The Vampire Lovers

The Vampire Lovers is a 1970 horror film based on the short story "Carmilla"by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.

The film has two sequels:" Lust for a Vampire "(orig." Lust for a Vampire") and "Twins of Evil" (orig. "Twins of Evil").

The action takes place in Styria of the XIX century. After the Carnstein blood-sucking family kidnaps Baron Hartog's sister, he goes on a quest to end her torment. After opening the coffins of the vampires, he drives an aspen stake into their chests. Only young Mircalla, whose coffin Hartog could not find, manages to escape punishment.

A few years later, she appears under the name of Marcilla to General Spielsdorf and meets his niece Laura. The girls develop a lesbian relationship, which turns out to be dangerous for Laura: one day she is found completely drained of blood. Mircalla disappears, but after a while reappears under the name of Carmilla and meets Laura's best friend Emma Morton. When Emma's father Roger leaves the house for a while and goes on business, Carmilla manages to lure Emma, as well as her governess, into her net.

Manager Renton, concerned about what is happening, contacts the doctor and, despite the latter's skepticism, takes measures that are considered effective against vampires in this area, and also reports what is happening to the owner. But it's too late. Emma is found drained of blood, but still alive, and Renton, along with Spielsdorf and Hartog, as well as Laura's former fiance Karl, go in search of Carmilla. The young man tries to save Emma by decapitating the vampire, but she disembodies and avoids the attack. Meanwhile, Hartog, the General, and Morton find Mircalla's coffin. Spielsdorf drives an aspen stake into her chest and then beheads her.

According to the backstory of the film, a whole family of vampires lived in the family estate in the Duchy of Styria. By the time the story begins, all of them are presumed dead, except for a woman named Mircalla, whose grave could not be found.

The vampire sleeps in a coffin, sometimes going out to hunt. She materializes next to the coffin of blue smoke, wrapped in a shroud. After throwing it off, she goes hunting, and when she returns, she must wrap herself in it again, otherwise she will not find peace.

The vampire catches up with her victims at night, and can both kill instantly and drink blood for a long time (several days). She is attracted to young girls, fascinates them and causes addiction, which they take for reciprocal feelings. With such girls, the vampire enters into a sexual relationship, gradually drinking their blood from a vein on the chest, as evidenced by two small wounds on the victim's chest. The girl does not always realize her connection with the vampire, as she comes to her at night in the form of a huge gray cat, which gradually leans on her chest, not allowing her to move. The victim gradually weakens and dies after a few nights.

Other people are killed by the vampire in the traditional way, biting in the neck. People who die from the actions of a vampire do not turn into vampires themselves.

The full moon is constantly shown in the film, but it is never said that vampires act during the full moon. Unlike modern ideas, the vampire does not lead a predominantly nocturnal lifestyle: during the day she lives and acts like a normal person, and at night she goes out to hunt.

The vampire is afraid of the smell of garlic flowers and crosses (not only crucifixes, but also just objects in the shape of a cross), and also has an aversion to religious chants. She does not like direct sunlight, but can be outside during the day, trying to stay in the shade. At the sight of the cross, she can dematerialize, gradually disappearing into the air, and move to her crypt.

You can kill a vampire by piercing his heart with a wooden stake or cutting off his head. After death, the portrait of the vampire in the family estate changes: instead of a blooming beautiful woman, a skeleton with huge fangs appears on it.

In addition to Mircalla, there are two other characters in the film who are supposedly vampires: the vampire's companion, who leaves her with one or another girl, as well as a dark-haired rider with a pale face. The plot does not reveal the history of these characters and does not provide convincing information about their belonging to the vampire family.