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Vampire
Circus (1972)
Directed
by Robert Young
 Vampire
Circus
was made by Hammer and
released in1972. At the beginning of the film the camera pans in on a
man who is sitting reading a book in the woods on a nice sunny day.
Next the camera shows a young girl playing in the woods a little
distance away from the man. A moment later a young woman walks over and
begins talking to the girl. At this point the man glances up and then
returns his attention to his book. By now the little girl is following
the woman farther into the woods and the man suddenly looks up again
and, obviously agitated, he rushes after the woman and girl, who both
ignore his shouts and run through the open doors of a castle. The doors
are locked behind them and try as he might the man from the woods
cannot get through.
It turns out that the man from the woods is Professor Hans Mueller and
the lady who abducted the girl is non other than his wife Anna, who is
under the influence of the evil Count Mitterhaus. Anna, it would  seem, ensures
that Mitterhaus is never short of his favoured sustenance and in return
for her services he services her needs and gives her the kind of body
fluid that she seems to need so desperately. And boy she just cannot
wait. In fact, by the time the Count has finished draining his latest
victim, Anna has already got her clothes off and she throws herself at
Mitterhaus before he even has time to let his dinner to go down.
Personally I cannot see what the attraction is, it cannot be his choice
in shirts, that's for sure, so perhaps it is his killer smile that
makes him a hit with the ladies.
Meanwhile, back in the village of Stetl, Professor Mueller is
trying his best to rouse the local community into action and the local
community is not keen on the idea because they are afraid of the
possible repercussions if they kill a titled man such as the Count.
Mueller finally raises his mob though and, donning the traditional
burning torches, they all head on up to the castle.
 By the time
Meuller and his mob arrive at the castle it is a little too late for
the little girl and Anna's honour was obviously beyond redemption a
very long time ago. The villagers have had enough of Mitterhaus though
and they have decided that he has to go. They have even brought him a
parting gift: something long and sharp; in wood of course. A
fight ensues and a few villagers lose their lives, but in the end
Mitterhaus get the stake through his heart that he so richly deserves.
With his last breath the Count curses the village, vowing that "Stetl
will die" and "Your Children will die." And that when this happens it
will pave the way for his return.
Once they have finished with the count the villagers start on Anna and
proceed to give her the thrashing of her life. Mueller cannot stand to
see this happening though, and he steps in to save his wife who then
spits in his face before rushing off to join her lover in the castle.
The Count is finished, of course, but unlike in most vampire films he
has not turned to dust. He is just lying there, in his coffin, still
wearing his horrific shirt and with the world's biggest splinter in his
chest.
The film then jumps forward by fifteen years and finds the village of
Stetl quarantined because a strange plague is killing the villagers
left, right and centre. The inhabitants of the neighbouring villages
have set up roadblocks and done a pretty good job of cordoning off the
whole area. If anyone tries to leave Stetl they are shot. Strangely
though, the roadblocks seem to have done little to prevent the Circus
of the Night from arriving in the village.
 The Circus
of the Night is led by an unnamed gypsy woman and it boasts some very
strange attractions, including a dancer who appears to be wearing
nothing but body paint, a man called Emil who can turn into a black
panther, and twins who possess the unusual ability of being able to
turn into bats. The twins put on one hell of a display too as they
somersault into the air, transform into vampire bats, and then drop
back to earth in human form. The ladies of the village seem to be much
more impressed with Emil, however, who is soon busy corrupting the
burgermeister's daughter.
I don't suppose that I will be giving too much away if I tell you that
the Circus of the Night is in league with the Count Mitterhaus and it
is not long before the villagers are turning up dead and bled and, in
some cases, mutilated almost beyond recognition.
Vampire
Circus is quite and enjoyable
film to watch. It won't perhaps appeal to everyone, but if you like
your Hammer horrors then you will probably enjoy this one as well. The
story line is a little thin, but these kind of films are more about
entertainment than giving the viewer something to think about. Like
most Hammers horrors Vampire Circus contains
a certain amount of nudity; but although such scenes may have been
considered quite risque at the time, they are pretty tame by modern
standards, and so the film is unlikely to cause too
many impressions of a beetroot if watched in company. There
are a few scenes that are a little gory, the most notable of which is
when the professor's daughter, Dora, finds the remains of some of her neighbours
in the woods. But, although the viewer may jump a little at  the sight of
a decapitated head or a few maggots, they will only see a brief flash
of something nasty and few people are likely to need to reach for a
barf-bag or forsake their popcorn.
The only thing that annoyed me a little while
watching Vampire Circus
is the fact that the Count's body never decomposed. In the majority of
vampire films-Hammer ones included-once the vampire has been staked he
or she turns to dust and becomes Dyson fodder. So why should this film
play by different rules? Fifteen years later Mitterhaus still looks
relatively healthy and there is not so much as a speck of dust on his
whiter than white and very tasteless shirt! Crazy! Overall though, I
like this film and, as I said earlier, I think that most Hammer fans
will like it too. A few of them may even like the Count's shirt, I
doubt it, but stranger things have happened.
CAST
Adrienne Corri ...
Gypsy Woman
Thorley Walters
... Burgermeister
Anthony Higgins
... Emil
John Moulder-Brown
... Anton Kersh
Laurence Payne
... Prof. Albert Mueller
Richard Owens
... Dr. Kersh
Lynne Frederick
... Dora Mueller
Elizabeth Seal
... Gerta Hauser
Robin Hunter ...
Hauser
Domini Blythe
... Anna Mueller
Robert Tayman
... Count Mitterhaus
John Bown
... Schilt
Mary Wimbush
... Elvira
Christine
Paul-Podlasky ...
Rosa
Robin Sachs
... Heinrich
Lalla Ward
... Helga
Skip Martin
... Michael
David Prowse
... Strongman
Roderick Shaw
... Jon Hauser
Barnaby Shaw
... Gustav Hauser
Milovan ...
The Webers - Male Dancer
Serena ...
The Webers - Female Dancer
Jane Darby
... Jenny Schilt
Sibylla Kay
... Mrs. Schilt
Dorothy Frere
... Granma Schilt
Sean Hewitt
... First Soldier
Giles Phibbs
... Sexton
Jason James
... Foreman
Arnold Locke
... Old Villager
DVD
Information:
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Run Time
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84 minutes
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Aspect Ratio:
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1.78:1
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Language
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English
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