female vampire
lesbian vampire: clara crofton predates even carmilla as a female vampire who prefers female victims .
listen to ‘female vampire’ below and look for blood bitch september 30 via sacred bones .
if dawnguard is installed, vampires wear either vampire armor or vampire robes along with a pair of vampire boots .
kill the vampire: do menial work for sybille stentor by assaulting a vampire lair .
after coming across this title while scouring the web for vampire pictures i was intrigued by the atmospheric shots of the young female vampire in the forest (being more into ...
this unidentified female vampire was present at north hollywood billiards when angelus showed up the beast' end. she offers a blood drink to angelus for congratulations .
promotional poster for the 1931 film version of dracula depicting dracula’s numerous female victims ensnared in a web .
an erotic horror tale about a vixen vampiress seducing and killing women to appease her insatiable thirst for female blood .
along with the record announcement, hval also shared a new single called “female vampire. ” you can listen to that below, plus check out album art and upcoming tour dates .
one other possible contender could be his female vampire (1973), but with a title like this, how could i not include vampyros lesbos? and whereas the female vampire stars lina romay, this entry features franco’s stunningly beautiful, but ultimately tragic muse soledad miranda, who passed away far too young in a car accident not too long after the film was finished .
quickly plot a vampire romance storyline for a book or movie. storyline creator / young adult story writer / vampire story idea generator / novel plotter
victorian literature tends to present the vampire myth as a sexual allegory in which english female virtue is menaced by foreign predators. for example sheridan le fanu’s short story ‘carmilla’ (1872) places the virtuous english girl laura at the mercy of the predatory east european vampire of the title .
preemptive strike: destroy the vampire before it turns its allies. (radiant )
hide and seek: kill a vampire masquerading as a citizen. (radiant )
a lot of care was taken in finding suitably attractive female leads in other lesbian vampire productions, but they often fell flat when it came to casting their male counterparts. not so here, where fine actors like peter cushing, ferdy mayne, douglas wilmer, jon finch and john forbes - robertson complement the glamour on hand from the female stars .
remember that poll that would decide the next brand new character in the tekken franchise? well it looks like we have a winner - - the female vampire. right behind her were the
female tekken force
character, and shin kamiya, followed by the zombie bride (the latter of which could have had a really cool fighting style). the female vampire will being production shortly, and eventually, she' ll end up in the free - to - play tekken revolution. i' m eager to see how she plays, so expect some sort of impressions near her release .
protecting the bloodline: destroy a vampire before it turns its allies. (radiant )
was one of the original vampire penny dreadfuls (c. 1845 - 47) .
the good news is that almost all vampire romances follow the same template. enter a few keywords and we' ll automatically generate a synopsis for your vampire film or novel .
varney is also the first example of the
sympathetic vampire ,
a vampire who hates his night job but is a slave to it nevertheless — a theme which has become popular in modern vampire fiction. varney' s conflict eventually leads him to drastic action .
and lest we forget: without the vampire lovers we also would never have had steve coogan’s lesbian vampire lovers of lust from his dr. terrible' s house of horrible series .
blood bitch track list: 1. “ritual awakening” 2. “female vampire” 3. “in the red” 4. “conceptual romance” 5. “untamed region” 6. “the great undressing” 7. “period piece” 8. “the plague” 9. “secret touch” 10. “lorna”
while most vampires encountered will have the tell - tale signs of vampirism, such as black and red eyes, some have no outward displays of vampirism and can only be discovered with use of detect dead - or through lack of aura from detect life (like sybille stentor and alva, for example). all generic vampires are female; only boss - level vampires are male. the only exception to this is the vampire that appears in the
vampire trick
world interaction: this vampire uses the same data as the generic vampires below, but is always male instead of female .
female vampire is essentially a product of its time, 1970’s smut disguised with a horror backdrop, if you’re looking for blood and gore then this is not that film. overall, it’s pretty much an unexciting watch and aimed at an acquired taste .
having announced that a new record, blood bitch, will be released in september - - the follow up to 2015' s excellent apocalypse, girl - - norwegian artist and musician jenny hval has now revealed the video for first single female vampire .
a jarl' s justice: kill a vampire masquerading as a visiting advisor. (radiant )
the male vampire that appears during the
vampire trick
world interaction carries a leveled dagger (steel, orcish, dwarven. or elven) and may also carry some gold and a random scroll .
popular penny - dreadful varney the vampyre develops the vampire figure as sexually predatory and perverted, estimated 1854 .
this version seemed more sex focused, incorporating long, drawn out repetitive scenes with un - erotic, sleazy music played over the top of them that it felt tedious to watch. franco focuses the camera frequently on the female body and graphically female genitalia, this could either be argued as being exploitative or appreciative but it does have a grimy essence about it .
vampire lesbians, is there any creature more seductive, hypnotic or seductively sinful? jesus christ himself had to come back in the 2001 film jesus christ vampire hunter to protect canadian lesbians from the most provocative of predators .
