Vampyres

Vampyres (1975) is probably José Ramón Larraz’s most well-known film. The plot revolves around lovers Fran and Miriam, who were murdered and resurrected as vampires. They survive by luring passing motorists to the house where they were murdered and now inhabit.

The film hit censorship issues in the UK and faced severe cuts for gore and sexual content. Larraz often filmed in the UK and is well placed in his use of the British countryside for this sexy, bloody tale. One critic remarked that “the film bares enough flesh and suggestive coupling to link it to the softcore market.”

The score is by James Clarke, better known under his full name James Kenelm Clarke — the man who went on to write and direct House on Straw Hill a year later.

The cast includes Sally Faulkner, a Shakespearean stage actress who was not above slumming it in exploitation cinema. Her notable credits include Norman J. Warren’s Prey and Confessions of a Driving Instructor (both 1976), and Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair (1979).

If you like your vampire films brimming with sex and violence, then Vampyres is the perfect blend of both.