No woman alive is safe from the most frightening fiend in the history of horror!
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Producers Baker and Berman seem to have taken a long, hard look at The Curse of Frankenstein … presumably in the attempt to find out what made it tick. Unfortunately, it was far too early to discern the underlying approach which had made Curse so revolutionary, and the best Blood of the Vampire can manage is a flavourless, though reasonably opulent, recreation of the Hammer ‘look’.
Jonathan Rigby, English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015 (Signum Books, 2015) -
It’s a shade better than some of its class, but the lumpy direction, muddled plot and slow pace make it look much worse now than it did when it was new. … It’s a jumble of science fiction and horror themes … But none of these imbue the film with any interest; the story lurches from point to point, without the kind of intelligent enthusiasm that infused the best—and sometimes the worst—Hammer films. This is horror by the book, circa 1958, and it’s pretty drab.
Bill Warren, Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, the 21st Century Edition (McFarland, 2010) -
This was the first concentrated effort by another company to imitate Hammer’s Gothic horror films. Blood of the Vampire has all of Hammer’s colorful trappings but lacks their pacing and style, despite an interesting screenplay by Jimmy Sangster.
Gary A. Smith, Uneasy Dreams: The Golden Age of British Horror Films, 1956-1976 (McFarland, 2000)
Selected disc options for Blood of the Vampire
Extras | Scream Factory BD-A/US 2022 | Nucleus BD-B/UK 2022 | Artus BD-B/FR 2021 | Dark Sky DVD-0/US 2006 |
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Audio Commentary by Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby | has extra | |||
Audio Commentary by Writer Jimmy Sangster and Producer Robert S. Baker, Moderated by Marcus Hearn | has extra | has extra | ||
“Blood of the Vampire” par Nicolas Stanzick | has extra | |||
Le vampire Callistratus par Alain Petit | has extra | |||
He Begins Where Dracula Left Off - Interview with Jonathan Rigby | has extra | |||
Sangster and the Censor - Interview with Jonathan Rigby | has extra | |||
Alternate French Opening Title Sequence and End Credits | has extra | has extra | ||
Alternate Italian Opening Title Sequence | has extra | |||
“Dr. Terror’s Vault of Horror” - BBC TV introduction | has extra | |||
Barbara Shelley Trailer Reel | has extra | |||
Malia Italian Fotoromanzo Magazine | has extra | |||
Stills Gallery [Artus] | has extra | |||
Stills Gallery [Nucleus] | has extra | |||
Biography: Actor Donald Wolfit - Written by Christopher Gullo | has extra | |||
Biography: Actress Barbara Shelley - Written by Christopher Gullo | has extra | |||
Biography: Producers Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman - Written by Christopher Gullo | has extra | |||
Biography: Writer Jimmy Sangster - Written by Christopher Gullo | has extra | |||
Theatrical Trailer | has extra | has extra |
Notes
- Scream Factory’s Blu-ray contains no extras.
- Nucleus’ Blu-ray “Barbara Shelley Trailer Reel” includes trailers for Cat Girl (1957), The End of the Line (1957), The Camp on Blood Island (1958), The Village of the Damned (1960), The Shadow of the Cat (1961), Postman’s Knock (1962), The Gorgon (1964), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966), Quatermass and the Pit (1967) and Ghost Story (1974).
- Artus’ Blu-ray is available in two Mediabook editions, each containing an 86-page booklet with writing by Alain Petit (“L’age D’or du British Gothic”, “‘Le sang du vampire’, un Fabuleux Classique à Découvrir”) in French.
- Dark Sky’s “Drive-In Double Feature” DVD also includes The Hellfire Club (1961). Trailers included: The Hellfire Club (1961), The Horror of Party Beach (1963), Dog Eat Dog! (1964), Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965), The Soldier (1965) and Kill, Baby... Kill! (1966).
Ultimate Edition
Combine the best digital presentation with a selection of choice extras for the ultimate edition.
Presentation |
Scream Factory BD 2022
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Nucleus BD 2022
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Artus BD 2021
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Extras | Audio Commentary by Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby Nucleus BD |
Audio Commentary by Writer Jimmy Sangster and Producer Robert S. Baker, Moderated by Marcus Hearn Nucleus BD | |
He Begins Where Dracula Left Off - Interview with Jonathan Rigby Nucleus BD | |
Sangster and the Censor - Interview with Jonathan Rigby Nucleus BD | |
Alternate French Opening Title Sequence and End Credits | Nucleus BD|
Alternate Italian Opening Title Sequence | Nucleus BD|
“Dr. Terror’s Vault of Horror” - BBC TV introduction | Nucleus BD|
Barbara Shelley Trailer Reel | Nucleus BD|
Malia Italian Fotoromanzo Magazine | Nucleus BD|
Stills Gallery [Artus] | Artus BD|
Stills Gallery [Nucleus] | Nucleus BD|
Biography: Actor Donald Wolfit - Written by Christopher Gullo | Dark Sky DVD|
Biography: Actress Barbara Shelley - Written by Christopher Gullo | Dark Sky DVD|
Biography: Producers Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman - Written by Christopher Gullo | Dark Sky DVD|
Biography: Writer Jimmy Sangster - Written by Christopher Gullo | Dark Sky DVD|
Theatrical Trailer | Nucleus BD
Disc reviews
Disc discussions
- Blu-ray.com Forum (Scream Factory)
- The Classic Horror Film Board (Scream Factory / Nucleus)
- The Latarnia Forums