Set in nineteenth-century Europe a Finishing School for young ladies enrol a new girl named Mircalla who has some of the new students spellbound and also the new English teacher Richard Lestrange who just happens to be an well-renown author of horror books who takes on this position to be close to her. Incidents start occurring, and the town's folk blame the nearby castle ruins of Karnstein for the disappearances and deaths. "Lust for a Vampire" is one of Hammer's lesser know horror productions and you can probably see why when watching it. It's a solid, if unremarkable film. The tale is about the fatal reincarnated vampire beauty Carmilla (their second attempt of three - "Vampire Lovers" and "Twins of Evil"), seductively played by the hypnotic Yutte Stensgaard with also strong classy showings by Ralph Bates, Suzanna Leigh, Michael Johnson and Barbara Jefford. Director Jimmy Sangster puts plenty of emphasis erotic lesbianism, topless nudity and horrific imagery tied together by the tragic love between the central characters Mircalla and Richard. The script stays interesting in its mystery, infatuation and superstitious framework, although moments do have a chopped about feel to them. It's lushly produced and stylishly atmospheric in its picturesque set-pieces with precisely fluid camera-work. The colour red seems to be vibrantly presented in some gorgeously staged scenes. "There's evil in that castle. And there always will be".

The lesbian vampire was invented in 1872 by the Irish writer Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu in his novella "Carmilla". Of course, Victorian codes of literary propriety forbade direct discussion of sexual matters, so the lesbianism in his story is implied rather than explicit, but anyone reading it will be left in no doubt that Le Fanu's anti-heroine is romantically attracted to her own sex. It was, however, to be nearly a century before the cinema could take advantage of his invention. Victorian values persisted long after the end of the Victorian era, with the Hollywood of the Production Code being one of their last bastions, and until the 1960s making a film about lesbian vampires would have been as unthinkable as making a film about lesbian anything else. Cinematic vampires were generally male and sexless; I doubt if anyone ever regarded Bela Lugosi as a sex symbol. With the coming of the permissive society, however, things changed. Cinematic vampires no longer had to be gaunt, cadaverous, Transylvanian Counts but could now be sexy, voluptuous young ladies with a fondness for other sexy, voluptuous young ladies. ("Fangs for the Mammaries"....) Hammer's "The Vampire Lovers" from 1970 is a film of this type. This blend of horror and eroticism was popular at the box office so hammer decided to make a sequel. The fact that Le Fanu had not actually written a sequel to "Carmilla" proved no drawback, and the studio concocted a plot in which Carmilla Karnstein, having been restored to life through the use of diabolical magic, becomes a pupil at a girls' finishing school under the name "Mircalla", where she proceeds to wreak havoc among the other pupils, the staff and the inhabitants of the nearby village. Hammer were later to make a third film in the so-called Karnstein Trilogy, "Twins of Evil", although this film does not feature either lesbianism or the character of Carmilla. Miss Simpson's academy is the sort of fantasy girls boarding school beloved of erotic film-makers- it operates a strictly selective admissions policy, with selection taking place on the basis of looks rather than academic ability, the students are allowed to stay at school until their late twenties rather than leaving at eighteen, the gym mistress is as youthful as any of her pupils, and the school uniform (improbably, given that the action is supposed to take place in 1830) consists of the flimsiest, most diaphanous robes imaginable. The sex scenes are fairly tame, although there is plenty of toplessness and a couple of brief scenes of full nudity.Today there is a tendency in literature and the cinema to make vampires sympathetic. If "The Vampire Lovers" were to be remade today it would probably resemble a Sapphic version of "Twilight" with Carmilla, now a heroine rather than anti-heroine, portrayed as a soulful, sensitive, misunderstood creature, deeply in love with her mortal girlfriend Laura. This tendency, however, had not yet got going in the seventies, so the vampires in the Karnstein trilogy, although sexy, are still portrayed as evil, murderous creatures in league with the devil. Indeed, they are more evil than they were in Le Fanu's story, where Carmilla is portrayed as morally ambiguous. "Lust for a Vampire" does not feature any of Hammer's major stars. Ingrid Pitt, who had played Carmilla in "The Vampire Lovers", was offered the same role here but turned it down, possibly because she realised that, at 34, she would not make a very convincing schoolgirl. The part went instead to an otherwise obscure Danish actress named Yutte Stensgaard. Peter Cushing was forced to withdraw from the film because of his wife's illness. Christopher Lee does not appear here (or, indeed, in any of the trilogy), but Mike Raven, better known as a radio DJ, does a sort of Lee impersonation as Count Karnstein. The film's best-known actor is Ralph Bates, something of a horror specialist, who is given top billing even though his is only a supporting role and his character dies early on. The film was popular when it first came out, largely because of its erotic content, but today it looks like the weakest of the Karnstein trilogy. "The Vampire Lovers" at least had the advantage of being a reasonably