An Erotic Vampire in Paris

An Erotic Vampire in Paris

Now here's something that should whet the appetite of fans of both Misty Mundae and the Euro vampire movies of folk like Jean Rollin and Jess Franco - 'An Erotic Vampire in Paris' (or as it was to initially be known 'Vampire of Notre Dame').

On receipt of a letter concerning her long disowned and now deceased mother, young Misty heads off to Paris to visit her grave. After a brief graveside sojourn Misty is waylaid by a passing local sleazy hobo who attempts to attack her but then makes off with her bag. Distressed and now penniless she wanders the streets of Paris until she befriends a local woman who takes her under her wing. What she doesn't realise is that her new companion is actually a lesbo vampire babe and the relationship is certain to lead to a bloody end!

'An Erotic Vampire in Paris' is a refreshing change of pace from the usual low budget shenanigans that Seduction are more commonly known for. In a swift change of pace from the tongue in cheek spoof erotica here we get a straight interpretation of the Euro lesbo vampire movie. Director Donald Farmer in a bonus interview segment openly admits to attempting to emulate the film of Jean Rollin and in fact he has done a grand job in doing so - in fact I found the film more gratifying than most of Rollins work. With a shockingly low budget of around $8,000 the small cast and crew have flew over to France for a week and came back with a very credible entry into the Euro horror genre.

Utilising the gorgeous locations around Paris and the themes used in many old like minded genre films, 'An Erotic Vampire in Paris' is a welcoming mix of stylised photography and low budget erotica. Misty Mundae shines in this sort of role and although she seems slightly overwhelmed as an actress (straight acting here y'see) you get a flavour for this being exactly the sort of direction she should be heading in. Amusingly (or bewilderingly, depending on how you view it - the role of Misty's vampire lover is taken by an actress who is noted under the names of both Mia Copia and Mia Culpa, but in fact very much looks to be the one and only Tina Krause!? Here though she has dropped her lovely southern drawl for an almost staid (and slightly amusing) 'Allo Allo' French tone. Also making an appearance here is Misty's long time compatriot and fellow Factory 2000 teamster William Hellfire who has the minimal role of a voyeuristic stalker that is tailing the female lovers (as well as providing second unit photography for the film).

Although the acting/dialogue etc (the best line of the film goes hands down to the French mugger when he sleazily drawls 'I never pay for pussy') is at the best of times somewhat amusingly hammy it is very much on par with what you'd get from any of Rollins movies. But it is the lovely photography, use of locations and classical music for the soundtrack that take the film onto a higher level than what some would expect from this sorta movie (in fact the soundtrack is brilliantly utilised here, lovely stuff!)

An very interesting addition to the disc are the three behind the scenes segments - firstly there's an interview with the lovely Misty Mundae with additional comments from William Hellfire (who is a very charismatic guy). Next there is an interview with director Donald Farmer who is refreshingly honest about what it's like working with minuscule budgets, funding, distribution deals and so on. Finally there is a location shoot segment where we follow the crew as they work on some of the movies key scenes. All three segments are a delightful insight into the process of low budget movie making. Also included on the disc is the usual smattering of Seduction trailers showing their growing diverse production output.

If you enjoy the films of Rollin and Franco and want to see the American take on that particular area of Euro genre movies, then you really can't go wrong with 'An Erotic Vampire in Paris'. Of course it's not the best movie of its ilk but it's a damn good entry into the genre. Check it out!

Review by Alan Simpson

'An Erotic Vampire in Paris' can be ordered direct from Alternative Cinema by clicking here.