vampires usually make their lairs in caves and other dark places, and may also be found gathered around ritual sites in the wilderness. they are often accompanied by mortals called vampire' s thralls. vampires usually attack on sight, even if you are also a vampire. if struck by a vampire' s vampiric drain spell, you can be infected with sanguinare vampiris, which, if not cured within three days, will transform you into a vampire .
skepticism failure: chillingworth plays this role, both with regard to the vampire and the literal interpretation of the bible .
what does eternity feel like? how do you' live' when there is no death ?
jenny asks in a statement accompanying the video release .
usually, the vampire is depicted as a lonesome, all - knowing and ancient creature combining violence, aggressive sexuality and deceitful youth. the pack behind the video for female vampire wanted to explore vampiric eternity in a different narrative: in a group of romancing friends .
french director jean rollin practically made an entire career out of the lesbian vampire sub - genre. with titles such as rape of the vampire (1969), the naked vampire (1970), the shiver of the vampires (1971) or lips of blood (1975) he managed to transform a one - track obsession into a lucrative cinematic career .
the story focuses on a vampire named orlando and is influenced by images of ’70s horror and exploitation films, as well as the goth pop and metal music. those qualities all burst on ‘female vampire’ – hval’s ghostly voice glides over a minimalist pulse of percussion, horns and glassy drones, both mesmerizing and fraught with tension. the album was co - produced with noise musician lasse marhaug who also collaborated with hval on the brilliant apocalypse, girl .
this little self - published gem is essentially vampire - nuanced adventure fantasy. darkly lyrical and deeply philosophical, it’s like r. a. salvatore’s drizzt do’urden saga—with teeth. i loved how bailey reimagined the vampire mythos in a classic adventure fantasy setting .
, while females become increasingly silent as they age. perhaps one should be grateful to anyone who allows a female character to have some glimmer of an inner life, let alone exist beyond the age of 30 .
while touring her previous album, the mesmerizing apocalypse, girl, hval discovered the obsessive, jazz - inspired world of iconic and prolific cult filmmaker jess franco and, taking its thematic cues and title from one of franco’s most famous films, “female vampire” was born, the perfect single for what is in essence a concept album about menstruation .
jenny hval has announced her new album blood bitch with the release of its haunting first single ‘female vampire’. hval describes blood bitch as a concept album inspired by blood and menstruation or “the white and red toilet roll chain which ties together the virgins, the whores, the mothers, the witches, the dreamers, and the lovers. ”
arethusa (2002) ‘”existential scoobies”, all things philosophical about buffy the vampire slayer’, urltoken accessed 17 / 11 / 02 .
i wrote something about it: what does eternity feel like? how do you ‘live’ when there is no death? usually, the vampire is depicted as a lonesome, all - knowing and ancient creature combining violence, aggressive sexuality and deceitful youth. the pack behind the video for ‘female vampire’ wanted to explore vampiric eternity in a different narrative: in a group of romancing friends. the vampire friends move through their hometown of oslo, partaking in public and private rituals of moving together. we also wanted to combine ideas from old vampire trash movies and modern trashy iphone videos, resulting in an enigmatic world of time - lapse like slow motion where everything is always moving, or moving on. not there, or not there yet .
though she is ultimately after psychiatrist dr jeffrey garth (otto kruger), she also approaches two possible female victims. that lesbian angle, not unsurprising for the time this was filmed in, is only ever so subtle, but clear enough to warrant an inclusion in this list. dracula’s daughter may be the first lesbian vampire on film, but she is also more importantly the first neurotic vampire as she seeks a psychological cure for what she considers a compulsive obsession for human blood .
if dracula’s daughter was the first cinematic lesbian vampire, blood and roses deserves the accolade for being the first truly sexual vampire movie. this is also the first time that sheridan le fanu’s novel carmilla was transferred to the silver screen, though in a modernised adaptation. from then on the name carmilla karnstein (or any of its variations such mircalla or marcilla) should soon become synonymous with female vampires in the same way that dracula is still the prototype for all male blood suckers .
selecting a film alternatively titled ‘the bare breasted countess’ with very little prior knowledge of its overall content was a shot in the dark! while being aware of the work of jess franco it’s not something wholly familiar to me. that said, it’s always good to expand on your horror tastes and go for something different to the usual, female vampire certainly was that !
i do not drink wine: the fact that varney doesn' t drink wine provides a clue early on that he is a vampire .
in the madeira island, the mute countess irina karlstein is the last descendant of the evil karlstein vampire family. she lives with her also mute servant and seems to be nymphomaniac, seeking for sex most of the time without satisfaction. irina likes oral sex with men and women to suck off not only semen, but apparently also blood, killing her male and female lovers .
trope makers: it introduced most of the modern vampire concepts like hypnotic ability, super strength, puncture wounds from fang bites, and going crazy if a long time passes without feeding. also, the concept of a reluctant vampire. stoker was inspired quite a bit by it .
