I Vampiri (The Vampires, Riccardo Freda, 1956; completed by Mario Bava) was a wonderful surprise. 🖤

A film that, despite the production limitations of its time, still retains a genuinely remarkable Gothic atmosphere. Night-time Paris, young women being murdered and drained of their blood, crypts, laboratories, castles, and above all that wonderfully morbid idea of the obsessive pursuit of eternal youth.

What impressed me most is precisely the balance between Gothic horror and science fiction, almost anticipating some of the horror films that would come later. The cinematography and sets are incredibly effective as well: whenever Bava's touch becomes apparent, you can already see the visual talent that would explode in the following years.

I also enjoyed it because it isn't simply a "vampire movie": it takes the vampire imagery and rationalizes it, turning it into something arguably even more disturbing. Behind the apparent supernatural elements lies a very human obsession with beauty, aging, and death.

For a film generally regarded as the true starting point of modern Italian Gothic horror, I'd say it still has plenty of bite. 😁🧛‍♀️

 I already know the Italian Gothic horror tradition quite well, and I Vampiri is a fascinating starting point for exploring one of the most distinctive chapters in Italian genre cinema. If you enjoyed this one, I strongly recommend checking out other films by Freda, Bava and Antonio Margheriti, as well as some of the lesser-known filmmakers who worked in the same tradition. There is a lot of great stuff to discover beyond the most famous titles.

Some recommendations:

Mario Bava: "La maschera del demonio" (Black Sunday, 1960), "I tre volti della paura" (Black Sabbath, 1963), "La frusta e il corpo" (The Whip and the Body, 1963), "Operazione paura" (Kill, Baby... Kill!, 1966).

Riccardo Freda: "Caltiki - Il mostro immortale" (Caltiki, the Immortal Monster, 1959), "L'orribile segreto del Dr. Hichcock" (The Horrible Dr. Hichcock, 1962), "Lo spettro" (The Ghost, 1963), "Follia omicida" (Murder Obsession, 1981).

Antonio Margheriti: "Danza macabra" (Castle of Blood, 1964), "La vergine di Norimberga" (Horror Castle, 1963), "I lunghi capelli della morte" (The Long Hair of Death, 1964).

And there are many other Italian Gothic films from the 1950s and '60s worth discovering. The cycle was much broader than just Bava and Freda, and it remains one of the most interesting and visually distinctive chapters in European horror cinema. 

I Vampiri (The Vampyre, 1956)