The Route of Ice and Salt – review

Author: José Luis Zárate

Translation: David Bowles

First published: 1998 (2021, English translation)

Contains spoilers

The Blurb: A reimagining of Dracula's voyage to England, filled with Gothic imagery and queer desire.

It's an ordinary assignment, nothing more. The cargo? Fifty boxes filled with Transylvanian soil. The route? From Varna to Whitby. The Demeter has made many trips like this. The captain has handled dozens of crews.

He dreams familiar dreams: to taste the salt on the skin of his men, to run his hands across their chests. He longs for the warmth of a lover he cannot have, fantasizes about flesh and frenzied embraces. All this he's done before, it's routine, a constant, like the tides.

Yet there's something different, something wrong. There are odd nightmares, unsettling omens and fear. For there is something in the air, something in the night, someone stalking the ship.

The review: We have looked at vehicles focused entirely on the doomed voyage of the Demeter before. There has been the novel Dracula’s Demeter by Doug Lamoreux and, in graphic form, Bram Stoker’s Death Ship. On the small screen the second (feature length) episode of Dracula (2020) was entirely about the voyage and, of course, the voyage finally got feature film treatment with the Last Voyage of the Demeter. This is another recounting of the fateful voyage, but one that actually pre-dates all the above (in the original Spanish), and can I just say wow.

The book is in three parts. Firstly, and noted immediately in the blurb, this is a retelling through a queer lens, entitled Before the Storm and the largest section of the novel. The Captain is gay, closeted from his crew (and haunted by the death of a lover). This section explores this and the view of the voyage as things begin to go wrong, with beautifully composed, evocative prose. It is a queer fever dream, both a distraction from and communication of the evil taking the ship. The book then moves into the Log of the Demeter, taking Stoker and expanding upon the original logs in the novel, and, finally, the catastrophic denouement.

There are several vampire descriptions used, names from around the globe as befits a ship where crews come and go from an international pool. Mention is made of the vrykolakas from Thera, delicately hanging above their victim, causing a deep sleep as they steal their breath. His Romanian mate has told the Captain of strigoi, described as demonic birds in the night – which brought the idea of the deathbird from Nosferatu to mind. The wieszcy are mentioned, dead devouring themselves in Wallachia (Bane associates them with Poland and auto-vampirism is not mentioned in her description). The book also mentions the Indian rakshasa, Ghanian monsters and Bulgarian obours. It is a cornucopia of references that works well.

One scene I particularly liked described the dead sailors clinging to the hull of the ship – unable to let go and look for other ships as the water hurts – for a sailor it is a consecrated thing – and yet the pull of blood might be more than the pain of the water. I also liked, in a vampire sense, the way the rats of the Demeter hid, starved and tried to flee the Demeter, replaced by the Count’s familiar rats.

This was a marvellous book, lyrical and haunting. The queer aspect added a layer that was welcomed and added depth to the primary story. 9 out of 10. My thanks to Sarah, who bought me this for Christmas.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

A Cleansing of the Blood: An Anton the Undying Story Collection – review

Author: Scott Harper

First published: 2022

Contains spoilers

The blurb: “Is there immortal blood, blood which will forever quell the red thirst?” asks Anton the Undying of Bregit, Mortark of North America.

Back in a second anthology, Anton, the ancient gladiator turned vampire enforcer, continues to police the magical world and keep it safely hidden. But Anton is also troubled by his bloodlust and seeks a magical means to rid himself of it.

Meanwhile, a threat to Bregit’s rule is growing. Will Anton discover the secret plot to topple Bregit before it’s too late?

Find out in A Cleansing of the Blood.

The review: I previously reviewed the first Anton the Undying collection and, though a short volume, I was taken by the crisp writing. This volume is not as short, but still shorter than an average release and, like the first, is a collection of interlinked stories rather than a novel.

I described the previous novel as an Urban Fantasy, and the modern sections are. However, the stories set in the past are less urban in their fantasy. All in all this could be described as dark fantasy, I’d suggest, and the writing in this volume is as crisp again. The first stories are set in that modern urban setting and we see, as the blurb suggests, an increasing threat to Bregit. What we don’t get is a resolution to that as the stories then stick firmly to the past, with one modern story feeling like it was prior to the primary storyline.

