Lust for a Vampire

Lust for a Vampire
American Theatrical release poster
Directed byJimmy Sangster
Screenplay byTudor Gates
Based oncharacters
by Sheridan Le Fanu
Produced byMichael Style
Harry Fine
StarringRalph Bates
Barbara Jefford
Suzanna Leigh
CinematographyDavid Muir
Edited bySpencer Reeve
Music byHarry Robinson
Production
company
Distributed byMGM-EMI Distributors (U.K.)
American Continental Films (U.S.)
Release date
  • 17 January 1971 (1971-01-17)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Lust for a Vampire, also known as Love for a Vampire or To Love a Vampire (the latter title was the one used on American television), is a 1971 British Hammer Horror film directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Barbara Jefford, Suzanna Leigh, Michael Johnson, and Yutte Stensgaard.[1] It was given an R rating in the United States for some violence, gore, strong adult content and nudity. It is the second film in the Karnstein Trilogy, loosely based on the 1872 Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla. It was preceded by The Vampire Lovers (1970) and followed by Twins of Evil (1971). The three films do not form a chronological development, but use the Karnstein family as the source of the vampiric threat and were somewhat daring for the time in explicitly depicting lesbian themes.

Production of Lust for a Vampire began not long after the release of The Vampire Lovers.

The film has a cult following, although some Hammer Horror fans have accused it of being overly camp. Its most noted scene shows Yutte Stensgaard drenched in blood and partially covered by blood-soaked rags, although the filmed scene is not as explicit as that shown in a promotional still.[2]

  1. ^ "Lust for a Vampire". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  2. ^ Huckvale, David (2009). Touchstones of Gothic Horror: A Film Genealogy of Eleven Motifs and Images. McFarland & Co. p. 105. ISBN 978-0786447824. OCLC 496518543.