Vampyros Lesbos (1970)
One of Jess Franco's most infamous films. It stars the gorgeous Soledad Miranda who entices women to her island home via exotic and erotic striptease acts at a club. Once there she ensnares them in with her vampiric will and drinks their bolod in order to live forever.
I've got to be honest and say plot wise there really isn't an awful lot going on. The lovely Ewa Stroemberg is lured to the isolated island in the Med, is seduced by the countess and no one including Dennis Price and Franco regular Paul Muller can work out what is wrong with her.
However the lure of
Vampyros Lesbos isn't the story, it's everything else. For the Spanish maverick Franco has created a surreal melancholic poem about vampiric loneliness. There's plenty of erotica although perhaps not as much as the films title might suggest. Far from pounding the viewer into submission with endless zoom shots of hairy sexuality, Franco is far more subtle, intercutting scorpions, moths and kites in the sky with the lingering moments of sensuality.
The film's soundtrack is a joy. Thick with hedonistic eastern influences and jazz and rock motifs, it's skillfully integrated into the film carefully toying with the ears and mind as Franco's sumptuous visuals work their way into our conscious. Coming across like a fever dream,
Vampyros Lesbos is recommended late night viewing.
The UK dvd from Second Sight is beautifully restored and looks stunning.