Now, it is here that I am torn. These are well written, entertaining stories and help both world and character building. The last story even goes off-primary character and follows another character, offering a different view of the world – indicating that the author has room and scope to expand his universe beyond his primary character. On the other hand I was also wanting to see how the plot against the ruling power structure would develop – this will, I assume, continue in future volumes. 

Just to touch on lore within the stories, one newer piece is the idea that witchbane will dampen a vampire's supernatural power and we do get a scenario where Anton is pitted against hunters who use witchbane soaked ropes to hold him. There is also lore set around blood able to stave off further bloodlust and allow daywalking but I won't spoil the source of that blood. Some vampire bloodlines have an affinity to the moon and this harks back to early 19th century vampire stories.

For now, this volume is worth your time, again caveated with it being short (but longer than the first) but fun and well-constructed. 8 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

On Kindle @ Amazon UK

The Name of Fear Collection: Tales of Anton the Undying – review

Author: Scott Harper

First published: 2022

Contains spoilers  

The Blurb: Rome may have fallen, but its greatest hero still fights to keep the supernatural world in check.

Once a powerful gladiator, Anton is now a vampire enforcer tasked with eliminating creatures that expose the secret supernatural society hidden within our world. But not all monsters are willing to lay low—some passionately yearn for a return to the good old days when they fed openly and dominated humanity. These diehards will go to any lengths to achieve their goal, even if it means destroying Anton. But Anton guards a terrible ancient secret, and those foolish enough to challenge him soon discover there are things even monsters fear.

The review: An original series of stories by Scott Harper, what this collection lacks for in length is more than made up for in crisp, pithy prose that were a joy to read. The author develops an urban fantasy world, with vampires very much at the top of the food chain and primary character Anton the enforcer, or Cacciatore, for his sire and Mortark (or supernatural leader) Bregit. The vampires are powerful in this and thus the enemies they face equally powerful and the stories give a great grounding in the world the author has shaped for the novels. We also get a strong background for Anton – a gladiator before being turned – and all this conspires to make a fine opening for, what I assume to be, a series of stories.

The lore sees a vampire’s aptitude impacted by their first kill and, after the use of a stake to paralyse, they are killed through the trusty triumvirate of behead, immolate and scatter the remains in flowing water (the latter helping to dissipate the dark magic that animates them). They are shapeshifters and can slip through small openings or increase their size.

I really enjoyed this foray into the world of Anton the Undying, was heartened by the inclusion of a mythos aspect, with an old God, and look forward to future stories. Tempered with the fact that the volume is short, 8 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

The Dark Terror – review

Author: Jerry Knaak

First Published: 2019

Contains spoilers  

The Blurb: Stunning Revelations

As Elizabeth Rubis learns to rule the children of the night and develop her abilities, her recent past comes back to haunt her. Friends become fiends and victims rise from the grave creating new dilemmas and harrowing situations.

Clandestine Assassins

Serge Da Rocha may have been defeated, but he was not the only vampire hunter. His compatriots descend on the Bay Area to rid the world of this vampire infestation that plagues Northern California.

Survival at All Costs

In the exciting 3rd novel of The Dark Passage series, what will Elizabeth do, what lengths will she go to, what sacrifices will she make to ensure her survival? Will she survive? Or will her enemies prevail?

The review: This is the third instalment of Jerry Knaak’s Dark Passage series (you can also read my reviews of vol one and two) and, like the first two, it focuses upon (and is written in first person from the point of view of) vrykolakas Elizabeth Rubis. Rubis makes for a fantastic central character as she is unrepentant of her vampiric condition and homicidal ways – though she does have a rule against killing children.

In the previous books we saw her attacked and turned, we saw her succumb to a seemingly unquenchable thirst, meeting a vampire detective who has his thirst controlled (more or less) and come face to face with a vampire hunter – an uneasy truce with her maker allowing that situation to be resolved.

Coming into this book she has started to discover some level of control vis-à-vis her thirst but also she needs to come to terms with the fact that she somehow created another vampire. Said progeny is currently hunting babies (as easy prey) with Rubis’ mortal best friend (who has also been turned). Life is made no simpler when she discovers that her brothers (who think she is dead, her body stolen) are in town and the vampire hunting society the Order of Ahura Mazda are using them as bait.

