El mundo de los vampiros (1961)

... aka: La vendetta del vampiro (Revenge of the Vampire)
... aka: Le monde des vampires (The Vampire World)
... aka: World of the Vampires, The
... aka: World of Vampires. The

Directed by:
Alfonso Corona Blake

The World of the Vampires was one of the many Mexican genre movies imported to American by K. Gordon Murray, who had them re-edited to remove questionable content and dubbed into English for family friendly showings in both theaters and on television. Some of the more famous of Murray's acquisitions were THE ROBOT VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY (1957), the very profitable Santa Claus (1959), The Brainiac (1961), THE CURSE OF THE DOLL PEOPLE (1961), LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD AND THE MONSTERS (1962) and WRESTLING WOMEN VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY (1964). If these films weren't already bad enough in their original form, what Murray and Co. did to them made often made them ten times worse. And by ten times worse, I mean far more enjoyable if you have a hankering for weird, cheap, poorly-dubbed and hacked up films. As far as World is concerned, the original Spanish-language version of this actually did play in some U.S. theaters via Azteca Films before Murray got hold of it, did his thing and sold it to AIP-TV, where it debuted in 1964). To give this one its fair shakes, what I'll be reviewing here is the full, uncut version in its original language with English subtitles, which runs about 84 minutes.

European vampire Count Sergio Subotai (Guillermo Murray) lives in a huge, crumbling mansion next to an old cemetery, which has an amazing cave lair underneath full of catacombs, cobwebs, fire, fog, statues, skulls, coffins, tarantulas and, best of all, a large and completely awesome pipe organ made completely out of human bones. Sergio doesn't live there alone, as in his company are not only a slew of sultry female vampires, but also a slew of ugly, squeaking, big-eared. bat-faced servants. The gang stay busy worshiping their God Astaroth, the King of Darkness, as well as kidnapping men and women who find themselves passing through the area. The guys make for fine meals, but the ladies have the added displeasure of making fine meals and being transformed for one of Astaroth's vampire brides. What the Count really wants though is revenge on a certain rival family who once had a vampire hunter in their midst that caused his family much grief and put him six feet under over 100 years earlier. Subotai has until the Full Moon is over to exterminate the Colman's; the three last living descendants of his executioner. If he doesn't, he'll face another century of torment in waiting. Oh yeah, he'd also like to eventually destroy the entire human race at some point, too.

Elsewhere, Rodolfo Sabre (Clark Gable look-a-like Mauricio Garcés) is asked to play the piano at a party. Problem is, he isn't so much a pianist or even a musician for that matter, but an acoustics scientist who's been studying how sound waves, sound vibrations and / or music notes played in a precise order can alter one's moods, dredge up subconscious thoughts and reactions and even kill. He also believes certain types of music can call forth the spirits of the dead. As he gives the guests a demonstration, Count Subotai appears in the doorway. Everyone finds it odd that the reclusive Count has finally accepted an offer to join them. People wonder why he's rich and lives in a ruined home, why has such an icy, intense stare and why he's even there in the first place since he's shown little interest in getting to know them since he's been in the area. The truth of the matter is, it's because the patriarch of the Colman clan (José Baviera) is there, as well as his two lovely nieces; Mirta (Silvia Fournier) and Leonor (Erna Martha Bauman).

Count Sergio manages to easily woo Leonor and put her under his spell and the uncle is rather easily captured by a few of the batty servants and dragged back to the underground lair, but Mirta is another story entirely. She's already on guard after noticing the Count cast no reflection in a mirror at the party. The fact a piece of music Rodolfo played that's rumored to ward off vampires managed to greatly upset the Count wasn't lost on her either. Back at the vamp's lair, Mr. Colman is tied up between two stakes right next to a pit full of giant spikes which the Count gives him a nice demonstration of using the bat person who failed to capture Mirta. He also must bear witness to the ritual of Leonor being turned into an immortal creature of the night, which involves not only a bite but also a dagger stab to the neck. Vampirized Leonor pays a visit to Rodolfo's bedroom and puts the bite to him, which infects him and  causes him to slowly turn into a hideous creature, while Mirta is eventually rounded up and locked in a room. With her incapacitated, Leonor transformed, the Uncle chained up and Rodolfo turning hairy, things are starting to look pretty grim for our heroes...

