Vampyres [Daughters of Darkness] *** (1974, Marianne Morris, Anulka Dziubinska, Murray Brown, Brian Deacon, Sally Faulkner, Michael Byrne) – Classic Movie Review 11,034

‘They shared the pleasures of the flesh, and the horrors of the grave!’

Spanish exploitation director José Ramón Larraz’s provocative, erotic and bloody 1974 British soft-core lesbian vampire horror film Vampyres [Daughters of Darkness] stars Anulka Dziubinska and Marianne Morris in a story of two female lovers, Fran and Miriam, who, having been resurrected as vampires, lure unsuspecting travellers to their dilapidated rural mansion estate in the English countryside to hold them captive and feed on their blood.

The film caused quite a stir in the day with its lesbian vampires, female bisexuality, vampire erotica, graphic violence, strong soft-core sex, sadism and much gore. Larraz relishes the gore, and his characters feeding out of a cut in a victim’s arm, and said: ‘I imagine my vampires turn almost to cannibalism, to eat somebody, to take the blood from anywhere, no matter if it is on the arm or on the balls!’

Vampyres [Daughters of Darkness] is made by Lurco Films, is written by Diana Daubeney, is produced by Brian Smedley-Aston, is shot by Harry Waxman and is scored by James Clark.

It was first released in the US in March 1975 by Cambist Films, who released it uncut with an X certificate, and was released censored in the UK in 1976 by Fox-Rank in 1974 as a double-feature with The Devil’s Rain. Larraz called the UK censored version of the film with two minutes and 21 seconds of gory and sexual content cut ‘the Vatican version’.

Over the years, the film has gathered a cult following.

Vampyres was shot on a modest budget of £42,000.

Oakley Court in Bray, Berkshire, is the exterior of the film’s main location.

Interiors are shot in Harefield Grove, a Grade II listed, early-19th-century country house in the London borough of Hillingdon, while effective use is made of the old Hammer Films’ Victorian Gothic country house horror set of Oakley Court, in Bray, Berkshire.

Oakley Court became home to Hammer Films in August 1949, shooting five films there, including The Man in Black and The Lady Craved Excitement, before moving to the adjacent Down Place, subsequently Bray Studios, the following year. Oakley Court was built in 1859 in 35 acres overlooking the River Thames at Water Oakley. It is a Grade II* listed building and is currently a hotel.

It is Anulka’s first film role after being featured in Playboy’s Girls of Munich pictorial in 1972 and appearing as Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in May 1973. Morris had appeared in Corruption (1968), Lovebox (1972), Just One More Time (1974), and Percy’s Progress (1974).

Stage and TV actress Faulkner said making the film was unpleasant, and felt Larraz was disrespectful towards her and fellow actor Brian Deacon. Faulkner said: ‘José was very single minded and not supportive – he was particularly critical of me.’

Fran and Miriam attack John in his car in Vampyres (1974).

The cast are Marianne Morris as Fran, Anulka Dziubinska as Miriam, Murray Brown as Ted, Brian Deacon as John, Sally Faulkner as Harriet, Michael Byrne as Playboy, Karl Lanchbury as Rupert, Margaret Heald as Receptionist, Gerald Case as Estate Agent, Bessie Love as American Lady and Elliott Sullivan as American Man.

Runtimes: 87 minutes, 84 minutes (heavily cut) and 82 minutes (R-rated).

José Ramón Larraz Gil was born in Barcelona in 1929 and died, aged 84, in Málaga on 3 September 2013. His film Symptoms was the first official British entry at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,034

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com

Oakley Court is a Victorian Gothic country house set in 35 acres.