The Order seem to have some impressive pull with the authorities and Elizabeth realises that all the local undead need to work together to deal with them – after all, the enemy of my enemy…

Knaak expands Elizabeth’s range of powers again in this book, adding turning into a swarm of rats and into mist to the already discovered turning into wolf and bat. I do like the way, through the series, that powers have been discovered at moments of crisis – almost a supernatural flight or fight response. The writing is crisp, the pace steadily fast and the primary character gloriously unapologetic. 7.5 out of 10.

This review was written for Vamped and has been posted here with permission.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

Dark Descent - review

Author: Jerry Knaak

First Published: 2018

The Blurb: A New Beginning.

Elizabeth Rubis, ex-San Francisco public relations professional turned impulse-control-challenged vampire, may have escaped her rocky prison in an abandoned coal mine, but trouble keeps following her bloody trail. The unapologetic Elizabeth better get her act together and fast.

A New Ally, A New Enemy.

Finding a surprising ally in San Francisco police detective Jonas Dietrich, even as she continues stumbling through her transformation, is comforting but a new enemy has emerged - an actual church-trained vampire hunter.

A True Demon.

As Elizabeth discovers new supernatural powers along the way, she continues to evolve into a true demon of the night.

The review: Is hosted at Vamped.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

Honourable mention: Anno Dracula 1899 and Other Stories

This was a 2017 release by Kim Newman and is a collection of multi-world stories, mostly taking the Anno Dracula premise of adapting a film or book into an alternate world, but only the last story being part of the Anno Dracula series. That was the last tale Yokai Town: Anno Dracula 1899, which in itself is a teaser of a new Anno Dracula novel due later in 2017.

It was actually fun to step out of that world and into other worlds created in Kim Newman’s fertile (and genre geek heavy) imagination. Some of the stories also touched on vampire themes occasionally.

The first story is Famous Monsters and follows the fortune of a Martian (ethnicity, it was birthed in the USA) actor in Hollywood. When I say Martian I mean, of course, those of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds (1898), which itself is a book concerned with alien vampires as our blood is their sustenance. In this cow’s blood is consumed.

The story Amerikanski Dead at the Moscow Morgue was probably my favourite in the volume. An unusual zombie apocalypse story that name checks wurdalaks and vrykolakas. The Chill Clutch of the Unseen sees the last monster hunter and the last monster (the invisible man) meet – with a memory of a vampiric attack touched on. Red Jacks Wild follows Jack the Ripper whose life is extended with ritualistic sacrifices to Hecate. In Übermensch Newman imagines what would have happened if Superman had crashed in Germany and fell under the sway of National Socialism – one of his enemies (in a name-check) was Graf Orlock. Completist Heaven sees a genre fanatic find a TV channel that shows the films you could imagine – obviously vampires feature in some of these.

Finally the Anno Dracula story sees a boat pull into Tokyo harbour, the passengers – all vampires fleeing Dracula – seek sanctuary and are allowed to move to Yokai Town – a place that officially doesn’t exist and houses the Yokai (in this reimagined as types of vampires).

A worthy volume though the Anno Dracula connection is more a selling point than the underpinning of the volume.

Short Film: Interview with a Greek Vampire

This short film, coming in at under 10 minutes, was directed by Maria Modopoulos and dates to 2013. What is most interesting about it is the fact that Marina (Katerina Tarrant) is not just any old vampire but is, in fact, a vrykolakas.

Set in interview style the film’s purpose is to expound some of the vrykolakas myth. Marina tells the interviewer (played by Josse Masters-Leniveau and voiced by Josh Kvasnak) that she became vrykolakas in 1649, after she took her own life. She explains that her sister became one first – having answered the door on the first knock – as did Vasily, her husband.

Katerina Tarrant as Marina

Indeed she lists several ways to become vrykolakas – all lifted from Greek folklore and, as she puts it, more interesting than the usual blood transaction. She also explains that she doesn’t need blood but she does crave it (and it helps her complexion) and that vrykolakas are not confined to the night, but must return to the grave on Saturdays and are not as pretty in the daylight. But who could be interviewing her and why?

At the time of writing I couldn’t find an IMDb page.

V-Wars: Shockwaves

Edited by: Jonathan Maberry

First published: 2016

Contains spoilers

The blurb: The Vampire Wars are raging. We're all infected. Anyone can turn at any time. Your ally one minute could be at your throat the next. Or you go suddenly crave their blood. V-WARS: SHOCKWAVES chronicles the spread of bloodlust, bloodshed, and violence between the living and the undead.

