‘Lust for blood’
Vampyres is a 2015 Spanish supernatural horror film remake of the 1974 British cult movie of the same title.
Produced by Artistic Metropol, the screenplay was written by José Larraz (director of the original) and Víctor Matellano. Larraz was working on the project before he died; Matellano took over directorial duties.
The movie stars Caroline Munro (Dracula A.D. 1972, Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter, At the Earth’s Core), Anthony Rots, Veronica Bacorn, Alina Nastase, Luis Hacha, Marta Flich, Almudena Léon, Lone Fleming (A Candle for the Devil), Antonio Mayans (Devil Hunter; Cannibal Terror), May Heatherly and Conrado San Martín.
FX were coordinated by Colin Arthur (The Never Ending Story) who was in charge of FX in the original film.
Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk
Reviews:
“There are admirable attempts to recreate some of the original’s iconic scenes (the girls running through a graveyard, their black-cloaked outlines waiting by the roadside for a victim), but some inappropriate pop songs on the soundtrack (especially over the opening titles) are a serious mis-step, and the chilly, gloomy ambience that permeated the original is sadly lacking as well.” House of Mortal Cinema
“Transplanting the whole thing to contemporary, non-specific Spain from the tatty, fraying edges of 1970s Britain cuts away much that makes Vampyres interesting. It’s a remake that feels like a footnote, and – though it’s scarcely an hour and a quarter long – your attention is likely to wander quite a lot while it’s running.” Electric Sheep
” …thanks to it sticking so closely to the source material still highly watchable, a solid cast makes the most of a workman-like direction and a guest appearance from the scream queen of scream queens Caroline Munroe is always a good thing in a movie. Vampyres may not have the power and the vision of the original film, but it does have a sense of heart at the centre of the film…” Ginger Nuts of Horror
“When all is said and done, it’s a boring film. It fails to pull you into the story or keep you invested for the entirety of its duration. If you’re looking to sit down with a film that combines erotica and gothic fantasy, it’s best to stick with the original. This is just mindless excess trying to ride the coattails of bygone era.” That’s Not Current
” …no substance, context or atmosphere and would probably make a fantastic black metal music video if somebody fancies making a fan edit, and at least that way you could cut out all of the dull bits as most of the good stuff amounts to about the same running time as an epic Cradle of Filth track. Right then, get to work…” Flickering Myth
“If you’re interested in Vampyres (or for that matter vampires) I highly recommend skipping this film and going straight to the 1974 version. The story is better, the production values are better, the costumes, the acting, the setting, everything is flat out better in the old movie. Vampyres accomplished pretty much what all remakes in the history cinema have managed to do: be worse than the original.” UK Horror Scene
Release:
On September 27, 2016, Artspolitation Films released Vampyres on DVD in the US.
On 5 September 2016, Soda Pictures released Vampyres on DVD in the UK.
Alternate title:
Las Hijas de Drácula
Teaser trailer:
