Lilith, a Vampire who Comes Back – review

Director: Gianni Virgadaula

Release date: 2008

Contains spoilers

Originally called Lemuri – Il bacio di Lilith this is an Italian black and white (and at times dyed, including into sepia) silent film. There are some critical issues but mostly it does what it wants to do rather well. The blurb of the DVD suggests that it pays homage to A Fool there Was (1915), which I didn’t overly see bar in a flashback, and even then any connection in my mind was probably more to do with the suggestion in the blurb rather than an overt homage. The blurb also likens this to the works of Jean Rollin though I’d contest any direct correlation.

Lemur

The vampire type mentioned through the film is the lemur (in the English intertitles and in-film book translations). This is not to be mistaken for the Madagascan primate. The type does not have its own entry in Bane’s Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology but is given as an alternate name for the Roman Larva. Associated with the Feast of the Lemuria, the Larvae were malevolent household ghosts – which Bane suggests were a “hungry ghost”. From the (English) title of the film you can see that Lilith has also been attached to the lore of the film though she is both a (long dead) character and referenced in respect of the Jewish mythology.

nice imagery

The film begins with images of the Tower of Wolves, a ruin, and tales of attacks by wolves – though some say the attacks are by a vampire who has returned centuries after her death in 1370 (the film is set in 1928). The intertitles suggest that her unpronounceable name is unknown – which makes little sense as the surrounding area has the myth of Lilith Helm (Cinzia Susino). A little word about the intertitles; there were occasional typos through the film but worse was the fact that they (at times) felt like direct translation and therefore clumsy – this is one area where the film struggled. The imagery of the vampire in her coffin, however, was effective and evocative.

Lusilla and Ludwig

We meet the Baron Ludwig Von Reder (Tanino Golino), the last of his line, who has been widowed. We see the memories of his last days with his wife Lusilla (also Cinzia Susino) – whose maiden name was Helm – and the images show a happy couple, she had just planned on them having children, when she collapses, struck down by an unknown disease said to be consuming her, but which the doctor, Ugo Kier (Salvatore Amenta), cannot find the source of. She dies.

Denise Uccello as Astrid

Following this we get to meet some characters. There is the crippled and unscrupulous Balduin (Emanuele Giammusso), the town mayor Gustav (Giacomo Barletta) and his eligible daughter Astrid (Denise Uccello). During a religious procession we meet Father Gerard (Walter Maestosi), the chaste Angela Ruth (Eleonora Morello) and the gypsy fortune teller Siria (Giuliana Accolla).

Emanuele Giammusso as Balduin

Here we have another issue with the film. There is little information online about it (as I write this, there is no IMDb page for instance) but from what I have found this was originally a 17 minute short that has been extended to an 82 minute feature. There is more than one issue with this but for now I’ll mention the superfluous stories. For instance the actions of Balduin, who kidnaps, brutalises and murders Angela and another woman, seems superfluous, they are bits of story not expanded on nor justified within the greater story.

a vampire haunts the land

The core story for us is that a vampire starts haunting both Baron Ludwig and the surrounding lands (kidnapping and killing children); Lusilla is blamed as is Lilith. There seems to be the familial connection between the two women and the baron finds a letter allegedly written by Lilith secreted within a book, which in turn had been hidden by Lusilla.

from the book

The book is the “Book of Vampires” and we read the following from it: “Lemurs. Souls of the dead all ready (sic) mentioned in the Old Testament. Wandering spirits who subsided in Lemuria’s feasts, celebrated in May in Rome whith (sic) purification rituals. At night people would throw animals to them in order to feed them and keep them away from their houses, as lemurs love sucking blood of the living, even from their families, and conduct them to the underworld…” the book goes on to mention Philip Rohr’s Historico-Philosophica de Masticatione Mortuorum.