indeed, hval uses the oft - underdeveloped character of the female vampire to explore desire, specifically how we can forget ourselves—oftentimes willingly—amid its pull. she slips towards a darker side with a declaration: “i’m so tired of subjectivity, i must justify my presence by losing it. ” and so she goes, letting a throbbing beat lead her into an unlit electronic expanse that seems endless, but not pitch black .
hammer’s the vampire lovers is an absolutely outstanding production on every level, featuring a pleasantly straightforward storyline that never descends to the forced plot - twists plaguing other entries in the sub - genre. aside from expert direction and cinematography, vampire lovers boasts the best assortment of actors ever to be found in these movies .
in the madeira island, the mute countess irina karlstein is the last descendant of the evil karlstein vampire family. she lives with her also mute servant and seems to be nymphomaniac, seeking for sex most of the time without satisfaction. irina likes oral sex with men and women to suck off not only semen, but apparently also blood, killing her male and female lovers. written by claudio carvalho, rio de janeiro, brazil
this brilliantly understated novel—self - published by nicolai in 2010—is a blend of vampire fiction, noir mystery, and deep existential speculation. revolving around a centuries - old vampire living in central california who becomes entangled in a mystery involving one of his victims, this novel will resonate with readers long after the reading experience is finished .
released in 1975, the film was a belgian - french production that starred franco’s wife lina romay in the title role. romay plays the countess irina von karlstein who instead of encompassing a thirst for blood, craves sex from both male and female victims in order to remain immortal .
the first novel in pelegrimas’s skinners saga, this novel was marketed as paranormal fantasy and while it certainly is that, it is also an epic reimagining of vampires and various other monstrosities. vampire fiction fans may never have even heard of this series before but at its heart, skinners is nothing short of revolutionary vampire - powered horror .
saphic sanguinarians started staking their claim in joseph sheridan le fanu' s novella carmilla (1872). from gloria holden’s magnetic eyes in dracula' s daughter (1936) through ingrid pitt’s sultry invitation in the vampire lovers (1970) to the revivalist lesbian vampire killers, the irresistible sirens have held an almost fetishistic fascination over moviegoers .
the vampire friends move through their hometown of oslo, partaking in public and private rituals of moving together. we also wanted to combine ideas from old vampire trash movies and modern trashy iphone videos, resulting in an enigmatic world of time - lapse like slow motion where everything is always moving, or moving on. not there, or not there yet .
phantasy spelling :
vampire
is sometimes spelled
vampyre .
justified, as the word was a neologism to english at the time, and had no established spelling or pronunciation .
masquerade the philosopher (2002), ‘kinds of evil in the buffyverse. all things philosophical on buffy the vampire slayer and angel the series’. urltoken accessed 10 / 11 / 02 .
, male characters have complex personalities as a matter of course; female characters, meanwhile, are occasionally permitted to be strong, hence anomalous. the more nuance we see, the better. even so, i’m tired of the veneration of men who fetishise real womanhood just as much as others fetishise the plastic variety .
hello perverts. welcome back. well since you’re here, i suppose that means you’re here to read a review about some top notch french exploitation film from the 1970’s, right? well i’ve ever been one to want to disappoint my readers, so let’s dive into the plot. “female vampire” (sometimes called the bare - breasted countess in europe) was a 1973 french erotic / horror film written and directed by jesus franco. it is the story of countess irna karlstein, a royal descendent of one of the oldest families in eastern europe. the countess is a mute and the last surviving heir of her bloodline. her family has a long history of terror and bloodlust, but the countess does not lust after blood, she lusts after people. the same way a vampire needs human blood in order to survive, countess karlstein needs sex in order to keep on living. this film is the cream of the cop in regards to sleazy 70’s exploitation. it has everything: eroticism, sexual tension and build - up, sexy vampires, and of course that classic 70’s bush. however, this film isn’t without its faults. in fact, here are 5 problems i had with the film “female vampire” .
this and its sequel, bride of the fat white vampire, are simply hilarious reads. featuring a 500 - pound, bloodsucking taxi driver named jules duchon, this story—set in new orleans—is as entertaining as it is audacious. the tagline for fat white vampire blues says it all: “he’s undead, overweight, and can’t get a date. ” you will never read anything quite like these novels…
all the same, i can’t help feeling this isn’t enough. we all know the joke about the male feminist who walks into a bar because it’s set so low. it’s all too easy to be “good at doing women” when all it takes is granting female characters the same desires and contradictions we’d grant to any other human being .
in the marvel universe, dracula' s predecessor as lord of the vampires was an ancient atlantean vampire named varnae, in a tip of the hat to the story of varney predating that of dracula .
