El extraño amor de los vampiros (1975) watch online HD

In spite of it's title, this is not a zombie film, but rather, a vampire film (although the vampires do act a bit zombie-like in a few scenes). Don't let yourself be fooled by it's ridiculously low IMDb rating, for this is certainly one of the best of it's kind, and while obviously not for everyone, will certainly please fans of romanticized Gothic horror ala Antonio Margheriti's "Castle of Blood" or Coppola's "Dracula". While it's not as technically polished as either films, the final product is just as endearing and as powerful. Director Leon Klimovsky was no stranger to the genre, having directed quite a few Paul Naschy vehicles as well as the infamous "Vampire's Night Orgy". This one has same style and flair as seen in his previous works, but he takes it to a whole other level of excellence, and this might just be his best film. "Night of the Walking Dead" works because the romantic angle is treated in a mature, involving way and does not diminish the film's more horrific and exploitive impact. For the more "pretentious" viewers like myself, Klimovsky even does flirt with the idea of making an art-house film, culminating in a deliriously surreal vampire ball scene that looks like a cross between Polanski's "The Fearless Vampire Killers" and Fellini's "Juliet of the Spirits". He never really crosses the thin borderline between horror and art, but these avant-garde touches add a lot to the film's strange, bewildering atmosphere. Set in a remote 19th century village somewhere in Europe, the story follows a young aristocrat (Emma Cohen) suffering from a terminal disease, and whose sister just recently succumbed to the bloodthirsty vampires that roam the region. Soon enough, she finds herself falling in love with the leader of the vampires - Count Rudolph (Carlos Ballesteros), and willingly joins their cult of the damned as a way to escape her lonely life and forthcoming death. However, the Count is so in love with her that he simply cannot allow her initiation to become a horrible creature like himself. The film's biggest flaw, I believe, comes from the rather snail-paced first half. Don't get me wrong, I love slow-moving horrors, but this one is filled with unnecessary exposition to characters that don't have that much of an importance to the film. Thankfully, Cohen (a very underrated actress in my view) manages to carry the first half very well, and creates great sympathy and for her character. Her gradual detachment from her parents' overwhelming repression and care, in order to become a monster, can be read as a metaphor for a young girl's sexual awakening in the 19th century. Ballesteros' Count Rudolph is not quite as impressive, but he is serviceable enough. One could only wish he'd been slightly creepier, specially when you consider how truly scary-looking the other vampires were. Although plot-wise the film can be read as being no different from something out of Hammer, Klimovsky employs a totally different stylistic approach. Reminiscent of José Ramon Larraz's "Vampyres", he makes great use of the autumnal rural landscapes. Grey skies; vast, empty fields; and leaf-less tress blowing in the wind, all become characters themselves, and land a lot to the film's gloomy, saddening atmosphere. The romantic score by Máximo Barratas, on the same vein of Carlo Rustichelli's work in "The Whip and the Body", fits the brooding, lonely imagery perfectly, and most definitely deserve a CD release. Overall, this is a definite must-see for Gothic horror fans, and one that deserves a HD restoration, as well as more recognition

Delirously, delicious Spanish vamp-opera!!

Don't know if Neil Jordan ever has seen this one.

but the similarities are striking, with the showing of the "alternate" vampire society.

But this one is rather more enjoyable than Ho'woods multi X $$$$$$$$$$ X hype (and so called "clever" scripts".

Leading girl is just so neck-bitingly juice nice,

how can you blame an aging, lonely count? With nice, lush cinematography (or photos as the credits claim),

super lovely 70s girls, nice atmosphere, and with the sort of dubbing you've come to expect and love for a good piece of 70's Eurotrash (way off).

Featuring a groovy, solarized opening credit sequence slathered in heavily distorted guitar playing which sounds like Link Wray on heavy psychedelics, Night of the Walking Dead is, of course, set in some vaguely late 19th century European burg. The buxom young ladies of the town are succumbing to what local doctor Patrick describes as attacks of anemia, but we (and everyone else in town) know better! Patrick is called in to treat mopey Catherine (Emma Cohen), a wealthy young woman who's lost her appetite and keeps having fainting spells. Anemia...or the malevolent intervention of a supernatural bloodsucker? You decide! A prime slice of Eurotrash sleaze, this Leon Klimovsky film features nudity, gore, and awful dubbing--in other words, everything you need for an enjoyable ninety minute diversion.

