be well and truly curdled, but it did not turn out that way. In fact, I found it rather dull. Looking at the DVD today, it all seems rather tame. Perhaps it's interest lies in that for cinemas like the Essoldo with little access to the major new releases, this was the sort of thing that they had to show.
A Gem
welambert0118 January 2016
A fan of the late night horror, black and white genre, a fan from early childhood. The title to this movie is tantalizing of itself. The date of production early 60's adds another level to curiosity.
The campy movie is undeniable every cliché is in this movie. Don't go down this road. Don't leave the castle. Don't leave your room. You are for a surprise as the girls are beautiful and you care for them with little to no character development.
Maria Giovanni (Katia) early demise leaves one scratching his head. The end of the movie, you realize that Pierno Regnoli crafted a minor masterpiece.
Erika Di Centa dance performance rivals Salma Hayek's From Dusk to Dawn performance.
The dialogue is campy and compelling with dashes of comedy interwoven.
This is not your typical vampire movie; Dracula having side chick problem?
Scantily clad women, sensual dance number and a minor plot twist: worth the late night or rainy afternoon.
The campy movie is undeniable every cliché is in this movie. Don't go down this road. Don't leave the castle. Don't leave your room. You are for a surprise as the girls are beautiful and you care for them with little to no character development.
Maria Giovanni (Katia) early demise leaves one scratching his head. The end of the movie, you realize that Pierno Regnoli crafted a minor masterpiece.
Erika Di Centa dance performance rivals Salma Hayek's From Dusk to Dawn performance.
The dialogue is campy and compelling with dashes of comedy interwoven.
This is not your typical vampire movie; Dracula having side chick problem?
Scantily clad women, sensual dance number and a minor plot twist: worth the late night or rainy afternoon.
Worth a Look
Uriah4320 March 2013
Five female dancers, their manager and their bus driver travel around Europe performing in one venue after another while barely making ends meet. One night after a storm blocks the main road, they take a secondary route which leads to a castle belonging to "Count Gabor Kernassy" (Walter Brandi). They are warned to turn around but are reluctant to do so because the manager "Lucas" (Alfredo Rizzo) didn't pay the hotel bill the night before. So the Count puts them up for the night but gives them a strict warning that they are not to leave their bedrooms during the night. Unfortunately, one curious dancer named "Katia" (Maria Giovannini) becomes too curious and dies from an apparent fall from the castle. Things only begin to get even more curious after that. That said, rather than divulge the mysteries that remain I will just say that this is a film more noted for the attractive dancers than anything else. And while Maria Giovannini was certainly sexy, I thought Lyla Rocco (as "Vera") was prettier still. But other than the appearance of the attractive ladies, I thought the film was slow-moving and dull at times. Still, it wasn't a bad vampire film and it's worth a look for those who enjoy movies of this kind from the early 60's.
Good for a late night viewing
monsterhead_x10 July 2000
PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE is a so-so early Italian horror movie that is good enough to hold an average euro-horror film buffs attention. Nice music, great looking (and occasionally, scantilly clad) go-go dancers, and not to mention an oddly unique final death scene.
Overall, a nice addition to any obscure movie collection, that will probably merit more than one viewing.
Overall, a nice addition to any obscure movie collection, that will probably merit more than one viewing.
Incredibly tedious but with a fantastic dance number
Nylistic23 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Most of this movie is dull, repetitive, and a chore to get through. The dialogue is horrible and the dubbing doesn't make things better. The effects are incredibly cheap with vampire teeth looking like plastic teeth from a party story. Granted, it delivers on the playgirls, who are attractive, and features some early 60's nudity.
That said, as much as much as I disliked it, the movie does show some amazing potential with the dance scene. After one of the playgirls is murdered, the rest of the grieving playgirls cope by practicing their dance routine. This leads to actress Erika Dicenta putting on a seductive dance stripping down to her underwear, which another reviewer referenced, is like a 60's version of Salma Hayek's scene in From Dusk Till Dawn. It's a great scene and considering that the death is used the reason for her stripping is hilarious and made even better since she's actually wearing black. It's a classic B-movie moment and I wish they would have applied this level of fun to the rest of the movie.
