GraveoftheVampire

Grave of the Vampire (1974)

This movie opens up with a young couple headed off to a secluded spot for some “alone” time. They pick a local cemetery, which is really a bad idea. That very night a vampire rises from his grave and makes supper of the young man. The young woman he uses to satisfy other urges. She becomes pregnant and 9 months later gives birth to a boy who has unusual tastes, much like his father. The movie then jumps to 30 years later when the boy, named James, finally tracks his father down. The vampire is posing as a college professor and is clueless to James’s identity. That is until they come head to head as both he and his son want the same woman! This leads to an séance and a big showdown between father and son.

Be warned that this is very low budget movie and it shows at times. The movie was shot quickly and cheaply, which I think leads to the ending feeling a bit rushed and silly. But that doesn’t bother me at all, because it gives Grave of the Vampire a cool cheesy ‘70s drive-in vibe. Though there are other issues with the plot and pacing of the movie. After a surprisingly brutal (for the early ‘70s anyway) opening with the vampire raping the young woman after snapping her boyfriend’s back the movie has a slow part as the James character is introduced and we see what happens to his mother. There is also this “groovy” party that is a bit tedious. But once James and his father, Caleb, are on screen together things pickup until we get to the big finale.

Again I want to warn everyone that the movie is slow at times, but I think worth sticking with. The performances from both William Smith (in a rare non villain/anti-hero role) as James and the underrated Michael Pataki as Caleb make the movie worth checking out. Smith has always been a favorite of mine and Pataki is having a blast chewing up the scenery as the villainous Caleb. When you get to the big finale, which involves a well-staged fight, both these actors really sell it. You can see that they are throwing themselves around the set. The effort of both actors helps Grave of the Vampire overcome it’s low budget and rushed shooting schedule, making the movie much better then it should have been. Oh and I’ll not ruin it but the movie also has a great “drive-in” ending that puts a smile on my face no matter how many times I check it out.

Before I finish up I wanted to briefly mention the special effects. There are some nasty kills, but they happen off camera or are blocked from view. But they are staged in such a way that it still works, at least it did for me. The vampire makeup consists of the standard teeth and not much more. No bats, turning to mist, or children of the night here. But they don’t sparkle either, so I’m good with it. And yes I will continue beating that dead horse!

Is Grave of the Vampire a great movie? Nope not really, but it is a solid movie. This movie is available on many of those DVD sets from companies like Millcreek so the movie is cheap and easy to locate.

2 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer