Vampire Circus (1972)

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

The greatest movie ever made..!

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

After witnessing his wife take a child into the castle of Count Mitterhaus (Robert Tayman), Albert Muller (Laurence Payne) rouses the villagers to his cause, and they stake Mitterhaus, a vampire, killing him. With his last dying breath, the Count curses the villagers, claiming they and their children will all die to bring him back to life. Fifteen years later, the village is riddled with plague, but the arrival of a travelling circus lifts their spirits. During one of their performances, the village is treated to a panther who turns into a man, Emil (Anthony Higgins), a clown dwarf, a strongman (played by Darth Vader himself, David Prowse), and twins that can change into bats. But when the mayor (Thorley Walters) goes into the hall of mirrors, he has vision of the returning Count Mitterhaus.By 1972, Hammer Studios was on the decline. Audiences were gaining more sophisticated tastes, and their lust for blood was being appeased in mainstream films, who were beginning adopt a more realistic approach towards violence. Hammer, naturally, tried to evolve and survive, and were abandoning their traditional period settings (one of the things they were known for), updating things to 'Swinging' London. This led to the catastrophic Dracula, A.D. 1972 (1972), and so they opted to focus more on the sexual side to draw the audiences. Thankfully, they had one good film left in them, which went back to a period setting, and told a slightly macabre, unconventional vampire story, that is rich in both gore and sexual content.This tale of lust-ridden vampires who gleefully kill children amongst a plague-ridden landscape is surprisingly dark given my previous experience of Hammer's output. Not to say previous films are 'camp', but they are played out with such theatrical vigour that they do have elements of camp, and although there are moments of this in Vampire Circus, this has a much more sinister feel to it. However, as lovely as the cinematography is (as always), and as pleasingly twisted the plot happens to be, this is still very predictable fair, most of which has been done far better in the past. But there is a clear reason why this has a strong cult following, it is certainly memorable, and despite it's many flaws, has all the elements present to why I love Hammer.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

This was an entertaining Hammer film that I recently watched. Essentially, the plot is about revenge. The film starts with the townspeople assaulting the castle of the nearby count who has been preying upon the people of the town for some time. After a fight, they are able to drive a stake through his heart. Then they burn the castle down, but not before the dying vampire utters a curse on the townspeople.Spoilers:Additionally, the count tells one of his women to seek out his cousin who lives with the Circus of Nights, that he will know what to do.15 years later, the circus arrives (no idea why it took 15 years for the circus to avenge the count but no matter). The town is already suffering from a strange illness (part of the curse) and the circus is there to finish the job by slowly killing off the children of those who attacked the count. Evidently, once everyone has been killed, the count will rise again.There are some great death scenes (slightly cheesy with cheap effects, but fun regardless). What I liked about this movie was that it was just fun. The sets were well-done for a cheap budget and the whole tone of the film was creepy. This movie has what a lot of modern horror movies lack, which is a genuine horror feel to it. I think you have to watch one of these old Hammer horror films with a few things in your mind upfront. The first is that in the 70's, they didn't believe in having their actors LOOK like they were from a different time period. A lot of the actors in this film have 70's hair, which give it that dated look that most 70's films have. Doesn't ruin the movie, just funny.The second is that the blood if obviously fake...bright red, but hey, at the time, it was enough to almost make these movies un-releasable.The third is that at times, the acting can be rather poor. Again, it doesn't ruin the movie, just kinda funny.Also much has been made about the very graphic nudity/sex scenes, but the version I watched apparently has been edited as the early scene with the young girl did not include much of what the parental advisory indicated. Also, the sex scene appeared to be truncated as well...so I think there are edited versions out there, if that matters to you.

In Nineteenth Century Europe , at a Servian little town called Schtettle and surroundings have been committed several murders and neighbours think the guilty seems to be the count Mitterhaus (Robert Tayman) . When professor Albert Muller (Laurence Payne) watches how his wife Anna and daughter go into a castle , townsfolk (Thorley Walters , among others) enter to rescue them . They get to kill the sinister vampire count but he promises a grisly curse . Fifteen years later the bloodsucker's curse is carried out on descendants (John Moulder-Brown , Lynne Frederick) . Schtettle (same place from 'Twins of evil') people are dieing for strange illness and the place is quarantined . A village is at first relieved when a circus breaks through the quarantine to take the local's minds off the plague . Only the ¨Circus of nights¨ (Adrienne Corri , Anthony Corlan , David Prowse) passes the limits to bring happiness and joy . The circus appears in the isolated location , but early instead of bringing fun and amusement , the circus brings only misery , mutilation and death . ¨The circus has various animals and attractions as 'Hall of Mirrors', and 'Mirror of life' . It seems all the members are bloodsuckers who have the unique ability to become themselves into animals . They intend to take vendetta on the village , whose inhabitants murdered their ancestor several years formerly .This vampire film contains thrills , chills , suspense , creepy events and is quite entertaining . From important production companies as ¨Rank¨ and ¨Hammer Films¨ that took two plots , one about an eerie circus and the other about bloodsucker depredations and cobbled them together enough well . There are some fine scenes , as the dancing of the panther woman and and other fantastic ones as the deeds in a Hall of Mirrors . Enjoyable performance for all casting , Adrienne Corri as a circus ringmaster , she subsequently worked in 'Clockwork orange' ; Anthony Corlan as a panther man , he has a long career as Anthony Higgings ; Thorley Walters , a Hammer usual ; Lynne Frederick who married and inherited to Peter Sellers , though she died early ; David Prowse as a strongman , he posteriorly became famous as Darth Vader's Star Wars . Colorful cinematography by Grant , made at Pinewood studios , Shepperton , London , England . Creepy and frightening musical score by David Whitaker .The motion picture produced by Michael Carreras is well directed by Robert W. Young who has a mediocre career with average titles as ¨Hostage¨ , ¨Scandalous ¨, The world is full of married men¨ ; however ¨Vampire circus¨ is a good yarn and results to be his best film . Hammer film buffs will no doubt recognise this film is one of the best of the Terror House .

By the early 1970s, Hammer's Dracula franchise was definitely beginning to wind down, with such lackluster entries as Dracula A.D. 1972 and the Satanic Rites of Dracula (both ill-conceived attempts to update Dracula to the 20th century). At the same time, however, the studio was releasing a number of more imaginative vampire movies, of which Vampire Circus is a prime example.Hammer returns to its Gothic roots here, with the setting a 19th-century Serbian village. Count Mitterhaus, an evil vampire who has been terrorizing the countryside, gets his just due in the first 15 minutes but lays a curse on the villagers and their children. Fast forward 15 years, and the village is now plagued by a mysterious illness that is decimating its population. And then the circus comes to town.The circus motif is quite imaginative and takes the story in a very different direction than the standard vampire film. The oddball characters, exotic animals, and various circus acts are quite entertaining, while the connection between the circus and the deceased (or is he?) Count soon becomes apparent. There are numerous scary moments and gruesome deaths before the final denouement.I am surprised that this movie received a PG-rating in the United States, because the violence and nudity are abundant. Its major flaw is the absence of a compelling hero in the mold of Van Helsing or a villain of the caliber of Dracula. The acting, however, is first-rate, quite up to the standards expected of Hammer films. The film is handsomely produced, very atmospheric, and thoroughly enjoyable. Vampire Circus has been out of circulation for some time, but it showed up recently in the On Demand section of my local cable station. Although I've known about this movie since its release, and heard many good things about it, this is the first opportunity I've had to view it. It's great to have the Circus back in town!