Lilith at the stake

We get the back history of Lilith from Father Gerard, who spins a tale of a wanton seductress and witch who brewed potions and cast spells from a location near the Tower of Wolves. She was arrested by the inquisition and tortured until she confessed and was then put to death by being burnt at the stake. Her ashes were then scattered. It seems that she fed upon Lusilla – this would fit in with the vampiric ghost as her ashes were scattered – but whether the vampire we see is lusilla or Lilith the film isn’t clear on (not that it matters). As predicted by Siria, the presence of the vampire causes other dead persons (spectral, rather than vampire, one assumes) to appear.

religious procession

I mentioned issues around the running time and it did feel to me that there were aspects that could have been edited down a bit or excised from the film altogether (especially the Balduin parts that seemed superfluous, not only his attacks on women but also his forcibly bringing a peasant girl as a breeder to Baron Ludwig and being sent away). Other parts might have been slightly expanded – for instance Astrid’s attraction to the Baron. Perversely, given this, the ending seemed rushed. However the imagery was wonderful, the filming mostly felt authentic (though there were occasional moments that felt a tad idiosyncratic) and the musical score was evocative, appropriate but could have been edited to the film better in one or two places.

posed in attack mode

The frustrating bit about this is that with accurate and better translated intertitles and some editing this could well have been a classic film. Unfortunately, given the fact that it was recreating a silent film, these elements are absolutely key. That isn’t to say the film is not worthwhile, for such an obscure film that I simply stumbled over it was a revelation. It deserves 7 out of 10 in its current state but some editing work could push it higher.

At the time of writing there was no IMDb page.

Revealed: Mysteries of the Vampire Skeletons – review

Director: Mark Fielder

Released: 2011

Contains spoilers

Narrated by Russell Boulter this documentary for UK TV Channel 5 looks into the latest finds of deviant burials that the archaeological community (or at least some within it) are suggesting might be vampire burials.

damaged legs wrapped around a boulder

Most famously, such a skeleton was unearthed in Venice. In this case the documentary concentrates on three deviant burials found in a dig in Kilteasheen in Ireland. At the dig – which revealed a large burial site – a skeleton was unearthed, whose legs had been wrapped around a boulder, in such a way – it has been suggested – to stop the corpse from walking. This was followed by the discovery of two skeletons who seemed to have stones thrust in their mouths. Interestingly, carbon dating put the skeletons as old as 720-760 AD, comparatively the Venice skull was likely from the 16th century.

skull with stone in mouth

Were these burials supposed vampires or revenants? One of the experts interviewed mentioned historical text, contemporary to the carbon dating, which suggested a belief in vampires, in Ireland, at that time. This source was a penitenitentia text, called the first synod of St Patrick, and the expert interviewed suggests that it says that anyone who believes in vampires should be put outside the church. As the word vampire would not have been in use (as far as we know) it is a pity that this was expanded on more.

reconstruction in cgi

There are pieces of English folklore that suggest a belief in revenants that are mentioned. These were the old woman of Berkeley, immortalised in poem by Robert Southey but originally told by William of Malmesbury (1095/96 – 1143), and also the tale of two men who were thought to have become Revenants in Drakelow, Derbyshire, in 1085. The documentary tells us of their bodies being exhumed, them being beheaded, their hearts removed and burnt (and interestingly two crows emerging from the smoke).

The documentary follows the beliefs into the vampire panics, telling us about the report by Johann Flückinger in 1732 and also looking briefly at the Petre Toma case from Romania in 2004, where the body was exhumed and the heart burnt.

With an obligatory mention of Bram Stoker and some footage of Whitby, which honestly seemed superfluous, the documentary does tread some very tired ground. However the main thrust is the deviant burials in Kilteasheen and this subject is fresh and interesting. 6.5 out of 10.

At the time of review their does not appear to be an imdb page.

Vampire Princess – review

Directors: Klaus Steindl & Andreas Sulzer

First aired: 2007

Contains spoilers

It was only when Everlost posted a link to David Blue’s article about this documentary that I realised that I hadn’t bothered reviewing the damn thing myself.

This really was an odd one; some very interesting discoveries were almost lost within some blatant speculation. The documentary was about Princess Eleonore Elisabeth Amalia Magdalena von Lobkowicz (Silvia Hladky) who was a member of the European nobility in the 18th century and Came from Cesky Crumlov.