Monster loving director Leon Klimovsky comes a cropper with this ambitious but ultimately unsatisfying horror yarn, which goes for the jugular by mixing two separate genres in what are two essentially separate movies. The first film is in the Hammer Horror tradition and satisfying enough in a Euro-horror way; it involves a village being invaded by a race of vampires who claw their way from their tombs one terrible night – a scene which gave the film its alternate title, NIGHT OF THE WALKING DEAD. The villagers retaliate by driving nails into the heads of the creatures in one of the film's imaginative highlights.

The second half of the film – given substantially more screen time – involves a slow-moving romance between a human girl and a (considerably older) vampire count. It's quite well-handled, and subtle enough to work, but there's far too much inaction which renders much of the content more than a little mundane. The leading lady, Emma Cohen (a regular from Paul Naschy movies) is quite bland in her role although she convinces as somebody sick enough to be on death's door. The vampire count is quite charming, although his Spanish accent is hampered by the routine American dub job on the version I saw. The downbeat ending is surprisingly effective, sympathising with the vampire and his plight rather than condemning him.

Leon Klimovsky always directed films that looked great – WEREWOLF SHADOW is one example. STRANGE LOVE OF THE VAMPIRES is no exception to this rule – it manages to be very atmospheric, with the cemetery sequences particularly eerie, enhanced by the horrid grating noise coming from the opening tombs. Unfortunately many – if not all – scenes are shot darkly, making it a job for the viewer to witness the murky goings-on. Whilst the gore is minimal, there's some excitement to be had in the mass vampire attack, which is actually frightening; Klimovsky makes good use of Spanish film regular Jose Luis Lifante, looking especially weird here as a pale vampire. The film also packs plenty of nudity into the short running time, with the first half-hour particularly loaded with undressed women; anyone would think they were watching a softcore porn flick if they stumbled on this by accident! Still, STRANGE LOVE OF THE VAMPIRES is worth a look for horror fans as a quite unusual, atmospheric example of a European horror flick.

I saw this film under the more appropriate title The Strange Love of the Vampires. It is mostly a Gothic love story, although it took this viewer some time to figure that out.

A small, 18th Century village has had a rash of strange deaths. The villagers believe the deaths are the work of vampires. A progressive doctor, at first, laughs at the villagers' superstitions (like staying away from an abandoned castle and driving a stake through the heart of a corpse). Just when the viewer is convinced that the doctor is the protagonist, the film's focus switches to one of his patients, the sickly Catherine (Emma Cohen). Rejected by her beloved, lonely Catherine is left in the care of servants when her parents go away. Then, one night, a count Rudolph appears asking for shelter. The two hit it off, but the count may not be human.

The Strange Love of the Vampires/Night of the Walking Dead remains a hard film to categorize. The story is very typical and more fitting for a film made a decade earlier. There is probably too much love and not enough blood for many fans of 70's horror. On the other hand, director Leon Klimovsky provides some obligatory T&A and a couple scenes reminiscent of his more explicit outings with Paul Naschy (the vampire party is the highlight). All of which might not set well with those looking for more old fashioned scares.

The Strange Love of the Vampires is not essential viewing. One watches with only mild interest. On the other hand, the film is certainly not painful to set through. The ending even surprised this viewer (although it is in keeping with what came before). Euro-horror completists with reserved expectations might like it.

I have immensely enjoyed some of director Leon Klimovsky's horror films, but this one is too melodramatic to be a good horror film. It concerns a woman (Emma Cohen) falling in love with an aristocratic-type vampire and the tragedy that ensues. There is one effective scene in a cemetary, but even such scenes as this are shot too dark to really be of any merit. A missed opporitunity; it could have been much better.