faithful adaptation of a literary classic, albeit the lesbian theme far more explicit than in the original, and Pitt is splendidly seductive in the main role. "Twins of Evil" has its faults, notably the casting of the talentless Collinson sisters, but it does have a good performance from Cushing and raises some surprisingly pertinent points, for a Hammer horror flick, about religious fanaticism and the nature of evil. "Lust For a Vampire", by comparison, is poorly acted with a cliché- ridden and rather silly plot. Yutte Stensgaard, although striking- looking, had neither the talent nor the charisma of Pitt, and it is easy to understand why her acting career was so brief. (Having a name that was unpronounceable to anyone not fluent in Danish probably didn't help. Indeed, given that "Yutte" was a partial anglicisation of her real Christian name, Jytte, even Danes might have been at a loss as to how to pronounce it). Michael Johnson as the main male character Richard Lestrange is bland and uninteresting. The film still enjoys something of a cult following, chiefly among those who judge a film's artistic merits by the number of scantily-clad girls on display, but judged by any other standards "Lust For a Vampire" is a disappointment. 4/10 A goof. Arthur Biggs (a character who appears only in one scene) introduces himself as an "avant-garde writer", even though the phrase "avant-garde" was not used in this sense as early as 1830.

Lust for a Vampire is set in 1830 in England where fantasy writer Richard Lestrange (Richard Johnson) is staying in the village by the infamous Karnstein castle, it's been exactly forty years to the day since the Karnstein evil was last seen. Richard tries to prove to the locals that Vampirism is just superstition & decides to visit the castle himself, while there he meets a teacher named Giles Barton (Ralph Bates) three young girls whom he teaches at a nearby finishing school. While visiting the school Lestrange falls in love with new student Mircalla (Yutte Stensgaard), however it turns out that Mircalla is actually the reincarnation of the evil Vampire Carmilla Karnstein & starts to seduce & drink the blood of the other girls at the school. As the bodies pile up & the police become involved Mircalla's secret is revealed...This British production came from Hammer studios & was directed by Jimmy Sangster who a last minute replacement for Terence Fisher after he apparently broke his leg, Lust for a Vampire was the second of trilogy of films made by Hammer that they adapted from J. Sheridan Le Fanu's short Vampire story Carmilla published in 1872 & began with The Vampire Lovers (1970) which was followed by Lust for a Vampire & ended with Twins of Evil (1972). I don't thin that Lust for a Vampire is a very good film at all, there are moments which make little sense or are barely explained. What, for instance, did that village girl see to make her scream & faint in the carriage at the start? Why was Carmilla at the finishing school anyway? I suppose her parents wanted her to be an educated Vampire, how did she keep sneaking out at night without being caught? I find it hard to believe that Lestrange would just fall in love with Carmilla after having only briefly seen her once, I mean they didn't even speak to each other yet he falls madly in love with her. It's a real stretch to believe & then when he does talk to her for the first time he says how much he loves her, talk about being forward. Carmilla seems to have no sort of plan or reason for being at the school & it's a mystery why she & her two guardian's don't just live in the castle together like a nice Vampire family, you know what I'm saying? Would an experienced police inspector really climb down a well by himself with no-one at the top to help if he got in trouble? Why not call for back-up? At over 90 minutes long Lust for a Vampire has a reasonable pace but not much happens if truth be told & it's hardly exciting, the central concept which had some potential of Carmilla being torn between her evil Vampire ways & her love for Lestrange is wasted.Lust for a Vampire was made with it's male teenage audience in mind as it's far more sexual than scary, an entire school full of attractive young girls who don't like wearing many clothes even when they go out at night in the cold they insist on the absolute minimum amount of clothing. There are a few topless shots, a couple of brief lesbianism scenes & a badly put together tinted montage during Lestarnge & Carmilla making love set to an awful song call Strange Love. There's not much blood or gore here, there's a bit of blood at the start as well as a decayed skeleton, there are a couple of biting scenes & a couple of staking scenes at the end. The sets look alright but the castle is a little cramped, the opening resurrection scene features some really bad incantations badly staged & close-ups of Count Karnstein's blood shot eyes (maybe taken from another film entirely) which are clearly not there in medium face shots.Probably shot on a low budget like most Hammer films the production values are decent enough if not amazing, it looks alright without ever being memorable. Danish actress Stensgaard is OK, Mike Raven was dubbed by someone else (Raven apparently walked out of the premiere because of this) while Ralph Bates is killed off early on, Peter Cushing was meant to star but didn't while Ingrid Pitt was apparently asked back but declined because she thought the script was terrible.Lust for a Vampire is minor Hammer to be honest, it doesn't really feature any of their main stars & is a fairly middling production in terms of concept & execution. Not one of Hammer's best, that's for sure.

