Lust for a Vampire

Lust for a Vampire (another translation of the title is Lust For a Vampire) is a 1971 horror film based on the classic novel Carmilla by the 19th-century Irish writer Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.

The film is a sequel to the 1970 film The Vampire Lovers.

The final film of the trilogy is the picture" Twins of Evil "(English" Twins of Evil"), released in 1971.

Austria, 1830. A sweet village girl is taken away in a black carriage and sacrificed, so that Carmilla will rise from the dust…

In search of material for his novels about witches and other evil spirits, the writer Richard Lestrange – a loving and frivolous handsome man-stops in the village, where he learns that here "you should avoid meeting strangers": the abandoned Karnstein Castle is located nearby. The castle is notorious for its former owners-vampires and black magicians, who were last seen 40 years ago. And recently a girl disappeared again… The fear of the villagers arouses Lestrange's interest and, despite warnings, he visits the castle, where he meets three mysterious strangers, who, fortunately, turn out to be just pupils of the local boarding school, headed by Miss Simpson. The girls went on a tour of the castle with a history and art teacher, Mr. Giles Barton, who studies genealogy and in particular the history of the Karnstein family. The writer accompanies them to the school, where Barton introduces him to the teachers and students. At this moment, accompanied by Countess Herritzen, a new girl arrives – her niece Mircalla – and Lestrange falls in love with her at first sight. In order to achieve a reciprocal feeling, he is tricked into getting a job as a literature teacher at school.

Soon, Mircalla's roommate, Susan, disappears. Barton finds her body and ... hides it in a well. He suspects that she fell victim to Mircalla and, after studying the ancient folios, guesses that she is one of the Karnsteins. Her real name is Carmilla, and she died 120 years ago at the age of 22, while still a vampire. In love, Barton is ready to go over to the side of the forces of darkness and serve Mircalla, but that servant is not needed, and she takes his life. Lestrange finds the notes of the teacher with whom he lived in the same room, and then explains to Mircalla, but this does not lead to his death, but to a love relationship with the girl.

Meanwhile, Miss Simpson is alarmed by the disappearance of Susan and the death of Barton, who was her companion. She does not want to take out the trash from the hut, and interested in the same Countess Herritsen resorts to the services of supposedly her personal doctor, but in fact Count Karnstein-a black magician. He fabricates the necessary death certificate. However, physical education teacher Janet Playfair calls a police officer-a conscientious inspector Heinrich. He finds Susan's body in the well, but ends up dying there himself. Susan is hastily buried, and once again Miss Simpson has a convenient death certificate in her hands. Janet is not satisfied and forces Miss Simpson to write to the girl's father, Mr. Pelley. He arrives with Dr. Hertz and, not believing the conclusion about Susan's death, gets her body exhumed. Hertz sees traces of vampire fangs on the neck of the corpse, but is forced to confirm the conclusions of a "colleague" about death as a result of cardiac arrest.

Meanwhile, the village is seething with incomprehensible deaths. The old bishop, who has stopped in the passage, responds to the calls of the crowd and gathers the inhabitants to deal with the Karnsteins. The Countess and the count hurry to leave, but it is too late – and they, along with Mircalla, seek shelter in an abandoned castle, which, despite the admonitions of His Eminence, is set on fire by the villagers, although the fire can not harm the vampires. Richard, trying to save his beloved, runs to the castle, where she attacks him at the behest of the count. However, the burning ceiling collapses, and a fragment of a beam breaks through Mircalla's chest. Shocked, Lestrange is unable to leave, but Mr. Pelly rushes to his aid and leads him out of the conflagration, where the Count and Countess remain.

The vampires shown in the film are close to the classic description. They attack a nearby village every 40 years and feed on people's blood, biting them in the carotid artery. Vampires have long fangs that can only be seen at the moment of attack. Before attacking, the vampire enchants the victim; in addition, one of them can enchant the other by controlling his behavior.

Vampires are not afraid of sunlight and walk quietly during the day. They are afraid of crucifixes, but the inverted cross does not pose a threat to them. Fire can't harm a vampire, and you can only kill them by sticking a wooden stake through their heart or cutting off their head. After that, the vampire's body quickly decays.

Apparently, a dead vampire can be brought back to life. To do this, you need to perform a special ritual: pour his decayed corpse with the blood of an innocent girl and read a spell. Probably, the ritual can be performed only 40 years after the death of a vampire, which can explain the cyclical nature of their attacks on people.