That said, as much as much as I disliked it, the movie does show some amazing potential with the dance scene. After one of the playgirls is murdered, the rest of the grieving playgirls cope by practicing their dance routine. This leads to actress Erika Dicenta putting on a seductive dance stripping down to her underwear, which another reviewer referenced, is like a 60's version of Salma Hayek's scene in From Dusk Till Dawn. It's a great scene and considering that the death is used the reason for her stripping is hilarious and made even better since she's actually wearing black. It's a classic B-movie moment and I wish they would have applied this level of fun to the rest of the movie.
Clumsy Eurohorror.
BA_Harrison12 July 2023
The Playgirls and the Vampire is the English-language version of Piero Regnoli's L'ultima preda del vampiro, released in the US by enterprising producer and distributor Richard Gordon.
The film sees a troupe of exotic dancers, their piano player Frank (Leonardo Botta) and manager Lucas (Alfredo Rizzo) seeking refuge at a remote castle after they are forced to take a detour in their minibus. The owner of the castle, Count Gabor Kernassy (Walter Brandi), reluctantly allows the visitors to stay but neglects to tell them about the vampire that stalks the place at night...
The plot for this film is pedestrian (it's very similar to the equally desperate The Vampire and the Ballerina, released earlier the same year) and the script is uninspired, the film relying on the allure of its scantily clad women to retain the viewer's interest. The ladies are certainly attractive, but even with plenty of 'cheesecake' (and a brief glimpse of nudity), The Playgirls and the Vampire is a colossal bore, director Regnoli handling matters with zero sense of style or finesse.
The most entertaining things about the film are the hilarious dance rehearsal, in which each girl does their own thing, all of them gyrating awkwardly out of time to the music, and the terrible special effects used to show the vampire disintegrating when he is impaled. But as funny as these scenes are, they're not nearly enough to make up for the rest of this clumsy Eurohorror, which is as dull and dreary as the castle in which it is set.
The film sees a troupe of exotic dancers, their piano player Frank (Leonardo Botta) and manager Lucas (Alfredo Rizzo) seeking refuge at a remote castle after they are forced to take a detour in their minibus. The owner of the castle, Count Gabor Kernassy (Walter Brandi), reluctantly allows the visitors to stay but neglects to tell them about the vampire that stalks the place at night...
The plot for this film is pedestrian (it's very similar to the equally desperate The Vampire and the Ballerina, released earlier the same year) and the script is uninspired, the film relying on the allure of its scantily clad women to retain the viewer's interest. The ladies are certainly attractive, but even with plenty of 'cheesecake' (and a brief glimpse of nudity), The Playgirls and the Vampire is a colossal bore, director Regnoli handling matters with zero sense of style or finesse.
The most entertaining things about the film are the hilarious dance rehearsal, in which each girl does their own thing, all of them gyrating awkwardly out of time to the music, and the terrible special effects used to show the vampire disintegrating when he is impaled. But as funny as these scenes are, they're not nearly enough to make up for the rest of this clumsy Eurohorror, which is as dull and dreary as the castle in which it is set.
Spoilers follow ...
parry_na11 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
A bus carrying a menagerie of chorus girls and their manager Lucas (Alfredo Rizo) is stopped in its tracks by a storm and the crew rather insistently beg Count Gabor Kernassy (Walter Brandi) to stay the night at his splendidly Gothic castle. Would you expect his strict instructions not to leave their rooms until dawn to be adhered? Of course you wouldn't, and you'd be right. Before long, one of their number, Katia (Maria Giovannini) has gone missing after investigating the building's crypt.
The bleakness of the location, highlighted by Aldo Greci's crisp black and white cinematography, successfully obfuscates the entirely traditional premise of the story-telling.
Events conspire to ensure the guests have to remain at the castle for an extended period and it isn't long before their fallen comrade has been forgotten and the manager is encouraging the troupe to practise their skimpy routines in the main hall, much to the chagrin of the chaste housekeeper.
