"Track Of The Vampire"

[dvdasia62]

OK, so I picked up one of those cheap Madacy Killer Creature Double Feature disc's the other day, lol. It was only like 6 bucks and featured both "Track Of The Vampire" and "Nightmare Castle" with Barbara Steele. "Nightmare Castle" was tough to watch because the print was so bad and so old and scratchy. Also, the dubbing was completely out of synch. The words would come out and then the mouth would move. The film lists a run time of 90 minutes but it actually ran more like 80 so I have no idea how much was cut. Anyway, back to the main reason for my post, the saving grace of the disc was a film starring William Campbell called "Track Of The Vampire". The film was in black and white and ran 80 minutes. It was made in 1966 and directed by Stephanie Rothman and Jack Hill. Campbell is an artist living in Venice, CA. who thinks he is reincarnated from a 15th century ancestor who was also an artist but burned at the stake as a vampire. His mania leads him to stalk women, kill them, dip them into molten wax and then paint their bodies. In the end, the victims return to life for revenge. OK, the film sounds hokey but I have to say I really enjoyed it! The movie was photographed in a bizarre manner, creating a surreal and extremely atmospheric feel. There are many outdoor location shots that seem downright eerie allowing the film to act as an almost extended episode of "The Twilight Zone" or "One Step Beyond". There is some odd history to the film also because director Hill was fired by Roger Corman during shooting and Rothman then took over. Also, Rothman then had to incorporate footage from a Yugoslavian film Corman bought the rights to. Really weird but probably also explains why the outdoor Venice, CA. locales sometimes appeared beautifully European. Anyway, I thought it was an excellent and interesting film and I'd love to see it get a respectable DVD release sometime in the future. :)

[mac-hammer-fan]

I loved some parts of "Track of the Vampire". But it was low-budget and not always convincing. "Nightmare Castle" however, is a beautiful gothic tale, unfortunately heavilly cut! And because of this, the Madacy DVD was a disappointment. :confused:

[dvdasia62]

The disc was definately a disappointment but I wasn't expecting much from the $6 price tag and the Madacy label, lol!!! Actually the "Track Of The Vampire" transfer was not too bad and even slightly letterboxed revelaing more side to side info then ever before. However, the film was too dark in spots. As for the film being unconvincing, well considering it was a film about a reincarnated 15th century artist who painted models and dipped them in wax while thinking he was a vampire, I didn't expect it to be all that convincing. :) I think it's low budget approach actually worked to it's advanyage and added to the films surrealism.

[Vampyre]

Both of the flims are 2 of my old favs...

I wish a good print of Nightmare Castle would come out..

Hum, Where did you find this at? I have Track Of The Vampire on VHS, I have not seen it on dvd before, would love to pick that up to add to my Vampire Collection..

Vampyre

[dvdasia62]

I've seen the Madacy double feature DVD for sale on numerous online sites like amazon, dvdempire, cduniverse, trashpalace, etc.. I picked my copy up at my local Best Buy. :)

[Vampyre]

Thanks, I will have to check my Local Best Buy, about what section in the dvd's did you find this?

I really want to check this dvd out!

[dvdasia62]

I don't really remember off the top of my head but I believe it was in the bargain DVD section or DVD's under $10. Something like that. :) If all else fails, just browse thru their horror section.