the transformative nature of vampirism, and the autonomy that comes with it, is crucial. dracula had his captive brides, but usually, the lady vampire is an active, independent figure in her narrative; she holds the frame with that force of will. vampirism in film is largely its own occupation—cinematic vampires are consumed with the hunt for blood, the search for love, or the nature of immortality itself. a female vampire is, by default, a career woman. she might not always be elite (as with the blue - collar vampires of near dark), but vampirism provides her both goals and resources—a powerfully feminist combination. it also suggests freedom from prescribed sexual and social mores, a narrative pulp culture has never hesitated to explore .
the lustful - vampire sisterhood quickly became one of horror’s most popular low - budget tropes. it got a particularly explicit narrative in 1974’s vampyres, which is more concerned with the sex life of its lesbian couple than any vampire lore. but even that movie claims as its most uncanny moment a post - coital male victim awakening to find seductress fran (marianne morris) watching him with unblinking eyes, an inversion of the usual sexual gaze—both his and the camera’s. and in tony scott’s the hunger, one of cinema’s most stylish takes on the female vampire, miriam (catherine deneuve) sets aside david bowie himself in favor of the more modern dr. sarah (susan sarandon) —who decides she wants nothing to do with the lifestyle to which miriam’s consigned her. though scott’s original ending left it ambiguous whether anyone survived, mgm insisted on an epilogue that showed sarah making the most of the luxe afterlife, with miriam a half - living specter of her past .
do not let jenny hval ’s high, sweet, otherworldly coo fool you—she is out for blood. the experimental norwegian artist and writer’s last two (brilliant) albums, 2015’s apocalypse, girl. and 2013' s innocence is kinky, were rife with bold subversions on gender, religion, and sexuality. now she’s turned her attention toward something that on the surface sounds almost comical: a time - traveling vampire, whose scenes are set among horror and exploitation films of the 1970s. but on “female vampire, ” the first single from the forthcoming blood bitch * *, hval proves what many of her growing cult of fans know to be true: she’s “complex and intellectual, ” so if she' s fascinated with vampires, it' s certainly no gimmick .
our vampires are different: the rules of vampirism are quite different both from legend and modern vampire fiction. in particular, the idea that vampires can be healed by moonlight is almost never used in later works .
charles busch lightly spoofed them in the downtown stage play vampire lesbians of sodom. jesús franco exploited them in the 1971 west german - spanish horror film vampyros lesbos, starring soledad miranda as the countess nadine carody .
the vampire has always been a contradictory figure: on the one hand a repellent blood - sucking creature crawling from the grave, and, on the other, a strangely alluring representation of nocturnal glamour and potent sexuality. the very concept of vampirism horrifies and fascinates in seemingly equal measure, and much of this perverse duality stems from the most famous vampire novel of them all – bram stoker’s dracula, first published in 1897 .
amirpour’s vampire is not tormented by the agony of living for ever. she knows what she wants and is not unduly troubled by the existential crisis of immortality; neither is she the heroic underdog of let the right one in (2008). this vampire victimises and bullies a small child for his skateboard, terrifyingly hissing in his ear: “to the end of your life, i’ll watch you …” it’s a film with bite .
female vampire is pure sleaziness and while there is an audience for it as with any film, it held very little appeal. despite garnering a cult status, other than hardcore franco fans or film - goers with an appreciation for this sub - genre, it’s unclear if this film has a place with modern audiences due to its slow pace, monotonous scenes of dialogue and overall tone of dullness. romay is quite mesmerizing in certain shots, oozing an ethereal presence but it’s so thinly plotted that even a somewhat interesting performance isn’t enough to save it from mainly being a boring porno .
i described the first book in melton’s nightfall syndicate thusly: “imagine bram stoker writing a crime fiction epic, or mario puzo penning a vampire - powered thriller. blood vice is a perfect graft of noir fiction and paranormal fantasy…”
feminism has become so powerfully entwined with the pop - culture image of the woman vampire that it’s possible to remove the signifiers of vampirism and maintain a perfectly recognizable vampire narrative. park chan - wook followed up thirst (in which a female vampire is ruthless beyond death) with the connecticut gothic masterpiece stoker. the pitch - black comedy centers on the uncanny, incestuous, uncomfortably - erotic exchange of power between young india (played with exhausting alertness by mia wasikowska) and her sociopathic uncle charlie (matthew goode), who comes to town with a seductive fixation on india, just as the maternal figures in her life start mysteriously disappearing. india is initially seduced by his interest, but soon she discovers her real interest is in her own potential for destruction instead. (even her primary sexual experience is masturbation—this is a young woman decisively realizing codependence doesn’t suit her .) in her triumphant moment, she eclipses her male influencer, accepts her appetite for death, and learns at last to protect the women of the family—all without a fang in sight .
as ‘the very weirdest of weird tales’ – presents a series of contrasts and clashes between old traditions and new ideas. stoker uses the figure of the vampire as thinly - veiled shorthand for many of the fears that haunted the victorian
and we have our first uneasy moments as well, as our standard order of vampire lore and rule is disordered; if a vampire, like spike, can be solicitous of his lover, then it means he still has some humanity within. while we may shrug and say “nah, he’s evil” in a slayeresque dismissal, the impression stays with us, that, though supposedly soulless, there’s something soulful in this character (boyette, 2001, 7) .