The review: I am a fan of the V-Wars series; I make no secret of that. If you look at my reviews of the first three volumes (One, two & three). You’ll see that I have heaped praise (and 9 out of 10 reviews) on them.

It saddens me therefore that this volume sees a dip in quality. Now that is not to say it is bad. There are some damn fine stories in here. However, it isn’t entirely consistent. It does have some nice arc moments with the emergence of the Red Empire – a quasi-religious group who worship a messiah figure of the Red Emperor – that being patient zero Michael Fayne, who they believe will return and lead them. We also get a reveal, at the end of the volume, of the identity of the Crimson Queen.

For Mayberry fans there are cameos of Joe Ledger and other characters from the Ledger series. We get a welcome return of the V-Wars character Mooney in a tale and the stories range a little further internationally. We also discover that not all the vampires are as a result of the Ice Virus and that some strains had survived and were around before the virus activated junk DNA.

I was disappointed by the editorial decision to keep most of the shorts as complete pieces (bar Mayberry’s own Wet Works and Red Empire, which are split into the more familiar vignette format). There also seemed, despite containing a multitude of vampire types, less of a "who's who" list going on. One of the stories, Young Bloods by Mike Watts seemed slightly out of place, in that it felt that it was set out of the V-Wars at some point in the future, concentrating (as it does) on a vampire only school that had been around for over a decade. However this is the first volume where I have actually felt a story was not as well written as the rest of the volume. Silver and Lead by John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow just felt a little sub-par to me. Now that may be unfair as the quality of prose is so good generally, but it knocked my immersion in the volume.

8 out of 10.

The Vampire Almanac volume 2 – review

Edited by: J-M & Randy Lofficier

First published: 2015

Contains spoilers

The blurb: Featuring Alsinka the Virgin Vampire, Captain Vampire, Carmilla, Countess Carody, Dracula, the Gyaos, Nosferatu, Lord Ruthven, Princess Asa Vajda, the Vampire Brothers, the Vampire Countess, the Vampire City and the Two Orphan Vampire Girls.

The appeal of the myth of the Vampire is surely due to the fact that it deals with the resurrection of the dead, something that lies at the core of most of the world’s religions. The stories contained in this collection feature some of the most famous vampires in literary history. Some predate Dracula, whilst others are modern incarnations of the myth. Writers from all over the world bring a diversity of points of view to this potpourri of vampiric lore and legends.

The myth of the vampire, from all the poetic manifestations of the World Beyond, is one of the most endearing… …To try to piece together a history of vampirism is a dubious enterprise; it is much better to enjoy vampire stories! I do not believe in vampires. I believe in what inspired their creation. Roger Vadim (from his foreword).

The review: Following on from The Vampire Almanac Vol. 1 this was another collection of original tales based on pre-existing vampire characters. Having read the foreword, which was a piece written by director Roger Vadim in 1960, I was most impressed to discover that the first tale – Matthew Dennion’s Hercules in the Shadow of Evil – was one that mashed Hercules with the Japanese monster vampire Gyaos from Gamera Vs Gyaos. Indeed it was a Gamera origin story.

Micah Harris added some interesting concepts into the Ruthven story May the Ground Not Consume Thee by suggesting that “his kind draws strength from holy ground” and further suggesting that it was actually the Orthodox Church’s actions that created vrykolakas. Brian Gallagher added in mention of the alleged vampire Jure Grando in his Carmilla and the Witch.

So Much Loss by Anthony R. Cardno was probably my favourite story in the volume, looking into the Dracula aftermath, specifically around the victims of the Bloofer Lady. I should mention Steven A Roman’s story as a favourite also, bringing Graf Orlock and Irma Vep together.

Matthew Dennion did a further tale, Soul Sisters, with Asa from Black Sunday aiding the Salem witches (though how she escaped from her cross warded coffin is not explained) and Countess Carody from Vampyros Lesbos appears again in a trilogy of stories by Win Scott Eckert. There is a nice conceit in Henri Bé’s the Girls of Midnight when the Two Orphan Vampires meet Jean Rollin.

It would also be remiss not to mention the story the Vampire of New Orleans by Jared Welch, which features Paul Féval’s Vampire Countess, as Jared is a regular visitor to, and commentator on, the blog. In it he ties a little tighter the connection between the vampire genre and the Faust legend, also connecting in the Comte de Saint-Germain.

