Review of Vampyros Lesbos (1971) by Ws B — 13 Jul 2008

Let yourself fall under the spell of this campy, corny and yet quite effective little '70s Eurotrash remake of DRACULA.

In VAMPYROS LESBOS, director Jess Franco inverts the story so that all the male characters are female and has all the action take place in broad daylight. Perhaps the best example of this is is when Linda Westinghouse (Ewa Stromberg as the Harker character) meets Countess Carody for the first time--it's Soledad Miranda, the mysterious, exotic and doomed Portugese beauty in all her resplendent glory: tanned, moist and clad in a white bikini, her depthless eyes shielded by huge sunglasses. A vampire sunbathing! Of course they promptly head to a secluded beach for some nude frolicking.

Along with the well-known soundtrack, VAMPYROS LESBOS offers lots of funny arthouse satire, and a fairly efficient plotline. But the real reason to watch this film is for the one and only Soledad Miranda, who across thirty years still has the power to captivate viewers. With those surreal, dreamy sequences of her dancing with a mannequin, and her frequent nude scenes, you too will find her clouding your mind. Sadly, she was killed in a car accident not long after finishing this film. Alas, Soledad Miranda...