VAMPYROS LESBOS is a Spanish-German production that was released in Europe as EL SIGNO DEL VAMPIRO in 1970. Jess Franco’s (credited as Franco Manera ) film is a masterpiece of multiple European exploitation genres. The film was a hit in Europe and was poised to be a breakthrough film for it’s leading lady (and Franco mainstay) Soledad Miranda. Miranda was killed in a car crash shortly after production (on the way to a contract signing). The film was released in Spain in a sanitized version, but released uncut in Germany. The film was never released in North America (on VHS or LD), and was difficult to find even in the bootleg market. Synapse Films knew a good thing when they saw it, and snatched the release rights. So now thanks to Synapse, we have the North American premiere of VAMPYROS LESBOS on DVD! Was it worth the wait?

Don May of Synapse films has made known the reason for the long delay for this title, and they are chronicled in the liner notes. The German liscensor only had 1 marginal print of the film available, and would not part with it so Synapse could clean up the film elements. At the last minute, they were able to get their hands on an uncut, better looking widescreen print from the UK’s Redemption films. Synapse was then able to clean up the bulk of the negative problems, but not all (as it would have cost them a fortune). Having heard all this beforehand, I viewed the film with a cautious eye. Surprisingly, the image quality turned out to be a lot better than I expected (see Video below for a detailed analysis).

The film has an very interesting cast highlighted by sultry Portuguese actress Soledad Miranda (billed here as Susann Korda). Miranda starred as Mina along side Christopher Lee (as Dracula) in Franco’s best film, COUNT DRACULA. Sexy Ewa (THE DEVIL CAME FROM AKISAWA) Stromberg plays the heroine Linda Westinghouse, who is lured into the world of vampirism by Countess Carody (Miranda) The film also stars English actor Dennis (TOWER OF EVIL) Price as Dr. Seward, Linda’s doctor who has some ulterior motives on his mind besides Linda’s health. Paul (KISS ME KILLER) Muller is Linda’s boyfriend Omar.

Linda and her boyfriend Omar are at a nightclub, watching Soledad Miranda and this other woman in a performance art routine. It's a surreal act (accompanied by some great jazzy acid rock) with Miranda making lesbian love to this woman, who pretends to be a mannequin. Soon after seeing this show, Linda is haunted by visions of this woman in her dreams. She goes to this island estate on assignment for the agency she works for, and comes face to face with Countess Carody (Miranda). It turns out that the Countess inherited this property from none other than Count Dracula! Later that evening, the Countess seduces Linda and bites her on the neck. Days later, Linda wakes up in a clinic, not knowing what the hell's going on.

Dr. Seward has been assigned to care for Linda, and he shows an interest the black arts. It turns out that Countess Carody was raped by soldiers (hence her hatred of men) back in her Hungarian homeland, then saved by Dracula who lusted after her body. Now she and her brutish assistant Morpho (remember him from earlier Franco pictures such as TWO UNDERCOVER ANGELS?) are vampiric nomads who lure women into the world of the vampire and the Countess has her sights set on Linda. After Linda is declared missing, Omar finds Countess Carody dancing at the nightclub, and starts to put the pieces of the puzzle together. He follows The Countess back to her beach side residence, unaware that Linda is also on her way there. But does Linda want to stay human or is she bewitched by the Countess’s seductive charms?

Some of the mayhem includes:

• Linda finds a corpse in the basement of her hotel.
• At the conclusion of their seduction, The Countess bites Linda on her neck.
• During a nightclub performance art exhibition, the Countess bites the jugular of her collaborator, and the audience thinks it’s part of the show and cheer as the blood pours out of the poor girls neck.
• In self-defense Linda is forced to use a band saw to kill an attacker in the basement of her hotel.
• Morpho strangles Dr. Seward.
• Linda witnesses a bloody body floating in a pool.
• Linda attempts to stop a vampire by sticking a steel rod into its head and gets a faceful of blood for her effort.

