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The Slaughter of the Vampires (1962) / The Living Head (1963)





 The Slaughter of the Vampires is an early 60’s Italian horror film dubbed in English, about an undead blood sucker who stalks a count and his estate.














During a party thrown by Wolfgang and his wife Louise, a mysterious stranger suddenly appears. He dances and enchants Louise before suddenly leaving the party. It turns out he’s a vampire whose coffin is in their wine cellar. He eventually seduces and bites Louise, slowly turning her into one of his undead brides. Wolfgang seeks the help of Dr. Nietzche from Vienna to diagnose his wife’s sudden, mysterious ailment. The Dr. is sure that it’s the work of a vampire, and together, he and Wolfgang set about to find and destroy the creature.








The movie is fast paced and fun. The dubbed dialogue is unintentionally hilarious, and paired with the overdramatic music, the result is a silly, sometimes ridiculous but entertaining affair. During the party at the beginning, no one seems too perturbed about a stranger just walking in, uninvited, and dancing with the hostess. Louise’s friends are a bunch of gossiping bitches who are too busy getting into everyone else’s business to pay much attention to the strange man. The fact that his coffin is in the wine cellar is laughable. None of the staff bothered to notice a coffin just laying around that wasn’t there before? The actor who plays the vampire stomps around with white makeup on his face and a wide eyed expression. The actresses who get bitten also ham it up. If you enjoy cheesy old vampire flicks, you’re sure to enjoy this one. I watched it on YouTube.









The other one I watched was a Mexican horror film dubbed in English from the 60's, about a trio of archeologists who find a tomb with ancient artifacts and a Mummy.







The Professor and his colleagues find the decapitated, mummified head of an ancient warrior Acatl and the mummies of his high priest Xiu and priestess Xochiquetzal. The body of Xochiquetzal disintegrates, leaving only the ring she wore. The Professor takes the head, the Mummy and the ring back to his home to conduct further studies. He gives the ring to his daughter Martha. The head and the Mummy end up coming to life, and the Ring of Death worn by Martha causes her to become possessed. Xiu makes it his mission to kill the three who dared desecrate their sacred tomb, and sets about to stalk and murder them, while the Professor and his colleagues and police try to solve the murders. 


















This movie is silly and fun, with the English dubbing making it even more humorous. The Mummy Xiu just looks like a regular Aztec priest, with a perfectly preserved body with no degradation. The living head is just a guy in a mask who mostly opens and closes his eyes. The Professor is the typical stoic, skeptical man who doesn't believe anything weird is happening despite glaring evidence that something is amiss, such as the freshly cut heart of one of the victims found in the room next to the head, and fresh dripping blood from Xiu's dagger. If you enjoy those cheesy Mexican flicks like the Aztec Mummy ones then you might enjoy this one. I watched it on YouTube. 













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