Blood of the Vampire (1958)

When you begin your journey with a graveyard staking of a freshly dead corpse followed by a graverobbing, you know you’ve hit it BIG when it comes to old school vampire flicks.  Thanks to Shout Factory, Blood of the Vampire, an underappreciated gem of howling horror, arrives on blu-ray with a new restoration of the original uncensored version.  The remote castle!  The maniacal scientist!   The hunchbacked assistant! The big breasted women!  And the blood, oh how it flows in this gruesome gothic flick!  

"was a bit overlooked at the time of its release.  Ignore it no longer humans!"


Make no mistake, Blood of the Vampire has it all.

Directed by Henry Cass and starring a wonderfully-scene stealing Donald Wolfit, Barbara Shelley, and Vincent Ball, Blood of the Vampire is an unsettling British horror film that, contrary to popular belief, is NOT a Hammer Studios production.  It sure looks like it, though.  There’s a solid production grinding in its gears and the vibrant color design doesn’t disappoint either as a remote castle prison becomes the home to one surgeon accused of malpractice, but what is really going on here?  There’s far too much bloodlust at play as the accused doctor finds himself helping a madman.

Truthfully, the frightening Dr. Callistratus (played by Sir Donald Wolfit) is at the center of the demented darkness, and it deals with blood type research, so that transfusions can be administered safely.  Specifically, his transfusions as Callistratus believes he can live forever.  His prisoners, unwilling victims of his bloodletting, have other plans.  This is what Dr. John Pierre (Ball) discovers - as well as a torture chamber - when he originally agrees to do Callistratus’ bidding, but his consciousness - as well as the efforts of Carl (Victor Maddem) who finds himself at odds with his master when he falls for one his victims - won’t let him keep up the experiments.  Blood of the Vampire (1958)

Written by Jimmy Sangster (The Curse Of Frankenstein, Dracula: Prince Of Darkness), Blood of the Vampire is definitely in the vein of Hammer’s horror classics, yet it stands alone from Hammer History due to its obscurity and its relatively lavish budget thanks to producers Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman for Tempean Films (who would later strike it RIGHT with Roger Moore in The Saint television show).

Here’s the thing, though.  Blood of the Vampire started production BEFORE Hammer made their House of Horror solid with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in Dracula; however, it was released months AFTER Hammer put their take on vampire lore out in theaters.  Timing is everything, you know.  Which might be why Blood of the Vampire, in spite of its rather human handling of vampirism, was a bit overlooked at the time of its release.  Ignore it no longer humans!

Blood of the Vampire, with no special features, is now on blu-ray thanks to Shout! Factory.  It is limited to merely 1500 copies, so snag this British Beastie NOW!

4/5 beers

 

Blood of the Vampire (1958)

Blu-ray Details

Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray
- February 22, 2022
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: None
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

When Dr. John Pierre is accused of deadly malpractice, he is sent to a remote castle prison run by Dr. Callistratus, a maniacal scientist who specializes in strange diseases of the blood. Upon arriving, Pierre finds himself recruited by Callistratus to assist with his mysterious research ... but once the conscripted doctor learns the true nature of this research, he must risk everything to stop his captor's terrifying plot.  Shout! Factory brings Blood of the Vampire back from the grave!

Video:

Presented in 1.66:1, the brand-new 2K transfer is GREAT.  Yes, there are no special features, but the colors are beyond vibrant, and the black levels are thick with solid lines.  The elegance of the production is noted by crisp details in the wardrobe and in the backgrounds as the castle absolutely comes to life with a striking attention to detail.  Nothing disappoints in this newly minted transfer of a gothic chiller.

Audio:

A solid DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono provides the screams!

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

  • None

Blu-ray Rating

  Movie 4/5 stars
  Video  4/5 stars
  Audio 3/5 stars
  Extras 0/5 stars

Composite Blu-ray Grade

3/5 stars


Film Details

Blood of the Vampire (1958)

MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime:
87 mins
Director
: Henry Cass
Writer:
Jimmy Sangster
Cast:
Stanley Shapiro; Paul Henning; Dale Launer; Jac Schaeffer
Genre
: Horror
Tagline:
Nothing Like It This Side of Hell!
Memorable Movie Quote:
Theatrical Distributor:
Universal Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date:
October, 1958
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
February 22, 2022.
Synopsis: When Dr. John Pierre is accused of deadly malpractice, he is sent to a remote castle prison run by Dr. Callistratus, a maniacal scientist who specializes in strange diseases of the blood. Upon arriving, Pierre finds himself recruited by Callistratus to assist with his mysterious research ... but once the conscripted doctor learns the true nature of this research, he must risk everything to stop his captor's terrifying plot.

Art

Blood of the Vampire (1958)