All in all I thought that the volume, whilst superb, didn’t quite match the first volume but it did keep me glued to the page and it is well worth being in your collection. 8.5 out of 10.

The Blackcoat Press page for both volumes is here.

Kiss of Life – review

Author: Brian L Porter

First published: 2014 (dual edition)

Contains spoilers


The Blurb: A year after meeting the enigmatic Christina Radaluc during his investigation into the so-called Vampire Murders in Romania, investigative journalist Alan Dexter finds himself beset by a recurring nightmare.

Includes the prequel 'Dracula Doesnt' (sic) Live Here Anymore', also by Brian L. Porter.

Christina, he believes, is calling to him. She is in trouble and needs his help, though how she could possibly reach into his dreams is a mystery to him. On such flimsy 'evidence' Dexter enlists the help of his friend and fellow journalist Karen Bailey who, though skeptical of his story, agrees to travel to Romania with him to assist in his quest to find and solve the mystery of Christina's appearance in his nightmares. On arriving in Romania they discover that not only Christina, but her brother, a local police officer, have been missing for months, and the pair set out to find them.

Dexter retraces his steps from his previous visit to Romania, hoping to find some connection with his previous investigation and the current disappearance of the woman he realizes he has fallen in love with. What they discover, however, takes them far beyond the realms of the believable as the intrepid pair enter a dark world of long-forgotten practices and fear-filled corridors.

Do vampires really exist?

Can Dexter and Karen save the beautiful Christina and her brother from the jaws of a living nightmare far more terrible than anything Dexter's own fevered dreams could produce?

As the story moves from the city to the cold, bare, mountainous regions of Transylvania, land of myth and terrifying legend and the ancestral home of Christina's family, Kiss of Life moves ever closer to it's (sic) shattering and terrible conclusion.

The review: I picked up the kindle edition of Kiss of Life that came with the prequel short story as listed in the blurb. This was ultimately quite useful as it gave necessary background for the main story.

In Dracula Doesn’t Live Here Anymore we meet hack journalist Dexter who, due to sheer luck, is asked to report on a murder story in Romania where victims are being drained of blood. He meets Romanian journalist Christina Radaluć (shuffle the letters) and her policeman cousin (not brother as the blurb says, though his familial status does change in the book at one point) named Alex. The story is a short and that is a shame as we don’t really delve into an investigation as such. We do delve into a love affair between Dexter and Christina and vampire lore. This is where things go wrong.

Did you shuffle the letters? Yes, Christina is a descendent of the Dracula family and tying Prince Vlad and Count Dracula is not necessarily a bad thing – if the author is accurate within the boundaries of the novel. So when Christina tells him that the folklore of the Romanian vampire says they can walk in daylight “contrary to Stoker” I inwardly groaned as, as we know, Stoker had the Count active in daylight in the novel. Such a thing may be little but is very annoying. We are told that Christina’s family owned a guesthouse in Whitby “just as the fictional character… …had done” – assuming this to be the Count then all the English property owned by the Count was in London, not Whitby.

There is an inaccurate pop-culture history of Prince Vlad III – we are told the family is one of the oldest in Transylvania (they were Walachian), that his name was Prince Vlad Draculea (use of that spelling making me wonder why the “e” was missing in the anagram) son of the original Prince who bore the name Dracula (Prince Vlad II was Dracul – not Dracula). To be fair the nationality of the family does seem to switch to Wallachia in the main story at one point but then switches back, making it seem that the two Principalities are interchangeable. Prince Vlad is also demoted to Count in a passage in that book (where it was referring to the historical persona).

They were the main errors surrounding Dracula (book and historical) but if you know Stoker it serves to diminish the work in hand. When it came to folklore we are told that Greeks called vampires Vrykolakas (fair enough) and they were known as Chupacabra in Central and South America – this made me start, due to the fact that the Chupacabra legend is very modern – dating only to 1995.

There were errors in type also. Three times Christina becomes Christian. There is a section where they eat, go to Dexter's room for a nightcap and then leave the bar (not his room) to go and eat again – it is a muddled section, which I re-read several times to check it wasn't me, and I am sure that the author changed locations in one of the drafts and hadn’t tidied the draft. The stories are rather short (the first is a short the second probably at novella length) and very occasionally the language shows a need of an edit but the dialogue probably needed a bit more work as it feels forced at times.

