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Released by: Artsploitation Films
Released on: October 18th 2016.
Director: Víctor Matellano
Cast: Caroline Munro, Christian Stamm, Verí³nica Bacorn, Marta Flich, Anthony Rotsa, Almudena Léon
Year: 2015
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The Movie:
Directed by Víctor Matellano in 2015, Vampyres is indeed a remake of the Spanish blood and boob lesbian vampire classic of the same name made by the late Jose Ramon Larraz in 1974. Like the original picture, the film is set in England where two lusty and busty young woman, Miriam (Almudena Léon) and Fran (Marta Flich), reside. When we first meet them, they're involved in a blood ritual with a little softcore lesbian fun thrown into the mix - it's clear that these two women are who the film is named after!
Into their world comes a man named John (Anthony Rotsa). He first shacks up at a nearby hotel run by a strange woman (Caroline Munro) who warns him of the dangers of nocturnal activity in the area. Clearly he pays this no mind and soon enough he's found himself at the ladies' remote abode. One energetic romp in the sack later and he's become their new food source. While all of this is going on, a small group of campers have setup in the nearby woods. As they quickly find themselves in increasingly dangerous situations, it's up to Harriet (Verí³nica Bacorn) to figure out what's really going on, where everyone keeps disappearing to, and how to put a stop to it.
Despite the film's brisk running time, this one drags a bit and the main reason for that is there seems to be an effort on the part of all who appear in front of the camera to dial things down and play their respective roles with an odd distance. As such, the characters lack personality and it's tough to really care too much about what happens to them. Matellano should be able to hold our attention here, given that the movie is very graphic and never shies away from the nudity or the bloodshed, and to be fair the movie scores some high marks there. The scenes of the girls bathing in blood with a fresh kill strung up above them are stylish and leave a pretty strong impression, but much of the exploitative elements that are key here just don't work. Maybe it's the implants, maybe it's the way that Léon and Flich appear so distant… it's hard to say.
The locations here are hit and miss. The outdoor shots and scenes that take place in the hotel look good, as does the last twenty-minutes where things head underground into a creepy basement dungeon. There are a few too many scenes that take place inside the ladies' mansion on the upper floors though, and these look like they were just shot in someone's condo. If they're supposed to live in a mansion or a castle or whatever, it should look like one inside and it doesn't. The digital cinematography doesn't help this. To the picture's credit the compositions are great and there are some really impressive visuals but the colors are unusually flat for whatever reason. It's hard to say if it's a result of the lighting or the camera or a stylistic choice but things look pretty flat, the colors don't impress at all.
There are moments where all of this works and Víctor Matellano and particularly his cinematographer Daniel Salas Alberola get an A for effort, but this one didn't do it for me.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Vampyres is presented by Artsploitation Films framed at 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen and it looks about as good as it probably should. Clarity and detail are very good throughout and the disc is well authored so there are no issues with any obvious compression artifacts. The colors look flat more often than not, which is clearly an issue with how the movie was shot and lit rather than with the disc itself, as such, as accurate as the color reproduction might be it can sometimes look more than a little dull where you otherwise might want things to look more pronounced. Black levels are good, however, and as this was shot digitally there are obviously no problems at all with even a trace of print damage.
English language options are provided in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and 2.0 Stereo with subtitles provided in English and Spanish. Clarity of both tracks is fine, with the 5.1 mix doing a bit more with the score while keeping the dialogue up front here it belongs. There are no issues with any hiss or distortion and the levels are properly balanced throughout the movie.
Extras start off with a behind the scenes featurette that is mostly fly on the wall style footage shot on set during the production. Interesting enough, Jack Taylor narrates this, which is kind of interesting. Some of the material captured here is interesting as you get a look at the set, some insight into Matellano's directing style and what some of the locations look like when not framed and presented as they are in the feature.
Caroline Munro pops up for an interview here for a few minutes. She talks quickly about working with Matellano, her thoughts on the original 1974 Vampyres film, what it's like working in Spain and how it was interesting to be reunited with special effects man Colin Arthur (who she worked with in 1977 on Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger!).
Outside of that we get a trailer for a handful of other Artsploitation Films titles, menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
Matellano's remake of Vampyres does have its moments. It's nicely shot, the scenes in the basement dungeon area have some atmosphere and it does not lack in bloodshed or sex. It is, however, a little too artificial feeling to really work the way you want it to. You can't fault Artsploitation Films' DVD release, however, as it looks and sounds very good and has a few interesting extras as well.
