Blood And Roses

Ten years before Hammer did The Vampire Lovers, Roger Vadim did his adaptation of Carmilla in Blood in Roses.

Leopoldo de Karnstein, Mel Ferrar, is engaged to Georgia, Elsa Martinelli. His cousin Carmilla, played by Vadim's wife Annette, is jealous of her. The family has a history of Vampires and on the eve of Leopoldo's engagement party, Carmilla encounters the grave of one of her vampire ancestors, and becomes possessed by her.

It's a stylish movie, more art house than horror film. Since it was filmed in Italy, it's especially lovely to look at, the old villa with contemporary furniture, mosaic tiled floors, marble statues, the old and new in contrast.

It's also a quiet, dreamy film, with the possibility that Carmilla is insane rather than a vampire.

Blood and Roses is classy, sophisticated arty Euro-horror, enough to make me forget some of the direct to video stuff I've seen, if only for a while.