All that said I was very taken by the main plot twist, which was nice. To me the author needs to give the draft a re-proof and also to get his geography, historical detail and Stoker orientated commentary accurate. The first story could stand expanding, taking us into the investigation, but ultimately keeping the neat ending of the main piece. 4 out of 10.

Empusa – review

Director: Jacinto Molina

Release date: 2010

Contains spoilers

For those not in the know, Jacinto Molina are the forenames of Spanish horror legend Paul Naschy. I mentioned back in 2007 the fact that the film was being worked on, following Naschy’s death in 2009 I suspected that the film might be lost to the mists of time. I was pleased, therefore, to discover that it has become available for download.

The premise of the film always promised to be a little strange, an empusa is said to be a “cross between a vampire, a snake and a seagull”. Actually that belies the lore connections. Empusa was the name of the ship that transported Orlock in the original German intertitles of Nosferatu. More so Bane tells us (in the Vampire Encyclopaedia, p60) that Empusa is a variant of Empouse, a type of Greek demon often classed as a vampire who were attendants to and daughters of Hecate. The director Emilio Vieyra used a seagull motif, as opposed to bats, in the film Blood of the Virgins. Incidentally the film Stardust has three witches, Lamia, Empusa and Mormo… Mormo, like Empusa is a variant of Empouse. However, we will look at lore again later… onwards with the film…

find a hand

It begins in black and white and on a beach walk old friends Abel (Paul Naschy) and Victor (Antonio Mayans, Revenge in the House of Usher & Snakewoman). They bicker, both Abel’s lost fame (it later turns out he used to be an actor, he now makes a living as an occult researcher/tarot reader) and his lover Natalia (María Jesús Solina) are mentioned. Indeed, through the film these two bicker and at first it is fun, lively dialogue but it quickly wears thin and we wonder why they are actually friends. Be that as it may, they find a hand and severed forearm in the sand. Victor wants to go to the police but Abel argues he should take the arm home (along with its strange tattoo) for two days and do research on it, then they will return it and call the police. They leave and the film melts into colour as a topless girl, Cristabel (Cristina Carrión), emerges from the sea.

examine the mark

At home Abel receives a phone call from Natalia and his dialogue reveals him to be an old letch who consumes a diet of coffee, pills and absinthe. Be that as it may, his research has led him to the empusa. The empusa is a witch that destroys their victim and leaves upon them the mark of Lilith (the tattoo), worships the goddess Isathar (or so the subtitles said, I assume that they meant Ishtar) and enter the land of the dead. He also mentions Necurat – the accursed name, but this isn’t mentioned again. A quick look at the Urban Dictionary tells us: “Ancient romanian origin. Necurat means "dirty soul" and was used as euphemism to avoid words as "vampire" or "witch" -or any other supernatural or evil creature- which was belived (sic) you'd run into if you name 'em”.

Abel and Cristabel

Okay, I could go on but I won’t do so in great detail. There is an unbelievable amount of dead wood in the script, including a sub-story about a dangerous Baron (Paco Racionero) who is murdered, which goes nowhere. There is the meeting of Abel and Cristabel (presumably named for the Samuel Taylor Colleridge poem) who claims she is from Greece – who is an empusa – and then with Justine De Winter (Paco Racionero) who is credited as Lilith, who appears to be a vampire at war with the empusa.

Victor being grabbed

In the town there are many killings, the victims all have their right arms cut off, and also an attack on tourists by vicious seagulls. Abel is captured by Cristabel (via the medium of eye mojo) but then released unscathed (and manages to change clothes twice, between being caught, waking and then waking on release). Victor himself is grabbed by a taloned hand and then has his arm cut off (as well as his privates) and is fed upon. His rotting shade (think Jack from American Werewolf in London) then visits Abel and helps him by possessing his printer and printing out a map to the empusa lair and giving him a musical score that, if played, causes the vampires pain.

blood at mouth

We get three types of vampire. The police lieutenant (Saturnino García), commissary (Marco Sanz) and priest (Alfonso Dorbe) all indulge with Cristabel (off screen) and become second-class vampires. These are sensitive to light and more like your a-typical vampires. A stake through the heart would kill. It has to be said that it seems (given the use of comedy soundtrack) that the scenes with these characters were meant to be comedic relief – though they weren’t that funny. The priest had also given Abel the 7 daggers of Zion.

