blood_and_roses.jpg Et Mourir de Plaisir (1960))
Carmilla Karnstein becomes obsessed with the vampire legends of the Karnstein family. Mircalla Karnstein was the only vampire who escaped the purge at the castle when all the vampires were destroyed.
Carmilla sees the similarities between her and Mircalla and dresses like her.
One night, a fireworks party destroys some of the old castle and the hidden tomb of Mircalla is unearthed. Carmilla walks the ruins and seems to be taken over by the spirit of Mircalla..
Beautifully shot gothic horror. Carmilla's story arc becomes truly heartbreaking and with the music score over various scenes I was transfixed the whole running time.
I had wanted to see this movie in a long time and was not disappointed.
The movie had an English language release under the title BLOOD AND ROSES and had narration over the film. The film was also cut down.
I watched the longer French language version with cuts re-instated and no narration.
It's not a gory horror. Nothing like Hammer's VAMPIRE LOVERS.
More of an arthouse Vampire flick. Great stuff.