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Starring: Pia Degermark, Thomas Hunter, Yvor Murillo

Written by: Karl-Heinz Hummel and August Rieger

Directed by: Freddie Francis

Released: June 4, 1971

Rating: 5/10

  

This is the story about a young actress, Betty Williams, who inherits a castle in Transylvania. When she arrives, the caretaker immediately recognizes and shows her the stark resemblance between Betty and her great great grandmother, Clarimonde: who just so happens to be a most feared vampire. During her time in the castle, Betty unknowingly awakens the ‘still fresh looking’ corpse of Clarimonde deep in the castle vaults and mayhem ensues.

  

If intelligent and thought provoking is what you are looking for, then you won’t find it in The Vampire Happening. This is a movie that garners its charm from the satirical, sex driven jokes found throughout the entire film. You have your senile old man that has a habit of freaking himself out all of the time, an aspiring monk that happens to be a closet nymphomaniac (this becomes comically apparent when he starts seeing visions of sexual display in the form of nature during a walk in the woods.), and last but not least, gratuitous amounts of nudity.

  

Yes, it’s full of bad acting, bad scriptwriting and shoddy direction, but this film still managed to accomplish what I’m sure the filmmakers ultimately intended: it entertained me. I think it’s important for any person expressing interest in the horror genre to give movies like The Vampire Happening a chance: there’s something to admire in the people who make them.

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