Delightful Vera (Lyla Rocco) begins to feel a connection with Gabor, and it turns out she is a dead ringer for his deceased wife. And so the clichés continue, with Piero Regnoli's nice Gothic directional touches (and Aldo Pigar's bombastic musical stings) keeping things fairly interesting. Every vampire film 'box' is ticked, but 'The Playgirls and the Vampire' is an entertaining chiller played with a certain wide-eyed vigour, Rocco especially, who has a look in long shot very similar to that of Edith Scob in 'Eyes Without a Face' from the same year.
The bleakness of the location, highlighted by Aldo Greci's crisp black and white cinematography, successfully obfuscates the entirely traditional premise of the story-telling.
Events conspire to ensure the guests have to remain at the castle for an extended period and it isn't long before their fallen comrade has been forgotten and the manager is encouraging the troupe to practise their skimpy routines in the main hall, much to the chagrin of the chaste housekeeper.
Delightful Vera (Lyla Rocco) begins to feel a connection with Gabor, and it turns out she is a dead ringer for his deceased wife. And so the clichés continue, with Piero Regnoli's nice Gothic directional touches (and Aldo Pigar's bombastic musical stings) keeping things fairly interesting. Every vampire film 'box' is ticked, but 'The Playgirls and the Vampire' is an entertaining chiller played with a certain wide-eyed vigour, Rocco especially, who has a look in long shot very similar to that of Edith Scob in 'Eyes Without a Face' from the same year.
Sexy vampires
BandSAboutMovies11 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Count Gabor Kernassy (Walter Brandi) lives in a castle surrounded by darkness and a forest, so when an entire group of exotic dancers, their piano player and their manager ends up on his doorstep, it all seems like a buffet. Yet one of those dancers, Vera (Lyla Rocco), is the reincarnation of his long lost wife Margherita Kernassy. How does this keep happening to these vampires? Well, maybe he isn't the undead one. Ever think of that?
Directed by Piero Regnoli, who was one of the writers of I Vampiri as well as Patrick Still Lives, Burial Ground, Demonia, Nightmare City and so many great films, has made a movie that seemingly shares so much with The Vampire and the Ballerina. This film, however, has more of a lost romanticism and had the original title L'ultima preda del vampiro (The Vampire's Last Prey). It was released in the U. S. as an adult movie and then edited for TV as Curse of the Vampire.
Regnoli co-wrote this with cinematographer Aldo Greci, who shot this and so many other movies including Play Motel.
This has a good vampire and a bad one, so to speak, as well as a housekeeper Miss Balasz (Tilde Damiani) and groundsman Zoltan (Antonio Nicos) who are on the side of good. But still, this is a movie where Katia (Maria Giovannini) can die and get buried and everyone keeps on dancing because, I mean, why stop dancing? It's also the kind of early exploitation that has her get a stake to the heart and blood pours all over her shapely legs. Didn't Russ Meyer say it best? "While violence cloaks itself in a plethora of disguises, its favorite mantle still remains... sex."
Directed by Piero Regnoli, who was one of the writers of I Vampiri as well as Patrick Still Lives, Burial Ground, Demonia, Nightmare City and so many great films, has made a movie that seemingly shares so much with The Vampire and the Ballerina. This film, however, has more of a lost romanticism and had the original title L'ultima preda del vampiro (The Vampire's Last Prey). It was released in the U. S. as an adult movie and then edited for TV as Curse of the Vampire.
Regnoli co-wrote this with cinematographer Aldo Greci, who shot this and so many other movies including Play Motel.
This has a good vampire and a bad one, so to speak, as well as a housekeeper Miss Balasz (Tilde Damiani) and groundsman Zoltan (Antonio Nicos) who are on the side of good. But still, this is a movie where Katia (Maria Giovannini) can die and get buried and everyone keeps on dancing because, I mean, why stop dancing? It's also the kind of early exploitation that has her get a stake to the heart and blood pours all over her shapely legs. Didn't Russ Meyer say it best? "While violence cloaks itself in a plethora of disguises, its favorite mantle still remains... sex."
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