While Fernando Méndez's EL VAMPIRO (1957) is frequently considered the best of the South-of-the-Border vampire flicks of the 50s and 60s, I actually liked this one more. Sacrilege, you say? Well, I can present my defense in just two brief sentences. El vampiro is a well-made and very atmospheric vampire film that adheres strictly to what had already been done before. World is a well-made and very atmospheric vampire film that does not adhere at all to what had already been done before because it's too busy making up its own unique mythology. Admittedly, this has much higher schlock quotient with its bats-on-strings, human-head-transposed-over-a-bat-body, putty-faced creatures and sometimes hammy acting, but it's also inventive, original, amusing, creepy, kooky, fast-paced and incredibly entertaining. The art direction, sets and Gothic atmosphere are all wonderful and there's an unexpected surprise around every corner. In other words, this is 100 percent pure fun.

Though Murray is hardly the best actor to ever don the cape and goes a bit over-the-top at times, one thing's for sure: He makes for one good-looking and debonair vampire. This role helped to make the muy atractivo Argentinian import both a film star and sex symbol in Mexico. He went on to a long, successful career there lasting until the mid-2000s and got to play another bloodsucker in the rarely-seen La huella macabra / THE MACABRE MARK (1963) just a few years later. Santo film regular Alfredo Wally Barron also has a very fun supporting role as the count's nameless, facially-scarred, grunting hunchback butler. Despite being reduced to shuffling around due to a gimp leg, he's involved in a long fight sequence with Garcés, which includes punching, kicking, slapping, tackling, leaping, strangling, eyeball poking and even hair pulling, resulting in much scuffing of antique prop furniture. The producer was Abel Salazar, who produced many of the major Mexican genre films from this time (and also frequently acted in them) and the lively script was written by Ramón Obón, also a prominent figure in Mexican fantasy cinema of the 50s and 60s.

Sadly, this minor gem was one of the announced titles by CasaNegra before they went belly up, so it has yet to receive a fully restored release here in America. The Beverly Wilshire / Telefilms DVD (under the title The World of Vampires) utilizes the same English-dubbed 16mm print that used to play on TV. Bach Films out of France have issued the best quality DVD to date, but their release has no English language option. Thankfully we live in an age where nice people out there make subtitles when distributors don't, so I was lucky enough to watch this in good condition in its original language and completely understand what was going on.

★★★

El vampiro (1957)

... aka: Vampire, The

Directed by:
Fernando Méndez

It's amazing at what the right visual presentation can do to enhance a hoary old plot, and yet it's seldom ever enough to completely overcome one. Here we have that old standby; the gothic vampire story, complete with musty old crypts, creaking caskets, blankets of swirling, wind-blown fog, cobwebs, rubber bats on wires, secret passageways and pretty much everything else you'd expect to see in one of these things, but it's all just so wonderfully atmospheric you can't help but get at least somewhat swept up in the story despite the fact you've already seen it numerous times before. Things begin at a train station in the small village of Sierra Negra ("Black Mountain"), Mexico as a crate full of dirt arrives from Romania addressed to one Mr. Duval. Aboard the same train is Marta Gonzales (Ariadna Welter), who's just arrived in town at her uncle Emilio's (José Luis Jiménez) request to visit her ailing aunt Eloise (Carmen Montejo). A landslide has cut off the main roads in and out of town, so finding a lift is next to impossible for both Marta and a doctor (who first claims to be a traveling salesman) named Enrique (Abel Salazar, also the film's producer) that she meets there. Thankfully, a horse-drawn wagon arrives to pick up the crate and the driver begrudgingly agrees to give them a lift part of the way. After they're dropped off, the two are trailed through the forest by a mysterious woman dressed in black.