Franco has made more movies than anyone, and there's usually something inventive and inspired in each of them. But in none of his other works did everything combine perfectly together like it does here. Euro-fans who swoon over the lighting in SUSPIRIA, thrill to the comic-book metaphysics of THE BEYOND, and swear by the documentary style of CANNIBAL FEROX, should love this as Franco has imbued VAMPYROS LESBOS with healthy doses of glamour, poisonous softcore sex, Satanic lounge music, and more crazy zooms than an old martial arts flick. Franco injects symbolism and foreshadowing into the mix, by showing us glimpses of scrambling scorpions and kites rising and falling.

This has got to be one of the most surreal films ever made. The film brilliantly combines weird art-house imagery with psychedelic soft-core to create a genuinely original film, full of strange gothic colors and futuristic, freefall visuals. There are several dream and hallucination scenes interwoven with the narrative which contributes to the surreal atmosphere. The film is one of the most stylistic films of the seventies. The eerie soundtrack of spacey synths and piano brilliantly captures Linda's confusion as she enters the world of the mysterious Countess. This film is quite unlike anything else you have seen before, and yet it is everything you have imagined it to be.

The musical score to the film is astounding. The soundtrack has been recently re-released and actually made the alternative record lists. Segments of the soundtrack have been used by Quentin Tarentino in JACKIE BROWN. The music is hard to describe, you really need to hear it. It is used most effectively in the performance artist scenes where the Countess and friends are dancing naked.

What might turn some horror fans off is that it is not a hardcore horror film. Blood is used minimally, and even the vampire elements are played down. The Countess only exhibits some vampiric powers like hypnosis and teleportation. When horror fans hear vampires they instantly think there will be bat transformations, punctured jugulars, undead super powers, etc. Here the emphasis is on sex, gothic trappings, surreal imagery and intrigue, and references to the dark powers. So the film may not be as appealing to the people who need to see a head squished every 10 minutes to enjoy a movie. But if you dig films from Hammer, you should check this one out!

SIGHT
Synapse presents the film in an un-enhanced 1.66.1 widescreen transfer. Expecting the worst, the video quality was actually quite good, except for a few moments. Remember this is a 30 year old film, so don’t expect THX standards (not that they are that high anymore). I was surprised at Manuel Marino’s cinematography looked breathtaking in many shots, mainly the panoramic exteriors of Turkey, where the movie was filmed. There are numerous shots of the harbor, buildings, cathedrals, and they looked great depending upon the lighting (Franco purposely uses some murky morning and dawn shots). The interiors are even better and feature stunning art direction. The detail level though out is pretty impressive. What really surprised me was the lush, vivid colors. Contrast and brightness are very good with solid shadow detail. The flesh tones are perfect and they better be, as there is so much flesh to see. But seriously, you can see every hair, nook, and cranny on all those naked female bodies. Synapse cleaned up the print considerably, and only occasionally do nics and scratches occur, but never more than a second. It never distracts from the movie. Only in one lovemaking scene did the film take on a yellowish tint, but only for like 6 seconds. There was also one dark scene in a basement that was soft and hard to make out. And of course any movie over 30 years old has visible grain, but again it does not distract from the viewing experience. I’m being picky here; most people won’t even notice most of this.

SOUND
Audio is a good Dolby Digital two channel mono mix. I detected no pops, hiss, or distortions of any kind. The film is in German (dubbed from Spanish), and the dialog comes from the center speaker. The mono mix has a good range of depth, and does not sound flat or tinny. This would be a different film altogether without the musical score composed by Jess Franco. The grooving acid rock/synth score dominates the mix and that’s how it should be. The music produces an otherworldly effect and perfectly compliments Franco’s hallucinogenic visuals.

FEATURES
The only extra is a trailer. But it is a great trailer, incorporating the music and best elements from the film. Usually trailers are of terrible picture quality, but this one is as clean as the feature! This German trailer is full frame, mono, and runs 2.32. Trailer fans rejoice.

CONCLUSION
Dare I say it? This is the CITIZEN KANE of European exploitation cinema. Jess Franco and the word "class" do not mix, but here Franco gets to set his critics straight. Highly recommended, even if its only for a rental. If you are reading this, you have some appreciation for cult films so you would be doing yourself a disservice by not getting your own copy, or renting it from Netflix or some other place. It took awhile for it to get here, but it was certainly worth the wait. And the only way to see VAMPYROS LESBOS is on DVD. I understand that Synapse has some more Franco films on tap shortly, so we'll see.