ThiefHott Too much of everything

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Michael_Elliott The Velvet Vampire (1971) ** (out of 4) Lee (Michael Blodgett) and his wife Susan (Sherry E. DeBoer) are invited by Diane LeFanu (Celeste Yarnall) to her castle in the desert where before long she begins to seduce the couple. What Lee and Susan don't know is that Diane is a vampire who lusts for blood.THE VELVET VAMPIRE isn't a very good movie but at the same time there are enough campy moments that make it worth sitting through and at just 80 minutes it's short enough to where it never gets too boring. It seems that director Stephanie Rothman would have preferred a much bigger budget where she could have done more with the material. The film certainly appears to have been influenced by the sexy European thrillers but the lack of any sort of atmosphere killing the movie from being better.As I said, the film wants to be an ultra sexy European film but the budget probably prevented this as there's really not much of an atmosphere and the dream-like quality that Rothman was going for just never rings through. I will say that the film contains a lot of nudity so she obviously knew how to keep producer Roger Corman happy. With the nudity comes some sex scenes but none of them are all that erotic.What keeps THE VELVET VAMPIRE moving is the fact that it's quite silly at times. There were some moments where I really laughed out loud including the various seduction scenes where the husband falls for them and doesn't shy away from the fact that his wife is right there watching him. Even sillier is some of her over-dramatic reactions to his cheating and flirting. The performances really aren't all that good, which gives us a few more laughs as does the silly dialogue.THE VELVET VAMPIRE will never be mistaken for a classic but if you like cheap and campy horror movies it's certainly worth watching.

MartinHafer Throughout his career, Roger Corman has been known for his economical film making. No other producer/director can come close to his record of successful low-budgeted films. In the 1970s, Corman added something more to his films....boobies. His films never were high art but now they were often spiced up with sex--and "The Velvet Vampires" is exactly what I expected. Yep, a low budget with small-time actors and ample boobs. And, since it's a vampire film starring a hot female creature, you know that the boob quotient will be a lot higher than normal! While "The Velvet Vampire" is a very sexy film (and it might even be seen as soft-core porn by many), it is a bad film when it comes to some of the acting. In particular, Sherry Miles. I rarely point out a particular actor or actress, she was just terrible. While it's obvious why she was chosen (she got naked a lot and looked terrific), she couldn't act. She came off as whiny and annoying--and definitely NOT an actress. While the rest were okay, they were often hampered with horrid dialog---especially with the VERY silly and suggestive dinner scene. Overall, not worth seeing unless you want to see a lot of skin. As for the rest of the film, it's just silly. And, why is it that the vampire sure doesn't act like a vampire--such as going out during the daytime?! If you get a chance, trying reading Celeste Yarnall's bio on IMDb. I have nothing against the actress--she could act though had a habit of starring in bad films (such as ones made in the Philippines). But whoever wrote it was either VERY creepy or a family member, as they seemed obsessed and the language was a bit odd to say the least.

Scott LeBrun Nicely done vampire tale, an early effort for Roger Corman's New World Pictures, breaks from convention in some ways and gives it a refreshingly different environment in which to play out: the California desert.Super sexy Celeste Yarnall is the enigmatic Diane, a desert dweller who invites young couple Lee (Michael Blodgett, "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls") and Susan (Sherry Miles, 'Hee Haw') to her isolated mansion.Co-writer / director Stephanie Rothman, the woman behind such other drive-in gems as "The Working Girls" and "Terminal Island", incorporates elements such as eroticism, voyeurism, and mysticism into this often artfully done, dreamlike horror film with palpable desert atmosphere, excellent music, and impressive sun baked cinematography by Daniel Lacambre. The dream sequences are especially enjoyable, even more so when we learn Lee and Susan are having almost the same dreams in unison. Susan often comes off as too whiny and insecure, although one couldn't blame her too much for the latter when they see just how powerfully attracted Lee is to Diane. In fact, both Lee and Susan end up rather intrigued by their cagey and alluring hostess, just not at the same time.The isolated setting ensures that escape is, while definitely not impossible, certain to be a daunting task. The sequences in the cemetery, as well as those aforementioned dream sequences, are the best in the movie. Restrained use of violence helps to make the bloodier parts that much punchier when they do occur, and in general the use of colour is quite striking. Blodgett and Miles are okay as the couple, but this is definitely Yarnall's show, and she makes the most of her role; both she and Miles show off an appreciable amount of skin. Supporting players Gene Shane, as Carl, and Jerry Daniels, as Juan, are decent as well, with familiar character players Sandy Ward, as Amos the service station attendant, and Robert Tessier - playing a biker, naturally - making appearances as well."The Velvet Vampire" is a good little movie for discerning vampire movie lovers to check out, as it continues to remain an overlooked item.Seven out of 10.

emm Considered to be a cult horror classic, THE VELVET VAMPIRE is a real gimmick at expressing this, and isn't much of one. Hammer Studios, notorious for British cult movie addicts, developed a new style of their own with female vampire movies, circa 1970. It appeared as though New World Pictures tried to duplicate their thoughtful ideas with this tale of a dark-haired beauty luring victims into her passionate traps. That explains it! Just get a lovely broad who can drive a dune buggy, use the familiar old "Dracula" approach, update the setting to "contemporary" form, and you have this, a rip-off of what we, as die-hard horror fanatics, have seen thousands of times before. There aren't a whole lot of horrifying chills, but it easily makes up for the erotic suspense thrills of Celeste Yarnall, the sexy seductress with an a-"lure"-ing personality. Predictable it is, until you run into one of the most ludicrous climaxes I've ever seen, which is based on the DRACULA legend! Ugh!!! Not a bad little erotic showcase, but DEF BY TEMPTATION and VAMPYRES would be better examples.