By ROBERT ANDREWS

What could be better than a bodacious nekked vampire babe on the screen? Why, two bodacious nekked vampire babes, of course! So goes the rational for a lesbian encounter in the minds of many a hack director or producer, wishing to create box office success in a film more likely to draw a yawn, than a shudder.

Be that as it may, there are some quite good vampire movies where Sapphic couplings are an enhancement of a decent storyline and competent acting.

From the inception of vampire literature, sexuality has been an important theme, and lesbianism has been a significant undercurrent in the plot. In Stoker’s Dracula, much of the conflict comes about as men try to control access to their women, and Dracula is interested in flaunting his sexual power, rather than simply feeding to survive.

Bram Stoker’s novel has spawned hundreds (thousands?) of novels and motion pictures, but his precursor and contemporary Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, has had a major influence on the sub-genre of the lesbian vampire film.

Carmilla, written by Le Fanu in 1853, is the basis for the films, Blood And Roses (1960), The Vampire Lovers (1970), Lust For A Vampire (1971), Twins Of Evil (1973), The Blood Spattered Bride (1972), The Velvet Vampire (1969) and Carmilla (1989) among others. As the 1970's rolled in and sexually more explicit films became commercially viable, directors and producers worked hard to involve nudity and sex in an effort to revive the horror film, and bolster studio profits.

The films I am going to recommend to the discerning viewer are both sexy, stylish and occasionally scary and thought provoking, rather than simply nudie flicks with little redeeming social content. There is quite a lot of trash out there, but these works could stand with any horror classic, without the titillating content.

First and best in the genre, is Daughters Of Darkness (Le Rouge aux Levres 1971) directed by Harry Kumel, which curiously has no on screen lesbian couplings although the entire relationship between the four characters is a kinky, sexual one. I do not wish to spoil the pleasure for the curious by revealing the plot, but rather I shall make some comments on the merits of this film.

Three stunning actresses, make up the eye candy while John Karlen of Dark Shadows fame is the (un)lucky victim. Delphine Seyrig is the vampiric Countess Bathory who checks into a Belgian hotel with her bosom buddy, Andrea Rau. Also staying at the hotel is Karlen and his gorgeous bride Danielle Ouimet. They all meet in the nearly deserted hotel and become better acquainted.

It is revealed during a conversation between the four of them concerning the real Erzabet Bathory that things are not at all what they seem. Each character has a kinky, maybe dangerous, side to them. Both the Countess and her playmate set their eyes on the (maybe not so very) innocent bride and her secretive husband, as their next victims/conquests.

The photography is stunning and makes great use of color and atmosphere. There are some clever surprises in store for the viewer, almost from the get-go, as the various motivations and stories of the characters are revealed. The eerie atmosphere of the deserted hotel in Ostend during off-season is palpable, and Seyrig portrays her character with a dreamy sort of quality that makes her seductive and otherworldly.

Rau is a pouty Euro babe par excellence. What impresses me a great deal about this film is how the portrayal of these vampires is only a slight distortion of reality, and the logic seems almost plausible. No sharp pointy fangs, which leave pin pricks on the neck and drain the victim dry. No disappearing into a wisp of smoke, nor getting into the coffin before dawn, so, in other words, the viewer is not so aware of the illogic of the vampires existence which sabotages many movies of this type. This movie is available in VHS, LD and DVD.

Next up, is The Hunger (1983), directed by Tony Scott with David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve, and Susan Sarandon. How could a movie with Deneuve and Sarandon not be incendiary? Deneuve is an Egyptian (?) vampire with bisexual tastes, and Bowie is her vampire consort. They live a very fashionable, hedonistic, high maintenance lifestyle, with great clothes, cars, and apartment, naturally. Can you imagine Deneuve and Bowie ever slumming it?

Sarandon figures in as a researcher trying to help Bowie with a mysterious aging problem from which he suffers. Pegging the needle on the sexy-o-meter is the sensuous tryst between Miriam (Deneuve) and Sarah (Sarandon). Fine photography and a good twist on what immortality as a vamp would be like, are the icing on the tart. If you’ve seen the TV show, forget it, the movie is NOTHING like the show. This movie is available in VHS and LD.