she plays the otherwordly figure who lures ewa strömberg’s character away from her mundane existence in a series of ever more surreal (bit of a trend here) sequences. looks like i am quite comfortably in touch with my inner female, but am i the only one who feels that franco is a better costume designer than film maker? some of the fetishistic clothes on display alone warrant at least a cursory viewing .
with the anniversary of bram stoker’s death coming up in a few days (he died april 20, 1912), i thought it would be fitting to shine the light on some of the most under - appreciated vampire novels of all time .
the vampire is a complicated creature: caught between life and death, at once alluring and horrifying. greg buzwell considers the way the novel reflects the fears that haunted late 19th - century society – fears of immigration, sexual promiscuity and moral degeneration .
harry kumel’s daughters of darkness has the honour of being belgium’s first – if not only – true horror film. the country not known for producing anything else, ahem, stella other than beer has come up with a truly outstanding entry. daughters is loosely based on the bathory saga, and features delphine seyrig as the immortal countess travelling with a beautiful female companion (andrea rau) to a deserted off - season hotel in ostend .
the image of the cinematic vampire femme fatale is so ubiquitous, it’s strange to think that dracula’s daughter, its earliest iteration, was the only one of its kind for a generation. it becomes markedly less strange, though, when these characters are seen as dots on a timeline, with a rise in cinematic vampire women paralleling changing social attitudes about feminism. what easier form is there for an ambitious woman than a monster, and what better way to subvert derogatory attitudes then by making them infinitely powerful and alluring ?
it’s noteworthy, then, that a girl walks home alone at night was also released in 2014. its nameless vampire girl (sheila vand) is stranded in iran’s mythical bad city, a positively misandrist edge - of - the - wilderness town ringed by a ditch of men’s corpses. within its cultural context, the girl stalking the night and eliminating men who threaten women is such a feminist character that she doesn’t even need a name. her very presence is vengeance against violent men (mistreating a woman—or suggesting the intent to—is a one - way ticket), and the vampire is just the form in which that social resentment has been most recognizably made flesh. women still can’t safely walking home alone at night. the vampire - girl signals her supernatural nature simply by her fearlessness .
one wonderful thing about hval' s latter - day avant - pop music—her earliest work flirted with metal —is that she always brings a swirling openness to the sounds, even when they become heavy. her girl - mystic voice helps a bit with that, in that it automatically introduces a soft dynamic into something hard; that' s a big part of what makes “female vampire” so entrancing, but it' s not all. the pulse of this thing—with its growing mob of drum beats, echoes, and various sound effects—will take you over, so perfectly mimicking the subconscious scene hval evocatively captures. at the very end, she whispers, “it hurts everywhere, ” but at least it hurts so good .
boyette, michele (2001), ‘the comic anti - hero in buffy the vampire slayer, or silly villain: spike is for kicks’. slayage, the online journal of buffy studies, 4, december 2001. urltoken 'accessed 10 / 11 / 02 .
coming in the midst of second - wave feminist discussions of sexual freedom as crucial to an independent life, women’s eagerness to keep carmilla’s company suggests a mirror to political lesbianism, the movement that emerged within the second movement in which activists were encouraged to disown men altogether, regardless of sexual orientation. all three of carmilla’s targets abandon men’s attentions in carmilla’s favor. in that light, the film hints at a campy undead female solidarity. (the film beat the cult honeymoon - disaster tone - poem daughters of darkness to the post by a year: daughters also had the subtext of sisterhood at the expense of men, with vampire elizabeth bathory attempting to rescue a newlywed from the clutches of her abusive husband. )
utterly daft, a little sad, often erotic. i dare say you could complain about this film, but it is also one of the most influential and memorable vampire films of all time. ultimately this is an art film, with a beautiful setting, haunting music, classic moments like the little bat flapping its wings on the car, clever music cues highlighting the tragedy for the vampire of her victims dying. the casual nudity sometimes seems gratuitous, but oddly the sex scenes feel more like the director is making love to the actress ...
when the dawnguard add - on is installed, in addition to several new vampires being added, changes to the physical appearance of vampires from the base game will be seen. most vampires will have glowing yellow eyes and distorted faces, with bat - like noses, a red line from nose to chin, and ridges above their eyes (similar to dark elves). during the events of the dawnguard quests, vampires will attack some towns or cities. dawnguard also introduces the powerful vampire lords and the volkihar vampire clan as a fully fleshed out faction .
vampires may carry miscellaneous items, including lockpicks, potions, gems, jewelry, and books, and have a 50% chance to carry a small amount of gold. on death, vampires drop vampire dust and have a 15% chance to drop a leveled potion or poison .
