Vampyros Lesbos (Jess Franco, 1971) + Vampyres (José Ramón Larraz, 1974)
“First - Her name was Carmilla.
Second - Her family was very ancient and noble.
Third - Her home lay in the direction of the west.”
Perhaps the story of lesbian vampires began with Carmilla: Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872 novella, a story not unlike Stoker’s Dracula, but preceding it by 25 years - the story of female vampires who prey on young women. The protagonist, Laura, is both disgusted and aroused by her attraction to the beautiful vampire, Carmilla. Surprisingly progressive for the Victorian period, the story exhibits female sexual strength as having the potential to overpower men.
“She caressed me with her hands, and lay down beside me on the bed, and drew me towards her, smiling; I felt immediately delightfully soothed, and fell asleep again. I was wakened by a sensation as if two needles ran into my breast very deep at the same moment, and I cried loudly. The lady started back, with her eyes fixed on me, and then slipped down upon the floor, and, as I thought, hid herself under the bed.”
Another origin of the lesbian vampire figure is someone who can’t be left out of any conversation about vampires - the 16th century Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Scholars and believers of folklore have long debated the reality of her supposed crimes: prolific serial killer, sadist, witch, beauty-obsessed and mentally ill, and more recently, misunderstood philanthropist and feminist hero. Bathing in the blood of virgins to keep her young might be the least interesting aspect of the Countess’ legacy. In a world where woman are rarely portrayed as purely sadistic, her mark left on cinema’s seductively transgressive female characters is undeniable. All hail Countess Bathory!
What to Watch Next
Daughters of Darkness
1971 | Harry Kümel | West Germany
Delphine Seyrig is Countess Bathory, the ultimate homewrecker, who will rip a newlywed couple apart as she seduces both man and woman, destroying the former and turning the latter into her blood-drinking accomplice. Kümel revels in erotic sadism and female domination of men in a film dripping with sexuality, suffering and sequins.
Fascination
1979 | Jean Rollin | France
“You’re beautiful like that, with his blood on your mouth.” An early scene in Rollin’s sixth film about female vampires has two elegantly dressed women standing on a dirty abbattoir floor, sipping glasses of blood. Men’s fear and fetishisation of powerful women has conjured up what actually feels like a story of the strength of sisterhood.
Immoral Tales
1973 | Walerian Borowczyk | France
The Elizabeth Bathory story within Borowcyk’s anthology film brings a surreal eroticism to the Countess’ proclivity for blood. Torture and murder are left to the imagination as the camera focuses on the nubile bodies of her victims showering, before she is shown gloriously showering in sticky, scarlet blood.
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
1972 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | West Germany
Glamour, control, desperation. This is not a vampire film, but it is a study of the power dynamics between women, centred around Petra, an enthrallng but desperately lonely fashion designer who might suck you dry. Set solely in Petra’s apartment, claustrophobia and codependency reign.