stabbed by a dagger of Zion

Abel uses these to kill female vampires in the lair that are described as vricolacas (according to to the subtitles, presumably a misspelling of the Greek vrykolaka). There is nothing remarkable about these except to say that a dagger of Zion in the heart will kill. One vampire killed like this comes back as she was not actually vrykolaka but empusa. Lilith, who takes the form (unseen) of a panther, is killed by heaving the pendant she wears thrust in both her eyes. That action seems to burn them and makes her vanish into smoke.

stake in the forehead

As for the empusa it seems that a stake into the forehead is the order of the day. Yes it’s all jolly japes but Abel is the saviour of the day… or is he… with a false ending that is cheese itself and then another ending, which is even cheesier it is not the greatest cinematic event ever. A shame really as it is Naschy’s last outing (there was also a two part Lovecraftian film he had worked on, that I have not seen, which I trust is better than this.)

the bottom line... its a Naschy film

Other than Victor and Abel (whose bickering eventually grates) there isn’t a single piece of decent acting in this. The comedy pieces are just not funny (or at least not intentionally so) and the filming looked cheap and actually reminded me of some of the later Franco films – not a good thing, believe me. And yet… it is Naschy and it has to be watched for that reason if no other. There are plenty of pert breasts on show, some outrageously bad plotting and effects and a barrel-ful of unusual lore, mostly used out of context. Oh. And the movie poster is nice. 3.5 out of 10 – go and get it anyway.

The imdb page is here.

Ancient Blood: The Amazon (The Chronicles of Vamazonia) – review

Authors: Jack Franklin & Bob Nailor

First published: 2012

Contains spoilers

The Blurb: An evil, 500 years in the making, lurks in the jungles of Brazil. Today it wants to be free.

Time has allowed evil to lurk and grow in the jungles of Brazil for over 500 years. Today that evil wants free. What can a young woman do when confronted with the reality of horror? Ana is an anthropologist and so intent on being one with a lost tribe she will do anything, even hunt human prey.

The review: Setting a vampire novel in the Amazon Rainforest makes this tome immediately unique and attractive (even if I am, admittedly, a little doubtful about the vamazonia label, which sounds a little bit off). However it has to be said that this does not entirely draw the book away from the more familiar Balkan roots of the genre, indeed the main vampire – met later in the book – is Ejup Mikić a Serbian who escapes to the new world with the conquistadors. Interestingly the native Itotia, a pale skinned warrior woman, recognises him as vrykolakas – a Greek name for vampires. How she recognised him, or knew the term, is not explored in this volume.

Ejup installs himself as the God of the matriarchal tribe, their lost society based around what appears to be the mythical city of El Dorado, and rumours abound amongst the nearby tribes and river towns of mulher morcego or 'the women who are bats'. Occasionally a body would turn up in the river, a body the wildlife would shun.

When illegal logging reveals geoglyphs and a tower with a golden roof, anthropologist Doctor Ana Carvalho is sent with a team to investigate by the United World Federation. However the UWF is a front for the Order of the High Priest of Uriel, ostensibly a Catholic order but made up of all religions. They know that Ejup is there and this is where the book stumbled a little for me.

Firstly the team seemed, well… unprofessional throughout. The authors answer this later on when Ana realises that they have not been chosen for their intellect or field prowess but their physical attributes. But mainly it is clear they have been thrown into the lion den and given that the UWF director, Gianni Rossi, is (secretly) Ana’s father we wonder why. Surely sending in trained hunters would have been more sensible? Perhaps more of the rationale will be offered in further volumes.

The vampires themselves are old fashioned balls of lust – both sexual and bloodlust. Sunlight can be too strong for them (not a huge issue under the rainforest canopy) and their society (as usurped and turned by Ejup) is matriarchal, with men (bar Ejup who has set himself up as a God) the domestic servants and stud herd. They can turn into bats, but giant man-bat types. Religious artefacts burn and immolation and staking seem to be the chosen method of despatching them. We are shown a vampire hunting kit that includes wooden stakes from the olive trees of the Mount of Olives, the hammer that killed Ejup’s sire and a crucifix that was held in the dying grasp of Saint Francis of Assisi – however it is readily admitted that a tent stake and hammer from a hardware store would do the job just as well.

This was interesting because of the setting and because of the old fashioned, evil vampires. Issues about motivation, as mentioned, aside, it was a good old yarn. 6.5 out of 10.