on friday, a girl walks home alone at night, a semi - iranian film about a female vampire who predominantly attacks men who have exploited women, was released in the us. it’s quite clear that women’s rights are an extremely murky issue, still, in iran. it is not a country without protest or progress on the issue, and it is a place where women do vocally come forth and fight for agency. for that very reason, it’s hard, in watching a girl walks home alone at night, not to politicize its confluence of heavily loaded symbols. and it’s also hard not to see the film as a weak, if hypnotic, lynch - meets - jarmusch - meets - who - cares - meets - silverlake pastiche if you don’t .
last year, jenny hval released a new album called apocalypse, girl. she’s following it up this year with blood bitch. it’s out september 30 via sacred bones, and it features the below track, “female vampire. ” in a statement, hval called the album “an investigation of blood. ” she elaborated that the album is specifically about “the purest and most powerful, yet most trivial, and most terrifying blood: menstruation. the white and red toilet roll chain which ties together the virgins, the whores, the mothers, the witches, the dreamers, and the lovers. ” find the rest of her statement below along with the album' s artwork. hval has also announced a series of tour dates; she’s playing this year’s pitchfork music festival on july 16 .
although the new york times book review called it “among the genre’s few modern classics” and stephen king described it as “unputdownable, ” this landmark work seems to have flown under the radar for many vampire fiction fans. i hadn’t run across it until tor reissued it back in 2008—and i’m so thankful they did !
this remarkable debut novel from headley—which revisits cleopatra’s life (and death) as the roman empire was conquering egypt—is simultaneously a beautiful, glorious, and tragic love story; a unique work of literary fiction that fuses historical events with egyptian and greek mythology; and a dark fantasy that cleverly reimagines the vampire mythos .
i liked franco as a director and more importantly lina romay. this is probably one of francos better known efforts, however i find it drags in places as it has a dreamy and surreal quality to it. lina is great as always as the countess irina, but don' t expect lots of blood and scares. there are two versions of this film on the bd, the
bloodsucking
version known as
erotikill
, and the more adult orientated most well known version of
female vampire
. both are ok but unfortunately the print used here is still pretty bad, i believe though its the best available at this time. for those who need to know, the version featuring the h / c inserts is not on this edition. advertised as region 1, it will in fact play on uk players .
barcelona trio lewis and the strange magics will release their debut album, velvet skin, aug. 21 through soulseller records. the full - length follows last year’s impressive demo (review here), which was among my favorite short releases of 2014 and tapped into that beatles ian sabbath ery while managing to at the same time remain distinct from uncle acid, who one could reasonably argue are the foremost practitioners of the form. all three tracks from the demo will appear on the upcoming record, but the new song “female vampire” is the first i’m hearing from velvet skin and it proves even more individualized than the prior offering, the three - piece dug in deep to a circa - 1967 vision of lysergics that, in the clip, meets with circa - 1975 horror, the song taking its name from the title of a film released that year .
resistance to the text is not simply about what has already occurred on the screen but about the likelihood of what might occur based on past experience of the text. fan emotional investment in the character, and in the story they had hoped they were getting about spike’s redemption and his hoped - for winning of buffy’s heart, is in conflict with aspects of the story that they are being told. ultimately, in the case of this fan’s comment, the conflict involves questioning of the overtly feminist, female empowerment stance of the text itself .
some would argue the case that a top 10 of best lesbian vampire movies could easily be filled entirely with jess franco films and others would say that the terms “best” and “franco” are mutually exclusive. still, at least one of the spanish director’s productions warrants a place in this list, and none more so than vampyros lesbos .
vampire' s thralls are often encountered along with vampires, though they are not actually vampires themselves. all of the thralls are based off the data used for bandits (one - handed melee fighters, two - handed melee fighters, archers, and mages), so they use many different combat styles and can vary greatly in terms of strength, level, equipment, and known spells. they have their own faction and are considered friends to vampires. note that with one exception, thralls can never be
freed
. killing all of the vampires in the area will not make their thralls become non - hostile. however, if you are a werewolf and you encounter a vampire and its thrall while you are in beast form, you can kill the vampire, change back to human form, then draw and sheathe your weapon as if you were surrendering. this will cause the surviving thrall to cease hostility. [ verification needed — is this true, or even notable? ]
vampires also have an ability called
chill touch ,
which creates an ice hazard that deals 10 points of frost damage. all vampires of level 12 or higher have a leveled ability called
vampire touch
, which grants a constant fortify unarmed damage bonus. the
vampiric invisibility
spell allows vampires to become invisible for 20 seconds .
the bloodless vampire is more the exception than the rule, of course. the genre still eagerly returns to some common signifiers, even after the pulp taboo has lost its thrill: the enigmatic calmness, the subtle effects on the natural world, the gleaming blood, the supernaturally pale skin. (there’s feminist subtext to be found in movies featuring vampires of color—hollywood has doled out n’bushe wright’s dr. karen jenson, whose vampiric limbo in blade rallies her to the cause, lucy liu’s vengeful sadie in the d - movie rise: blood hunter, and more recently the girl from a girl walks home alone at night —but largely, cinematic vampirism is still a white woman’s game .) 2014’s only lovers left alive centers a quietly feminist vampire that embodies all these qualities: eve (tilda swinton), a bohemian dilettante with the calm mien of long and unquestioned autonomy. even her thirst is easily satisfied with bagged blood, with hunting as a last - ditch option; she’s a rare glimpse of the vampire with nothing left to rebel against .
