As a passing fan of Vampirella I had no idea as to what to expect from this film. I discovered Vampirella in the early 80’s when my favorite comic book shop called Comics and Comix in Citrus Heights, California, was offering back issues of the magazine for one dollar a piece. I picked up a few issues and was, as an adolescent boy, titillated to say the very least. The stories were good, but they couldn’t compete with my love of the X-Men of that time frame.
Back to the movie… It was actually not bad. For a Roger Corman flick I honestly expected more focus on breasts and buttox, but what I got was far better than some misogynistic “T&A” show. If this movie had a larger budget I feel like it could have been really something. The actress who played the film’s title character, Talisa Soto, did a great job portraying the daughter of Drákulon seeking vengeance against Vlad, the rebel leader of a group of vampires who seek blood from where ever they can get it. Vlad, played by the Who’s Roger Daltrey, escapes judgement of the high council of Drákulon and drinks the blood of the head of the council, Vampirella’s father.
Now there is a vampiric ton of really bad acting in this movie. I mean A LOT! Daltrey chews the scenery like it’s made of bubblegum. The only good performance is from Soto, herself, and Lee de Broux who plays Walsh.
Now the design of the film… I really wish I could go back in time and take that job. Her outfit wasn’t the classic one, nor should it have been. It could have been designed better. Less BDSM and more sci-fi. It didn’t look that comfortable for Soto to wear either. I may just take a stab at redesigning her outfit for the heck of it.
Vampirella isn’t something that I’ll watch often but I wouldn’t mind watching it again from time to time. I found the film to watch on YouTube, and you can easily find it if you search. I do plan on purchasing a better quality copy without Portuguese hardcoded subtitles and giving it another watch.
Have you seen this film? What did you think? Did it do the character justice, in your opinion? Does Vampi need another shot at the big screen? So many questions…
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2 comments
I didn’t even know this existed, and I was a fan of both The Who and Vampirella. Of course, with V, I admit my interests were more prurient, as they were with Nanny Dickerling (the Bill Ward version) and Elvira. I may have to look this movie up.
I always forget this movie exists.