Following Roy Ward Baker's brilliant "The Vampire Lovers" (1970), Jimmy Sangster's "Lust for a Vampire" is a vastly inferior, yet highly entertaining second entry to the Hammer Studios' Karnstein-trilogy. "The Vampire Lovers" was truly one of Hammer's most atmospheric films, wonderfully eerie, greatly acted (with a role for icon Peter Cushing), ground-breaking as the first Lesbian Vampire film, brilliantly photographed and blessed with the most ravishing female cast imaginable, lead by erotic Horror queen Ingrid Pitt. While "Lust for a Vampire" is neither as atmospheric, suspenseful and creepy, nor as beautiful as its predecessor it is still recommendable to my fellow Hammer fans. Set in 1830 Austria (my home country), "Lust for a Vampire" is the second tale about the Karnstein family of Vampires. The film begins when Marciella/Camilla Karnstein is once again resurrected. This time, the film is mainly set in a remote girls' college, which is mainly populated by gorgeous, young beauties with exhibitionist and bisexual tendencies. People begin to disappear, when the ravishing Camilla (Yutte Stensgard) attends the posh boarding school... Danish actress Yutte Stensgard is stunningly beautiful, but she doesn't reach the level of hypnotic eeriness that Igrid Pitt gave the role. Yet Miss Stensgard as the female Vampire is one of the most memorable aspects of "Lust for a Vampire". The film was originally supposed to be directed by master director Terence Fisher and star icon Peter Cushing, both of whom were replaced at a short notice. Jimmy Sangster, who was then chosen to direct this film, deserves huge praise as the brilliant screenwriter of such Hammer-milestones as "The Curse of Frankenstein" or "Dracula", but he sadly wasn't as goody as a director. Whereas Sangster's filmography as a screenwriter includes more than a few brilliant films, the two films he directed that I've seen, "The Horror of Frankenstein" and this one, were both mediocre. Ralph Bates, who plays a sinister teacher here, was a very good actor, in my opinion, but his role here is a bit ridiculous. Mike Raven, who plays the vampire count Karnstein here, is clearly made up to look like the all-mighty Christopher Lee, which remains a sorry attempt. Leading man Michael Johnson, who plays an author of Gothic novels who becomes a teacher at the school, is not very good either. The best parts of the cast are its female members, Yutte Stensgaard, Suzanna Leigh, who plays a beautiful young teacher, and lots of girls who provide female eye candy. Harvey Hall, who was in "The Vampire Lovers" already, plays a police inspector. The film has several gory moments, as well as a nice Gothic atmosphere. The photography is nice and the settings are eerie. Most of the score is also good, but a vocal song that is used seems terribly out of place. Overall, "Lust for a Vampire" does in no way compare to "The Vampire Lovers". I haven't seen the third part in the Karnstein trilogy, "Twins of Evil", so far, but I hope it will be more like "The Vampire Lovers" than this one. Even so, "Lust for A Vampire" is by no means a bad film, and should be enjoyed by Hammer fans.