perhaps, to analyse the story of buffy, the vampire slayer only in terms of the “onscreen text” may be, in terms of audience reception, a contraction of the buffyverse. spike fans are, more than “determined, active readers” of the buffyverse text, they ardently wrestle with it. joss whedon has talked of wanting interpretive passion from fans :
varney was an enormous influence on later vampire literature, such as dracula (1897) by bram stoker. many of today' s standard vampire tropes originated with varney: varney has fangs, leaves two puncture wounds on the necks of his victims, has hypnotic powers, and has superhuman strength. unlike later fictional vampires, he is able to go about in daylight and has no particular fear or loathing of crosses or garlic. he can eat and drink in human fashion as a form of disguise, but he points out that human food and drink do not agree with him. his vampirism seems to be a fit that comes on him when his vital energy begins to run low; he is a regular person between feedings .
the movie underperformed, and ended up being the last of universal’s initial run of classic - monster movies, but zaleska—longing to escape from patriarchal obligations—became the first onscreen vampire with a feminist agenda. appearing less than a generation after american suffrage, a mere eight years after full u. k. suffrage, and three years before countess zaleska could have voted in romania, that’s no small feat .
reportedly, neither scott nor sarandon approved of the ending, seeing it as too neat a finish for a story suffused with the visual entropy of addiction. but it was the beginning of a new era for the vampire femme fatale—one who sought to examine and understand her nature, and who often rejected her expected role, or asked the audience to reject their expectations. these were dracula’s granddaughters .
i’ve been reviewing science fiction, fantasy, and horror for almost 20 years now—and i’ve been reading the stuff obsessively since i was a kid—and during that time, i’ve discovered some jaw - droppingly good vampire novels. and the fascinating thing is that quite a few of my most memorable bloodsucking reads have been either self - published or released by a relatively small press—including more than half of the titles listed below .
co - produced with acumen noise producer lasse marhaug, blood bitch is in many respects a complete 180° from her last album, apocalypse, girl in subject matter, execution and production. it is hval’s most focused album, but the lens is filtered through a gaze which the viewer least expects. jenny hval has developed her distinct take on intimate sound since the release of her debut album in 2006. for her last two solo albums, hval has received thoughtful and widespread international acclaim for her fascinating voice, singular delivery and markedly non - traditional arrangements which incorporate elements of poetry, prose writing, performance art, and film. she eloquently brings to light issues of both male and female gaze .
while the film ignores some of the classic vampire clichés (no sign of fangs anywhere), it also playfully acknowledges the classic lore: as vampires are generally allergic to running water, a visit to a shower proves to have a tragic outcome. (not a problem that the vampyres ladies seem to share .) similar to the shining, the elegant, but empty hotel adds tremendous value to the painfully beautiful atmosphere .
i think doing good counts, even if all the motives aren’t clean. it still matters to the world. the powers that be may be dragging spike (albeit kicking and screaming) to his higher purpose through his love for buffy. what greater irony or punishment can there be for a vampire who’s killed two slayers, than to find himself in love with a third, striving to help her in her work for the rest of his existence. and, as for her. she who has problems with being high and mighty and full of pride and prejudice, what could bring her down to earth better than to tie her in love to a vampire who’s working to change himself even though that change is * supposed * to be impossible. the powers that be obviously have a sense of humor. (mary anne, tabula rasa) .
i described rowe’s debut novel as “a dark masterpiece that virtually burns the pages with a bloody incandescence. ” set in 1972, the story begins in the guise of a relatively conventional fiction narrative following three broken—and broke—characters on a trek from toronto to parr’s landing, a little mining town in “the middle of nowhere” on the shores of lake superior in northern ontario. this will be one of the best vampire novels you ever read .
but fate reverses arash’s fortunes, both financial and romantic, and he finds himself in the woman’s bedroom with posters that appear to be classic shots of madonna and michael jackson – but, oddly, not quite. arash wants to make her a present of earrings and she allows him to pierce her ears with a safety pin sterilised with a flame from his zippo lighter – a romantic switching of the vampire - vampiree physical relations .
again, like fevre dream, how can an award - winning novel (the golden won the 1994 locus award for best horror novel) written by a genre fiction icon be under - appreciated? for whatever reason, this vampiric masterpiece seems to be a novel that many vampire fiction lovers have overlooked. i described this one as “a dark, poetic phantasmagoria of nightmarish images, brutal violence, and unholy sensuality not to be missed. ”
there is a character in this story that is a vampire orlando, traveling through time and space. but there is also a story here of a 35 - year old artist stuck in a touring loop, and wearing a black wig. she is always up at night, jet lagged, playing late night shows – and by day she is quietly resting over an arp odyssey synthesizer while a black van drives her around europe and america .