Our heroine arrives at her family's home - The Sycamores - only to find it in ruins because they can't keep a full staff there. They do have a maid and a butler, but what they do instead of cleaning up the pigsty is anyone's guess. Marta is shocked to discover that a second aunt - Maria Teresa (Alicia Montoya) - has passed away just a day earlier and that her supposedly sick aunt Eloise is in seemingly perfect health. In fact, she looks better than ever and is quite youthful and vibrant considering her age... but something isn't quite right about her. She's cold, stern and doesn't cast a reflection in mirrors (uh oh). She's also the same black-clad lady who'd been secretly lurking behind Marta and Enrique as they walked to their destination. Their next door neighbor, distinguished dirt importer Mr. Duval (Germán Robles), arrives there to pay them a visit. It's made pretty clear right away that Duval is a vampire who's been feeding on the populace of Sierra Negra and also that Eloise is under his spell. Duval may also be trying to resurrect a long-dead vampire ancestor named Count Karol de Lavud, who was executed in 1840 and whose body is kept in a crypt in the dungeon of the Sycamores estates (which he's been unsuccessfully trying to purchase). Hmmm. Mr. Duval. Count Lavud. You happen to have a mirror handy, Mr. Alucard?

This is one movie that is heavily dependent on its atmosphere because most horror buffs are going to find little else here they have not seen numerous times elsewhere in films made both before and after this one. In fact, nearly every aspect of this film has clearly been influenced by the original Universal classic Dracula (1931), from the script to the (overbearing) score to the visual presentation to the bright lighting framing the vampire's eyes. Most of the bloodsucker mythos have been carried over (crucifix, sunlight, stake through the heart, etc.) from the Stoker novel and Browning's film as well, to the point where this offers up no real surprises. 

Robles made a name for himself in this role (at least in Mexico where the film was a hit), which led to numerous other genre roles for the actor, including several other vampire parts. While he's dashing and sophisticated enough, two things he is not are intimidating and scary. He also doesn't really possess the charisma or magnetism of other actors who've donned the cape and fang over the years, like Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee. The standout performance here is actually from Montoya, whose character has been prematurely entombed after being slipped a drug that makes her only appear to be dead. With help from the superstitious maid Maria (Mercedes Soler) - you know, that woman who doesn't like to do her job - she escapes from her tomb as a raving madwoman and in a strange way ends up becoming the Van Helsing of the piece. That Poe-inspired aspect of the story, the atmospheric black-and-white photography and very good art direction and sets help enliven this otherwise extremely familiar material.

A sub-par, English-dubbed print (slapped together by Mr. K. Gordon Murray, of course!) was distributed in America for a number of years; first on TV in 1964, then theatrically in 1968 and then on VHS in the 80s by Something Weird. Thankfully, CasaNegra Entertainment stepped in and gave us a restored, Spanish-language version of the film with English subtitles in 2006. Now it can be enjoyed in its original form minus any unintended guffaws due to the formerly atrocious dubbing. The sadly short-lived CasaNegra also issued this film's sequel; The Vampire's Coffin (1958), made by the same director / writers (Ramón Obón and Ramon Rodriguez) / producer and featuring much of the same cast, as well as The Black Pit of Dr. M (1959), The Living Coffin (1959), THE MAN AND THE MONSTER (1959), The Brainiac (1962), The Witch's Mirror (1962) and The Curse of the Crying Woman (1963). After just a handful of releases, the company went belly up. Regardless, I'd say they've done their part in giving some previously ignored Mexican genre gems a renewed life and respectability they never had before. Synapse later picked up many of the CasaNegra collection for release. El vampiro was also distributed in the UK on the Mondo Macabro label.

★★1/2