Review of Vampire Circus (1972) by Robert W — 30 Oct 2010

Mmmmm, that's some tasty vampire cheez from good ol' Hammer Studios! "Vampire Circus" is absolutely fearless in its over-the-top depiction of 18th (or 19th?) century bloodsuckers in period costumes and eye shadow that makes every male vampire look like a 70's glam rock star... which is probably just what they were after. If you ever wondered what Mark Bolan, David Bowie and Gary Glitter would look like as vampires, you must see this flick!

Made in Hammer's later days, "Vampire Circus" is thoroughly saturated with blood and sex for its time. Naked, shaven-headed woman painted with tiger stripes doing using a Cat Stevens look-alike as a stripper's pole? Check. Very large stake-like objects leaving gaping wounds in vampire chests? Check. Implied lesbianism, incest and male homoeroticism involving glammy vampires with long fangs, gold chokers, bare chests and unisex haircuts? Check. Blood dripping from necks and wrists, decapitation, and refined ladies passing out at the site of them while younger women have sex with cat-o-morphic vampires in panther cages? Check. Shamelessly silly dialogue delivered by terribly earnest actors? Check. Hammer fans, and genre fans in general, will NOT be disappointed with this one.

As an added bonus, you'll get Lalla Ward (the second actress to play Romana during Tom Baker's stint as Doctor Who, former girlfriend of Douglas Adams and current spouse of Richard Dawkins) fresh out of film school in her first major screen role. She plays Helga, one of a pair of vampire twins who feel each other's pain and show each other's wounds when one of them is injured. She plays her role with staring eyes and the most innocent grin to spout bloody fangs in vampire cinema history.

"Vampire Circus" is a ton of fun. It works not only as a Hammer period piece, but, unwittingly, a terrific time capsule of early 70's vampire horror in general. Plus, with the somewhat romanticized but still bloody-fanged undead, it makes for perfect common ground between fans of the current spate of rather tame vampire fare (I'm looking at you, "Eclipse" fans) and those who prefer their walking dead with more menace. A must-see for all vampire fans of an age to deal with mature themes and situations. Halloween fun!