It may be true that "Blood of the Vampire" rapidly got produced to cash in on the tremendous success of Hammer Studios' horror hits "Curse of Frankenstein" and "Horror of Dracula", but this certainly doesn't mean it's an inferior or non-worthwhile piece of British Gothic horror. Quite the contrary, the script - written by expert Jimmy Sangster - contains numerous aspects and little gimmicks that every horror fanatic worships!
Here we go: a megalomaniacal mad scientist, a deformed hunchback (with asymmetric eyes), Transylvanian mountains, an insane asylum, a torture dungeon full of chained random women, vicious Dobermans with spikes on their collars, corrupt prison guards, clandestine blood transfusion, laboratories full of bubbly fluids, sinister graveyards, executions, and resurrections! In fact, the only thing this movie doesn't feature is an actual vampire. Go figure.
Donald Wolfit is terrific as the loathsome and purely evil scientist - and dead ringer for the one and only Bela Lugosi - who, following a resurrection from the dead and a semi-successful heart transplant, is bound to receiving constant blood transfusions. He found the perfect solution to accommodate his needs, though, as the wicked owner of insane asylum where patients "mysteriously" die on a regular basis. It takes a while before you know towards where the story is heading and some aspects never make sense, but it's a compelling and devilishly Grand Guignol fun-ride. The lovely Mrs. Barbara Shelley is always splendid, and Victor Maddern deserves tons of respect for the heavy facial make-up he's wearing, but the most impressively astounding performance is given by Donald Wolfit's eyebrows. I'd hate to get lost in those forests...
Here we go: a megalomaniacal mad scientist, a deformed hunchback (with asymmetric eyes), Transylvanian mountains, an insane asylum, a torture dungeon full of chained random women, vicious Dobermans with spikes on their collars, corrupt prison guards, clandestine blood transfusion, laboratories full of bubbly fluids, sinister graveyards, executions, and resurrections! In fact, the only thing this movie doesn't feature is an actual vampire. Go figure.
Donald Wolfit is terrific as the loathsome and purely evil scientist - and dead ringer for the one and only Bela Lugosi - who, following a resurrection from the dead and a semi-successful heart transplant, is bound to receiving constant blood transfusions. He found the perfect solution to accommodate his needs, though, as the wicked owner of insane asylum where patients "mysteriously" die on a regular basis. It takes a while before you know towards where the story is heading and some aspects never make sense, but it's a compelling and devilishly Grand Guignol fun-ride. The lovely Mrs. Barbara Shelley is always splendid, and Victor Maddern deserves tons of respect for the heavy facial make-up he's wearing, but the most impressively astounding performance is given by Donald Wolfit's eyebrows. I'd hate to get lost in those forests...