VAMPIRE CARMILLA, perhaps the first time the character has been portrayed by someone named Bootsie.
its DTV peer group. The cast members, most of whom resemble erotic dancers, frequently misread or mispronounce their lines, and although—surely in deference to Wes Craven’s SCREAM (1996)— they frequently articulate their awareness of hor- ror-movie tropes, this never prevents them from behaving in a remarkably stupid fashion. A num- ber of lines from CARMILLA are quoted directly throughout the film, but to little effect. While the erotic scenes are both unusually chaste and ex- cruciatingly dull, perhaps some form of social com- mentary is meant by the fact that the only traditionally-shot sex scene depicts a marital rape. The tedium is interrupted only once, when Morgan’s prosthetic fangs force her to lisp comically during what is meant to be the horrific murder of the lo- cal priest. Although instantly forgettable, VAMPIRE CARMILLA is notable in two regards: it is the only adaptation of Le Fanu’s novella to feature full-fron- tal male nudity, and it offers an apology in its
closing credits to the two female leads for the quality of the film.
You know a film is in trouble when Brinke Stevens appears to be slumming, so there is no need to mince words about Vince D’Amato’s VAM- PIRES VS. ZOMBIES: this is unwatchable straight- to-video dreck of the lowest order. While staging Le Fanu’s novella within George Romero’s apoca- lyptic zombie scenario does have a certain gonzo appeal, the film is a miserable failure on all levels, although it does contain a surprising number of faithful—if incompetently executed—references to CARMILLA. The plot, such as it is, concerns Travis Fontaine (a slight alteration of the surname of Laura’s governess in the novella) and his daughter Jenna (C.S. Munro and Bonny Giroux), driving through a zombie-infested countryside to rendez- vous with The General (Peter Ruginis), a “tough ol’ coot” stereotype out to avenge his daughter’s ab- duction by a female vampire and her “mother” The
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