Wednesday, October 5, 2016

31 Days of Horror #5: Atom Age Vampire * (1960)

Some films are destined for immortality and some are destined for the bargain bin at Wal-Mart. Think of all the people that work on a movie, put their heart and soul into it, and it ends up becoming an afterthought purchase at some big box store. I suppose there are worse fates. Atom Age Vampire, an Italian import from 1960, belongs in the bargain bin. At the very least the sound people did a great job with the English dubbing. More of a melodrama than a horror movie: no vampires appear and the "atom age" element is overplayed in the movie's poster. A beautiful woman's face gets disfigured in an accident so she seeks help from a scientist who invented a radioactive serum.  The scientist falls in love with her and learns the serum has some violent side effects, despite its healing power. I'm not sure if he morphs into a werewolf or a mutant.  The film's glacial pace and predictable plot points don't help either, although the black and white cinematography adds a little to the atmosphere, but the scares are few and far between. 


No comments:

Post a Comment