Review of Vampire Circus (1972) by Michael T — 07 Feb 2013

Pretty good later Hammer horror film (basically, Hammer's decline began in 1968). Director Robert Young had mainly directed documentaries before this and was clearly inspired by "art house" films (Bergmann, Fellini) as much as the classic Hammer gothic horrors of the past.

The plot has an evil vampire (Count Mindaug; never trust the arisocracy in vampire films) victimizing the children of an Austrian village while seducing the wife of the school teacher ("One lust feeds the other, Anna").

The enraged citizenry overcome dispatch the vampire but curses the vilagers. A decade later, the village is ravaged by a plague and the neighboring villages have set up armed roadblocks and patrols to keep the plague from spreading.

The Circus of Nights then shows up, rather mysterously, and starts to carry out the counts curse. Lushly photographed, with lots of memorable imagery, and a cast of character actors rather than "big name" Hammer stars; no Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing here.

Anthony Higgins and Thorley Walters had been in previous Hammer films as had David Prowse, playing the circus strongman. He went on to play Darth Vader in Star Wars (with the voice of James Earle Jones).

Lalla Ward was later a companion of Tom Baker's Doctor Who.