| I Vampiri | |
|---|---|
 Italian theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Piero Regnoli[1] |
| Produced by | |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Mario Bava |
| Edited by | Roberto Cinquini[1] |
| Music by | Roman Vlad[1] |
| Color process | Black and white |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Titanus |
Release date |
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Running time | 81 minutes[1] |
| Country | Italy[1] |
| Budget | ₤142 million |
| Box office | ₤125.3 million |
I Vampiri (lit. The Vampires)[2] is a 1957 Italian horror film directed by Riccardo Freda and completed by the film's cinematographer, Mario Bava. It stars Gianna Maria Canale, Carlo D'Angelo and Dario Michaelis. The film is about a series of murders on young women who are found with their blood drained. The newspapers report on a killer known as the Vampire, which prompts young journalist Pierre Lantin to research the crimes. Lantin investigates the mysterious Du Grand family who lives in a castle occupied by Gisele Du Grand who is in love with Lantin. She lives with her aunt, who hides her face in a veil, as well as the scientist Julian Du Grand, who is trying to find the secret to eternal youth.
The film was developed during a growth in the Italian film industry which allowed for the market to expand beyond a local Italian audience and would allow Italian film makers to explore new genres of filmmaking. Freda made a deal with producers at the Italian film studio Titanus to create a low budget horror film by writing a story in one day and filming it in two weeks. The producers agreed and Freda began filming. On the final day of shooting, Freda left the set which led to the cinematographer Mario Bava to direct the rest of the film, which changed various plot points and added the inclusion of stock footage.
On the film's release in 1957, it became Italy's first horror film of the sound era. It was not successful in Italy, which Freda interpreted as an audience not interested in horror films made by Italians. The film was released theatrically as The Devil's Commandment and Lust of the Vampire in the United States and United Kingdom respectively. English critics predominantly discuss the film in terms of its cinematography and place in film history. Despite being the first of the Italian horror films, it was not until the British film Dracula (1958) and the international hit Black Sunday were released that a greater amount of horror films began being produced in Italy.