Kiss of the Vampire (1963) DVD

This Final Cut release under licence from Universal is a rather forgotten gem. As other reviewers have done much better than I could re the plot, I'll just say that the print is excellent, particularly the colour, and the direction by Don Sharp is spot on - The ballroom/party scene is tremendous. The acting is as good as you get with Hammer tho sadly I agree with other reviewers that perhaps Noel Willman isn't best cast as the Vampire in chief, but Clifford Evans is good and I somehow feel if Cushing had been cast it would have been a copmletely different character. Someone else has also mentioned Isobel Black, who gets low/small billing yet features 3 times on the back cover of this release and steals the film in my opinion from Jennifer Daniel, tho she did grow on me. All in all a good Hammer Horror full of atmosphere, colour, and suspense. On another day I might give it 5 stars.

Following the tragedy that "Phantom of the Opera" was, Hammer desperately needed a change of formula in its gothic series, and hopefully "Kiss of the Vampire", their first entry for 1964, would provide exactly that. Exeunt Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Terence Fisher. Exeunt the literary sources of the material and Jimmy Sangster's screenplays. Exeunt Jack Asher and Arthur Grant as DPs.
The only survivors were James Bernard, writing the score, and the impeccable Bernard Robinson as production designer - and one can only be amazed at his ability to change. From being very classical and gothic in the initial Dracula and Frankenstein, Bernard Robinson offers us, in "Kiss...", a very unsettling set - classical in many way but also very kitsch, very colorful and quite timeless...Molly Arbuthnot on the costume side also showed a subtle, modern evolution in the vampire's outfit, with the "disciples" of Dr. Ravna showing long white dresses and Ravna himself being astonishingly austere.
The set designs partly explain the success of the movie, which really lies in its atmosphere. Something extremely perilous and weird permeates the movie for its all duration and this can be attributed to the beautiful effort of Alan Hume as Director of Photography, who conveys the autumnal colors of this Bavaria-on-Thames with taste and efficiency (he was the one who photographed the breathless Endor bike pursuit in Star Wars Episode VI). Don Sharp is much less lazy than Terence Fisher as director and tries to find different angles where to put his camera. Despite not being frenetically edited, "Kiss of the Vampire" never bores and its solid build-up makes the pay-off (the ball and all its consequences) very efficient.
Anthony Hinds's script is quite original and for once tries to get rid of one evil by conjuring another one - which is interesting and very un-van Helsing like.
The cast is adequate, but Evans and Willman are no Cushing or Lee. However, the fact that "lesser personalities" were hired tend to focus the attention on the film itself, and not the individual performances. The babes are actually more memorable than the men: Jennifer Daniel, Isobel Black and Jacquie Wallis are all beautiful and enigmatic, therefore very sexy.
Overall (and despite the general complaints on the special effects at the end - this did not bother me), "Kiss of the Vampire" holds its rank as a classic Hammer, at the same time loyal to its traditions but innovative in its treatment. Remember that Mario Bava, Antonio Margheriti and Corman/Price were heavy-hitters in the Horror competition at the time and that the space was not as empty as it was just ten years before. Therefore "Kiss..." deserves our admiration even more. A class-act, very highly recommended.

This 1962 movie from Hammer Studios is an ulta-stylish effort and it was their first vampire film that did not feature the name "Dracula" in its title.

Set in Bavaria, "Kiss Of The Vampire" is about a newly-wed couple, Gerald and Marianne Harcourt (played by Edward De Souza and Jennifer Daniel), who become mixed up with a vampire cult led by the enigmatic Doctor Ravna (Noel Willman). Fortunately for them though, a vampire expert called Professor Zimmer (Clifford Evans) is on the case and he has discovered an ancient manuscript which can be used to summon up the necessary forces to defeat the vampires....

This really is a wonderful film, from its memorable, atmospheric opening scene set in a cemetery to the spectacular climax involving a colony of bats (that was originally planned for "The Brides Of Dracula"). It is well acted by a great cast, some of whom appeared in other Hammer films, and it is confidently directed by Don Sharp. There are the usual amazing sets and lavish-looking production values, that belie the film's budget, that one would expect from a Hammer movie of this period.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who loves classy-looking, gothic horror movies that don't have to rely on bucketfuls of gore and high-tech special effects to be chilling and effective.