The Kiss of the Vampire

"Shocking! - Horrifying! - Macabre!"

1963 1h 29m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 121

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Honeymooning in Bavaria, a young couple becomes stranded and is forced to stay the night in the area. Doctor Ravna, owner of the impressive chateau that sits imposingly above the village, invites them to dinner that evening. Their association with Ravna and his charming, beautiful family is to prove disastrous.

“Shocking! - Horrifying! - Macabre!”

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Cast

Edward de Souza
Gerald Harcourt
Jennifer Daniel
Marianne Harcourt
Noel Willman
Dr. Ravna
Barry Warren
Carl Ravna
Clifford Evans
Professor Zimmer
Jacquie Wallis
Sabena Ravna
Isobel Black
Tania
Stan Simmons
Ravna's Majordomo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Don Sharp
Writers: Anthony Hinds
Languages: English, Latin
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

63 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Latin.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Don Sharp, shot by Alan Hume. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Bernard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Edward de Souza and Jennifer Daniel and Noel Willman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Shocking! - Horrifying! - Macabre!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Don Sharp directs. Alan Hume behind the camera. James Bernard scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, Latin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
263 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Latin.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Don Sharp, shot by Alan Hume. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by James Bernard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Edward de Souza and Jennifer Daniel and Noel Willman carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Shocking! - Horrifying! - Macabre!".
9IMDB entry: tt0057226 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "mask", "vampire", "honeymoon", "crucifix".

The technical file

Cinematography: Alan Hume
Original score: James Bernard
Production design: Bernard Robinson
Makeup / hair: Roy Ashton
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)

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Don Sharp

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-09-26
★ 7.5/10
God is hardly involved, Mr. Harcourt. Kiss of the Vampire (AKA: Kiss of Evil in a truncated TV version) is directed by Don Sharp and written by John Elder. it stars Clifford Evans, Noel Willman, Edward de Souza, Jennifer Daniel, Barry Warren, Brian Oulton and Jacquie Wallis. Out of Hammer Film Productions in Eastmancolour, cinematography is by Alan Hume and music by James Bernard. Honeymooners Gerald (de Souza) and Marianne Harcourt (Daniel) stop over in a remote Bavarian village and fall prey to a suspicious family headed by Dr. Ravna (Willman). Planned as a Dracula sequel by Hammer Films, Kiss of the Vampire eventually followed in the vein of Brides of Dracula by bringing vampires into a social situation without the famous Count as the figurehead. With no Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Terence Fisher or Freddie Francis involved, it does on the outside seem it should be a lesser Hammer Horror picture. Thankfully that isn't the case at all. There's some wooden acting, less than great effects work in the finale and a lack of blood for the gore hounds, but this is still a wonderful Hammer picture. Ripe with atmosphere, beaming with glorious Gothic set design and beautifully photographed, it's a film begging to be discovered by the vampire faithful. Essentially a reworking of Edward G. Ulmer's The Black Cat (1934), the narrative follows the familiar vampiric formula so beloved by horror film makers, especially the house of Hammer, which is no bad thing really since they do it so well. In fact it should be noted that the finale to this one is a departure from the norm and is rather exciting, if just a little abrupt in the context of plotting. A bevy of beauties adorn the frames while suave aristocrat type gentlemen glide around the Ravna abode, this is very much a film rich in that Hammer style. Ignore claims of it being slow, for this is considerate to setting up the characters, and ignore the butchered American TV version, for Kiss of the Vampire is a treat for like minded Hammerphiles. 7.5/10
JPV8522020-06-27
★ 7/10
Simple if not entertaining horror-fantasy that doesn't have many standout scenes outside of the hilarious ending (seeing rubber bats on strings attacking people was amusing), but still had a fun time with it. 3.25/5