there is a character in this story that is a vampire orlando, traveling through time and space. but there is also a story here of a 35 - year old artist stuck in a touring loop, and wearing a black wig. she is always up at night, jet lagged, playing late night shows - and by day she is quietly resting over an arp odyssey synthesizer while a black van drives her around europe and america .
i’ve always been a sucker for stories which explore the grey area between good and evil, and for characters who are pitted against themselves as much as against any external enemies. and boy, is spike pitted against himself, far more than any human character in a similar situation could be. drusilla made william a vampire; william remade himself into spike. throughout season five, in the face of considerable contempt and discouragement on the part of the good guys, spike’s been remaking himself again into - what? we’re not entirely sure yet; the work is still in progress. from a storytelling standpoint, i think it would be a cardinal mistake for the writers to give him a soul. that story has already been told. we know what happens when a vampire gains a soul. the reason spike’s story is so fascinating is that we are exploring just how far a being can go in the direction of good without one. (cummings, 2001) .
though some filmmakers (like jean rollin) explored this connection through original mythology, many drew on foolproof source material. sheridan le fanu’s 1872 novel carmilla is a playground of psychosexual gothic tropes, including a lesbian vampire whose desire for a milquetoast ingenue eventually blows her cover. carmilla is a mysterious firebrand perfectly suited to cinema about women’s taboo appetites. roger vadim adapted it as the surreal, slightly straightwashed baroque feature blood and roses, but perhaps the most familiar exploration is 1970’s the vampire lovers. a more - faithful - than - expected hammer adaptation of carmilla, it follows enigmatic carmilla (frequent hammer star ingrid pitt) as she ingratiates herself with virgins of the country gentry, drawing them away from fiancés and fathers, and putting them under her influence. with carmilla seducing victims in a very literal sense, that influence is largely erotic, to nobody’s surprise: the source material is sapphic, the studio is hammer, and the gaze of the lens is male .
always looking out for something new, interesting or weird, i came upon watching some movies by joe d' amato (11 days 11 nights series). these were so very bad, boring and uninventive that at least i could cry out: i' ve finally found the world' s worst director. not many weeks passed by when i watched les avaleuses (female vampire). wow! first i tried my super - magic - button: play with sound but 1. 4 times faster (something i never ever do except for joe d' amato). it didn' t help. the dialogue was so very thin, i couldn' t bear it. i cannot remember ever experiencing something like this, all together: extremely 1. bad actors; 2. senseless, stupid script; 3. awful soundtrack; 4. bad direction and 5. absolutely nothing to say. not more than 1 year ago i thought the worst movie was o. c. and stiggs, but after having watched d' amato and franco i kind of like the altman - film a bit. at least there' s a drop of fun with dennis hopper in it. so the good news is: jesus franco you did it: les avaleuses is the worst film ever...
female vampire is a 1975 french-belgian film directed , written and co-edited by jesús franco . it was made in 1973 , but was only distributed two years later . the film is set in europe and stars actress lina romay as irina von karlstein , a vampire who has sex with both male and female victims . in an unusual variation of the vampire myth , karlstein performs oral sex on her victims until they die , draining them of their sexual fluids . three versions of the film were shot --- straight horror , horror mixed with sex and the hardcore pornography version . franco 's original title for the film was the bare breasted countess , but it was released under many different titles over the years . the film was shown as the bare breasted countess at the 2009 fantastic fest in the united states . the title was later changed to female vampire for its dvd release . 
female vampire is a 1975 french-belgian film directed, written and co-edited by jesús franco. it was made in 1973, but was only distributed two years later. the film is set in europe and stars actress lina romay as irina von karlstein, a vampire who has sex with both male and female victims. in an unusual variation of the vampire myth, karlstein performs oral sex on her victims until they die, draining them of their sexual fluids. three versions of the film were shot --- straight horror, horror mixed with sex and the hardcore pornography version. franco's original title for the film was the bare breasted countess, but it was released under many different titles over the years. the film was shown as the bare breasted countess at the 2009 fantastic fest in the united states. the title was later changed to female vampire for its dvd release.
female vampire is a 1975 french-belgian film directed, written and co-edited by jesús franco. it was made in 1973, but was only distributed two years later. the film is set in europe and stars actress lina romay as irina von karlstein, a vampire who has sex with both male and female victims. in an unusual variation of the vampire myth, karlstein performs oral sex on her victims until they die, draining them of their sexual fluids. three versions of the film were shot --- straight horror, horror mixed with sex and the hardcore pornography version. franco's original title for the film was the bare breasted countess, but it was released under many different titles over the years. the film was shown as the bare breasted countess at the 2009 fantastic fest in the united states. the title was later changed to female vampire for its dvd release.