Sunday 13 February 2011

Vampire Circus (1972)

Dir: ROBERT YOUNG
Country: UK

Thanks to the efforts of the DVD distributor Synapse Films Vampire Circus (1972) became the second Hammer film to be released in the High Definition Blu Ray format. It joins Paranoiac (1963) which was released on Blu Ray last year by Eureka Entertainment. These are unlikely titles perhaps, but Vampire Circus has over the years built itself a steady cult following, largely based on its unusual and offbeat approach to the clichés of gothic horror. By 1972 Hammer were willing to take greater risks in order to reverse their fading fortunes, and although Vampire Circus has plenty of conventional and predictable moments, it also possesses a sensibility, structure, and tone that makes it a unique entry in Hammer’s vampire lore. It is not an experimental film as such - but perhaps the relative inexperience of key personnel such as the director Robert Young (this was his second film) and the screenwriter Judson Kinberg (this was his first screenplay) and the producer Wilbur Stark (who had never produced a horror film before) led to a freshness of approach that accidentally created moments of peculiarity that at times border the modes of art cinema narration. However this isn’t entirely a fresh slate - the name of George Baxt as an uncredited contributor to the story is an important one. Baxt had a long history in the genre - providing uncredited additional dialogue for The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), and screenplays for City of the Dead (1960), and Circus of Horrors (1960). In front of the camera we do at least have Thorley Walters and Dave Prowse to offer a link to past Hammer's.



Vampire Circus opens with a highly unconventional pre-title sequence that lasts an impressive twelve minutes. Within this prologue is enough detail for a film in itself. This sequence which depicts the fall of the vampire aristocrat Count Mitterhaus (Robert Tayman) at the hands of the patriarchs of the village of Schtetel would normally conclude a Hammer film. Instead we have an unsettling imbalance to the standard progress of a gothic horror film, and some disturbingly original touches. Mitterhaus first lays claim to an infant girl, the manner in which his eyes gaze upon her, and the way he lovingly fondles her hair adds a surprising undertone of paedophilia. A sex scene soon follows which seems to confirm the aberrance of Mitterhaus, and makes the connection between sex and death explicit. Hammer had always traditionally implied this, but Vampire Circus is a film that dispenses with implications in favour of direct confrontation. Mitterhaus is also brilliantly agile and physical and effortlessly despatches numerous villagers before he is blindsided with a stake by Professor Mueller (Laurence Payne) a cuckold who has endured the humiliation of seeing his wife Anna fall at the Count’s feet. The prologue concludes with a laughably delivered curse and the promise of vengeance, and the brutal whipping of Anna who appears to perish in the flames of the Mitterhaus estate. The whipping is a key scene here, because it suggests that Anna’s infidelity is the greatest crime (the dead child is rapidly forgotten) as the men salve the blow to their combined masculinity by punishing Mueller’s wife.



The remainder of the film details the manner in which Mitterhaus exacts his revenge. Having rid their village of the pestilence of vampirism, Schtetel is now breaking under the devastating strain of a virulent plague. The surrounding villages offer no support, but instead patrol the borders ready to fire on any inhabitants who try to escape the quarantine zone. This gives the film an odd and eerie atmosphere, which is soon enhanced by the miraculous arrival of the ‘Circus of Night’s’. The atmosphere of plague and desperation, the looming spectre of death, contrasted with the frivolity of carnivalesque performance is oddly reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal (1957). I don’t think this is accidental at all, the story is enthused with modes of address more common in art films. The film lacks a lead protagonist, motivations are shrouded in mystery and secrecy, and a gallery of grotesque characters flit in and out of what is an hallucinatory and dream-like narrative. The circus benefits tremendously from its highly charged and pervasive mood of supernatural eroticism. A particular highlight is the tiger woman who battles her whip wielding trainer and achieves an orgasmic epiphany that leaves the watching patriarchs hot under the collar. The connection between beast and man is fruitfully explored, and the transformation sequences while cheaply done are effective in their simplicity. The circus possesses a sensuality of evil which is brought wonderfully to live by the dark sexuality of Emil (Anthony Higgins) and the controlling matriarch played by Adrienne Corri.



The revelation that the ‘Circus of Night’s’ is the tool by which Mitterhaus will enact his vengeance is not a surprise to the audience. The result is that Vampire Circus has absolutely no suspense at all. But it makes up for this with an unsettling interest in the destruction of childhood innocence. The hall of mirrors acts as a conduit into the realm of the vampire and several children are lured to their deaths by the teasing acrobatic twins (one of which is played by the gorgeous Lalla Ward). The film does suffer from a sense of incompleteness - some of the visual effects are very poor, and the story reaches a point where it loses patience and rushes headlong into a bloodbath in the Mitterhaus crypt. This finale is surprisingly nihilistic with corpses strewn hither and thither, and Mitterhaus himself only enjoys a few seconds of resurrected life before he is decapitated. The oddness of Vampire Circus will always assure it a certain amount of curiosity value, and while it is not a personal favourite of this reviewer, one has to admire the unique approach to the material from the filmmakers involved.

