Jonathan vampire sterben nicht. (1970)
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Seeing as i put this in my foreign horror top ten i thought i'd give it another watch.
A film that is not widely seen and one i always wanted to catch up with due to it being mentioned in a few of my horror reference books as i was growing up, but is largely forgotten these days.
This is an unusual take on the Dracula story, in that it retains some obvious parts from the novel but then throws the rest away.
The head vampire here is basically a representation of Hitler in the way he rants and holds his grip over an entire community, his henchmen are pretty much nazi's and they hold the countryside in their fascist grip.
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I have always thought that Dracula is basically a representation of the
aristocracy preying off the peasants, who are their servants, this basically takes that idea to it's extreme end.
Under his reign the peasants are meek and feeble, mere food and their villages are ravaged and desolate places with little hope. Everyone is scared, shown by the way they turn on an outsider (jonathan) when he wanders into a village.
In the film Jonathan is sent by a resistance group to infiltrate the vampires castle and lead a revolt to overthrow the fascist regime.
Some parts of Dracula are used, there is a scene where the Hitler/vampire draws his blood and gets a female to drink, also the scene (often omitted in film) where the female vampires are given a baby to fulfill their bloodlust is shown.
What really makes this film stand out is the way it is shot, it is very arty in execution, with long shots and some great composition.
The main character is not very interesting and there is not much in the way of great dialogue, but the direction is key and i find the film mesmerising.
Some scenes reminded me of Jodorowsky in their unflinching detail and others Herzog's Nosferatu in their depiction of an eerie peasant life, then certain stuff also brought to mind Witchfinder general.
The Soundtrack i found very atmospheric too.
There's not much in the way of actual vampirism apart from a few throw away scenes, all in all this is a much more ponderous vampire art allegory.
But still i find it really interesting and unique and is definitely a film that should be more widely seen.
I managed to get my copy from some dodgy internet rare film site, i think there is a legit dvd but i don't think it's english friendly.
The Hitler/vampire guy also has a group of worshippers/ cult who all have red robes that kinda reminded me of Jean Rollin style Vamps and also the cult from Hammers' Kiss of the Vampire".
Recommended to lovers of Arty ponderous horror.
8/10
Have a look at the trailer before it disappears back into obscurity.