And now a controversial choice, The Blood Spattered Bride, (La novia ensangrentada) (1972) directed by Vicente Aranda. This Spanish sexploitation film is a bit rough during a rape scene almost at the beginning of the film, which may turn off many viewers.

I will admit that I was taken aback at this scene and leaped to the conclusion that the rest of the movie would be graphic and violent. It was! What disturbed me was the suddenness and the level of violence so soon into the film, so I was psychically unprepared and therefore shocked. The scene is germane to the plot, and justifies its inclusion. That said, the story is top notch and very faithful to the theme of Carmilla, though not to the setting.

Alexandra Bastedo is Mircalla (Carmilla) and has the most surprising entrance since Orson Welles in The Third Man. Bastedo gives an eerie performance as the lesbian misandrist vampire who seduces Maribel Martin and convinces her to kill her demanding, brutal husband (Simon Andreu).

Volumes can be written by feminist authors concerning the plot developments, but male chauvinist pigs will be mesmerized by the ethereal beauty of Ms. Bastedo. Recommended, but with reservations for the faint of heart. This movie is available is VHS, LD and DVD.

Moving along to a more mainstream choice is the Hammer film, The Vampire Lovers (1970), directed by Roy Ward Baker. This is a rather faithful rendition of Le Fanu’s Carmilla in which the Teutonic Temptress, Ingrid Pitt, plays the triple role of Carmilla, Mircalla and Marcilla Karnstein while Madeline Smith plays Emma the central character of the film.

The always-reliable Hammer vampire vanquisher Peter Cushing is General von Spielsdorf who discovers Carmilla’s true nature and dispatches the evil creature. Kate O’Mara and Pippa Steele are around to provide the obligatory nude seduction scenes and provide an outlet for Carmilla’s bloodlust.

The setting is the late 19th century and the sets are appropriately Gothic and isolated. The all girl’s school is one that Hugh Hefner would approve of, with its scantily clad, nubile students competing for the attentions of the rakish new poet cum schoolmaster. (Excuse the pun!)

This is Hammer at the height of its style, and their best vampire movie after Horror of Dracula. There would follow two sequels, Lust For A Vampire and Twins Of Evil both of which have merit, but lack faithfulness to Le Fanu, and do not measure up to The Vampire Lovers. Available on VHS, LD and DVD (region 2 only)

If cheesecake and gore are compatible mixtures à son goût, then you cannot go wrong with the Spanish director Joseph Larraz’ Vampyres (1974). Starring Playboy playmate Anulka as Miriam and the voluptuous Marianne Morris as Fran, this dark drama takes place in a modern setting in the English countryside. These vamps stage car accidents to cover their blood feasts, and boy, do they feast on the blood, lapping it up and smearing it around!

Poor Murray Brown gets kept as a love slave and blood donor by sultry Fran, and one wonders whether to pity him or envy him. Lots of visually memorable shots, not just the ample nudity make this a must see, must own. Available on VHS and DVD.

If tamer video pursuits are on the agenda, (perhaps due to spousal objections) then Roger Vadim’s Blood And Roses (1960) starring Annette Vadim and Mel Ferrer, is an excellent choice. Using many of the elements from Carmilla, Vadim stretched what was permissible and included the lesbian relationship between Carmilla and Georgia, although much had to be suggested to the suggestible viewer.

The scene where Georgia pricks her finger on a rose in the hothouse, licking it and leaving a spot of blood on her lip, which Carmilla kisses away, must rank as the most erotic scene in an early sixties horror movie ever.

The plot of Blood And Roses is much criticized for its slow development and lack of intense action. If high body counts and wicked villainous vampires are your expectation, then this film will disappoint. There are however, some nice twists on a fairly standard plot here which will delight the patient viewer. It’s best to think Gothic here as in Anne Radcliffe, rather than Matthew Lewis. Available on VHS.

Of honorable mention is The Velvet Vampire (1971), directed by Roger Corman protégé Stephanie Rothman and starring Celeste Yarnell as the vamp and Sherry Miles and Michael Blodgett as her victims. This movie screams free love Sixties!

Tongue in cheek nods to Le Fanu are included and a very unconventional way of dispatching the vampire at the end make this a product of the times. Break out your patchouli oil and black light posters while viewing to enhance the ambiance. Hard to find, but exists on VHS and LD.