© Shaun Anderson 2011

15 comments:

  1. I find this film really haunting. It has a lot of images in it that stay with you and make you want to see it again every now and then. It also plays like a sequel to a nonexistent film about Mitterhaus, and leaves you wishing you could see THAT film!

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  2. A haunting sensuality and eroticism! But yes it does feel like the follow on to a film that was never made. Thanks for commenting Jack.

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  3. This is one of my all time favorites, in spite of its flaws. No doubt this film would have been much, much better had they not ran out of money and time. I first saw it on Commander USA's Groovie Movies on the USA network in the late 80s. A top film for what they were able to manage. I do wish Young had done a Dracula picture. He would have made the vamps far more energetic. I've yet to pick up the Synapse version. I was elated to get that Carlton box set some years ago which enabled me to toss the bootleg tape of the Japanese release away. Amazing review as always, Shaun.

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  5. This turned up on Netflix Instant Watch recently and I was quite excited--I've wanted to see it for years and years. The opening was quite good and it had its moments, but it's no forgotten classic. But I liked its unique approach as well. And I've read the tiger lady was an inspiration for Amanda Donohoe's performance in Russell's Lair of the White Worm.

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  6. @ Brian - I never got around to picking up the Carlton box set, and as a result I didnt have a copy of VAMPIRE CIRCUS at all in my film library. I was very surprised when I discovered this so I remedied it by purcashing the Synapse dual edition. I'm not sure the HD transfer was strictly neccessary, because the SD DVD still looks very good. I dont think the Synapse package is a necceary purchase if you already have the Carlton release. Thanks for the comment buddy!

    @ RaroVHS - consider it done :-)

    @ Will - I agree Will, despite its differences and its unique tone and sensibillity this has never been a favourite of mine. I enjoy it of course, but it wouldn't be in my Top 5 Hammer vampire films...it might actually struggle to make the Top 10. I think Synapse have generated a lot of false hyperbole to shift units. But it is one of Hammer's few genuine cult films.

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  7. One of my favorite hammers! Like Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires i like this one because its so different to all other Hammer vampire films.

    I dug the "mirror of life" sequence, where the little kids are sucked into it., and the vampire who turns into a panther was it?

    The grand finale was awesome, the death of Mitterhaouse was memorable, I also dug that the vampires on this movie hd such huuuge fangs, something we never really saw in the Christopher Lee vampire movies.

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  8. It is certainly one of the bloodiest and most erotic of Hammer's vampire pictures. It does get some very good mileage out of the carnivalesque breakdown in social structures that the circus represents - as I note in my review more than a little hint of THE SEVENTH SEAL? Has for being a favourite? It just doesn't do it for me Franco, but I still find things to admire about it...thanks for the comment.

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  9. I agree it aint perfect, but it's still enjoyable in my book. Like you say, it has things to admire.

    I remember feeling the same way you did about it, you feel like you just walked into the middle of a film already in progress. The story starts with a bang having the townspeople storming Count Mitterhouse's castle, your like wait, did I hit the fast forward button by mistake?

    I remember the death of Mitterhouse being pretty original...the whole thing with the cross and arrow was awesome. And was it just me or where the villains way more likable then the boring ass people who populated this little town?

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  10. You're spot on with your observation about the villains Franco. I couldn't agree more that they are a fascinating bunch - they are enigmatic and strange. By contrast the town's leading patriarchs are stuffy and dull.

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  11. I thought the way the townsfolk and the vampires were presented was intentional, though. That was the allure of sex in the film. The puritan aspects of these lowly, simple folk seduced by sexual proclivity, which brings about their ultimate destruction. Not just seduction of the children, but the adults, too, their fidelity is tempted. Not just the opening sequence, but also later when Emil briefly entrances one of the wives much to her husbands chagrin. At least that's how I saw it, anyway.

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  12. I enjoyed it for all of the same reasons stated above, I have never been a fan of vampire films, but I am a huge fan of the carnival settings, and the blending of the two made this one much more engaging, let alone the beautiful photography and set pieces. One of my fav Hammer vamp flicks too!

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  13. I couldnt agree more with both Brian and Carl. In the prologue the greatest crime is not the slaughter of the child, but the adultery of the Professor's wife. The Circus is crucial to this film Carl, it is the element that gives it just the right amount of weirdness to make it a cult film.

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  14. I saw this one some time back in the 1970s - or possibly early 80s and would say that along with Captain Kronos and Lost Continent it is pretty much the one that has stuck in my memory the most. Felt that the Papa Lazarou seqment in league of gentlemen, aside from making fun of prejudice against travellers by playing to pretty much every stereotype known (including wifenapping and hawking door to door) also borrowed heavily from Vampire Circus. Its been a long time, I feel to long, and since I recently revisited Captain Kronos for the first time in years a few months back I think it may be about time to give this baby a spin again.

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  15. Thanks for stopping by Nigel. I think THE LOST CONTINENT sticks in my mind for the all the wrong reasons, whereas KRONOS and CIRCUS do for the right reasons. Yes its definately worth another look if you haven't seen it for years...the Synapse dual edition is the way to go.

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