Are all French women bisexual? I know from watching Italian vampire films that getting bitten also gives the ladies a fondness for comfortable shoes and listening to that Horse McDonald guy, but French women just seem to be into everything, without exception. This is what gets Carmilla into so much trouble in this film, Blood and Roses aka Carmilla, The Grumpy French Vampire.
Like George Romero's later vampire film Martin, you're never quite sure if Carmilla has just gone insane due to her uncontrollable jealousy or if the actual spirit of her vampire ancestor has returned to take over her body. You see, Carmilla seems to be both in love with her friend George and her cousin Leopoldo (a young Mel Ferrer), who are engaged to be married. This cause Carmilla to have a bit of a French hissy fit and stomp off into the graveyard of her ancestors, where fireworks set off a cache of hidden WW2 explosives, revealing the grave of her ancestor.
Carmilla then of course starts dressing like her ancestor and generally putting the moves on Georgia, putting the bite on the locals and scaring the crap out of everyone else. The question is whether or not she is a genuine vampire or it's just that time of the month. That was subtle.
The whole thing was filmed at the Roman ruin of Hadrian's Villa and every frame of the film looks like it was personally painted by Michaelangelo. The Emperor Hadrian was like a Roman Elton John and would often retreat to his villa when he was in some sort of huff about something. It's not far from Rome but it is not, as I thought, located in the town of Tivoli, but rather confusingly situated just outside of a town called Villa Adriano. When we went there I suspect that the bus driver told us to get off early as my son wouldn't stop screaming. It's worth a visit though - a huge estate of Roman ruins. It was November when we visited and we practically had the place to ourselves. I don't have much to say about this film.
It's not the most action-packed but looks amazing, even drifting into black and white for a surreal dream sequence near the end. If you're a fan of vampire films this one will stand out a bit. Bof!
Like George Romero's later vampire film Martin, you're never quite sure if Carmilla has just gone insane due to her uncontrollable jealousy or if the actual spirit of her vampire ancestor has returned to take over her body. You see, Carmilla seems to be both in love with her friend George and her cousin Leopoldo (a young Mel Ferrer), who are engaged to be married. This cause Carmilla to have a bit of a French hissy fit and stomp off into the graveyard of her ancestors, where fireworks set off a cache of hidden WW2 explosives, revealing the grave of her ancestor.
Carmilla then of course starts dressing like her ancestor and generally putting the moves on Georgia, putting the bite on the locals and scaring the crap out of everyone else. The question is whether or not she is a genuine vampire or it's just that time of the month. That was subtle.
The whole thing was filmed at the Roman ruin of Hadrian's Villa and every frame of the film looks like it was personally painted by Michaelangelo. The Emperor Hadrian was like a Roman Elton John and would often retreat to his villa when he was in some sort of huff about something. It's not far from Rome but it is not, as I thought, located in the town of Tivoli, but rather confusingly situated just outside of a town called Villa Adriano. When we went there I suspect that the bus driver told us to get off early as my son wouldn't stop screaming. It's worth a visit though - a huge estate of Roman ruins. It was November when we visited and we practically had the place to ourselves. I don't have much to say about this film.
It's not the most action-packed but looks amazing, even drifting into black and white for a surreal dream sequence near the end. If you're a fan of vampire films this one will stand out a bit. Bof!