"The Slaughter of the Vampires" is an ambiguously titled (are the vampires doing the slaying here or being killed off themselves?) Italian horror outing from 1962. A fairly paint-by-numbers affair, though filmed in B&W, the film reunites stars Walter Brandi and Alfredo Rizzo from the earlier "Playgirls and the Vampire." Here, Brandi plays Wolfgang, a nobleman in an unnamed country whose new wife, Louise, played by the luscious Graziella Granata, is being preyed on by a vampire so generic that we never even learn his name; call him The Vampire. As portrayed by Dieter Eppler, this neck nosher is so very compelling that poor Louise gives in to his charms almost immediately, soon becoming a most, uh, toothsome vampiress herself. Good thing that Wolfgang has been given the address of a most van Helsing-like doctor in nearby Vienna.... Offering absolutely nothing new to the vampire mythos and no new spins on this hoary staple of the horror genre, "Slaughter" yet has enough pleasurable aspects to merit it a mild recommendation. For one, Eppler is pretty darn impressive as the undead seducer, and when he speaks, his words are like pure poetry. The film has been given some interesting directorial touches and camera angles by Roberto Mauri, actually does have atmosphere to spare, and builds to an exciting conclusion. Perhaps best of all, a piano-dominated, dreamy and evocative score has been provided by Aldo Piga that effectively brings an air of otherworldliness to the entire affair. The picture really isn't that bad; just completely unoriginal and wholly derivative. Anybody out there know the Italian expression for "been there, done that"?

A vampire(a hammy Dieter Eppler who moves as fast as lightning with little to no dialogue)terrorizes Aristocrat married couple Wolfgang(Walter Brandi)and large-chested Louise(the ravishing Graziella Granata)in an old granite castle where he rests his coffin in the wine cellar. The vampire also eyes the other females(including the little girl of a gardener as well)..he just wishes to infect as many of the ladies as possible. It will be up to Dr. Nietzsche, vampire slayer(Luigi Batzella, always puffing a cigar)to stop the bloodthirsty menace or else.Despite lavish castle setting and the ruins around it, good fluid camera-work, and attractive lighting, this flick suffers from really bad dialogue and dubbing that's hard to shake off. It has too many dull patches and often feels a lot longer than 80 minutes. Eppler isn't very impressive as the vamp despite having a towering presence..something's wrong with that. Granata as the fetching Louise makes delicious eye candy. Bloodless bite sequences and we never see puncture wounds where the vampire bites his victims despite those neckless gowns Granata wears(and with such an enticing neck, wounds should certainly show)only adds to the problems of the film.

DARK SKY FILMS has just released their version of SLAUGHTER OF THE VAMPIRES on DVD and I must tell you, it is far and away superior to that of the Retromedia version of the film. It is crisp, clear and sharp Black & White as I have ever seen in a film that is over 40 years old. They did a superb job of presenting this in DVD format. They include chapter index and when you go to a chapter, it doesn't put you right in the middle of a scene as Retromedia's version did. It is also presented in widescreen format too. Believe me, put your Retromedia copy on your Trade-in pile and go out and get DARK SKY FILMS version. The DSF version also includes a scene or two not presented in any other version that I remember although that storied missing 11 minutes that I have heard so much about does not seem to be there, it is still an excellent reproduction. Even though this film is from 1962, it still outshines a lot of vampire movies that I have seen. Graziella Granata is still gorgeous in this movie and her Titular jog through the castle to escape the stake is worth seeing in slow-mo. Whether or not you are a fan of a vampire movie this old, it still has a lot going for it. It shines in a dim way but it still shines. I call it the "GONE WITH THE WIND" of bad B-Vampire movies because it is the best of the worst.Wanna talk about it?.............leave a comment, I'll get back to you.Bill

"Slaughter of the Vampires" was made around the same time as another Italian Vampire film, Mario Bava's classic "Black Sunday". Unlike "Black Sunday", there isn't the sense of atmosphere or thrills. "Slaughter of the Vampires" plays out pretty much like any other run-of-the-mill Vampire flick. The dubbing is only average. The film plods along at times and there is little in the way of action. The Italian countryside locales are beautiful though. I also have to admit that the women are quite lovely(I may be a little biased due to my Italian heritage). The film isn't a total loss though I wish it were better than the title suggested. Worth a peek.