The documentary begins by mentioning Dracula and then suggesting that Bram Stoker was aware of Vlad Ţepeş but all that Vlad actually leant to the book was his name and Transylvania. Nearly spot on… For, of course, Ţepeş was Wallachian not Transylvanian but closer than a lot of these documentaries get. They then go on to say that Stoker was more inspired by Princess Eleonore’s story. No…

I wait to be corrected but I have never seen anything connecting Stoker with Eleonore. The documentary then suggests that he wrote another vampire story with the character Lenore at the centre… Could they mean Lady of the Shroud, which I admit I haven’t read and is not a vampire story? No… Perhaps then Dracula’s Guest… in which case they are referring to the Countess Dolingen of Gratz in Styria (whom he listed as dying in 1801 rather than 1741, which is when Eleonore died). Indeed my first reaction was that they referred to Bürger’s Lenore – not a vampire piece but quoted within Dracula for the line “For the dead travel fast” and paraphrased on the tomb in Dracula’s Guest.

suspected vampire burial

In other words the Stoker connection is bunkum. Then came the most interesting bit. Archaeologists found a grave site near the town and there were three anomalous graves. Set North to South, the skeletons showed signs of tampering that included rocks on limbs, a skull between the legs with a rock on the mouth and damage to a sternum that might have been indicative of impalement into the heart. Absolutely fascinating stuff.

They then went into Eleonore’s life. She was a keen huntress but never killed wolves, these she captured. Why? Because she had the bitches milked and then drank said milk in order that she might bear a heir and son. Remarkably she did become pregnant eventually and give birth at the age of 41 – a miracle in itself in those days. The documentary then connected wolves and vampires in a way that seemed post-Stoker… better, I would have thought, to look at the close connection between the werewolf and vampire folklore, especially in Slavic traditions – even if it built into the speculation.

Silvia Hladky as Eleonore

After her husband died in a hunting accident, her 10 year old son was taken to the Emperor’s Court and she spent a fortune on all sorts of quackery medicine. Whilst this might seem important, given that she faded and died of cancer one can understand her desperation. Truthfully, one cannot deny that the wasting away she suffered from, due to her illness, might have looked suspect to the servants - especially as the region and timeframe place the incident at the heart of the vampire panics. However, there is nothing documented to support this.

a dying princess

It was when she died that things became odd. She was autopsied – not a common occurrence, especially for the aristocracy. The autopsy found no cause of death but listening to the findings, even I as a layman, could say she died of cancer. The documentary confirms this but stretches the section out indiscreetly as they discuss symptoms that sound like a vampire victim; simply to build the tension, one guesses.

Eleonore's Grave

She was not buried with her family but returned to Cesky Crumlov. This was as per her will but the documentary alleges that this will, written a few days before her death, was somehow suspect. But not how it was suspect… tabloid documentary making, I’m afraid – proffer your evidence. Was the signature compared to her normal signature? Did any record of the time question the will? She was buried and here things got interesting as they found her burial and showed that it was unusual for the time – especially the encasing the coffin within a structure built beneath the church. Was this due to suspected vampirism? An affirmative can only be speculative.

They then return to the three suspected vampire burials and speculate that the peasants went out with a black stallion (neglecting to mention that it and the rider should be virgin) and found three suspect vampires. Pure speculation that is followed by an almost apologetically communicated second theorem. There were three suicides during her time, one hung himself – which could have caused the beheading if he decomposed whilst hung, before being found. Could these have been the three? We don’t know but the idea that three suicides were selected for special treatment seems more likely. This might have been over a period of time, with no causal connection to the events surrounding Eleonore, or exhumed and dealt with due to a specific event - an epidemic or Eleonore's death may have been the cause - more digging into the records would be needed. All these seem more in keeping than the horse detection scenario.

The documentary could have been great and some speculation cannot be avoided – so long as it is labelled as such. Given that there has not been any rumour passed down through the centuries (and let’s face it, if there had they’ve had mentioned it) perhaps this is a new discovery of an old story. Suggestions such as a discovery that her portrait had the head removed and then re-stitched (only noticeable by x-ray) was a ritual beheading was speculation supporting their story. I suspect that Occam’s Razor would dictate that a more simple explanation, such as the canvas was somehow damaged or the lady herself wanted something about it changed (the castle ledgers might have simply mentioned painting rather than a specific detail), was more likely than a ritual that had no contemporary equivalent.

More attention should have been made regards the three suspected vampire burials – especially as they seem to date into the vampire epidemic – and all mention of Stoker should have been expunged as poppycock* (and poppycock which only served to weaken the rest of their hypothesis). 5 out of 10, for the interesting bits.

The imdb page is here.

*To steal a term from Elizabeth Miller, iro the Ţepeş/Stoker theorem.