Retro Movie Review: Vampyr, 1932

I“m going to go way out on a limb by discussing this very old and obscure vampire flick. Without a doubt, this film is a forerunner to the over-saturated vampire genre and it should be recognized as such.

Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer (THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC) loosely adapted a screenplay with writer Christen Jul from the book IN A GLASS DARKLY, Sheridan Le Fanu“s collection of five supernatural horror stories. The two stories used from the book are CARMILLA and THE ROOM IN THE DRAGON VOLANT. CARMILLA is a tale about a female vampire tormenting a family in Styria, Austria. The story was supposedly a big influence for Bram Stoker“s horror masterpiece DRACULA. THE ROOM IN THE DRAGON VOLANT is a mystery story about a love triangle and premature burial.

Vampyr is about a young gentleman by the name of Allan Gray, played by Julian West (the stage name of socialite Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg) who is an avid follower of the occult. Allan Gray secures a room at an inn that exposes him to an intruder during the night. It“s unclear if the intruder, the Lord of a nearby Manor, is real or a projected manifestation sent to ask for help. The Lord leaves a package with written instructions on it ”” “ To be opened upon my death.”“Â Allen Gray seeks out the manor and finds the Lord just as he is viciously murdered. As it turns out, the Lord“s daughter has been severely ill. She has puncture marks on her neck and her blood is continually drained. After the death of the Lord, as instructed, Allan Gray opens the package and a book about vampirism is revealed. The book contains historical details about vampire history and how to kill them. It turns out that the vampire tormenting the daughter is an old woman who wonders the manor and the surrounding village. To make things worse, the vampire is aided by the local doctor who helps her secure the souls of the damned. That“s the really creepy part of the film ”” the vampire is an old woman who is helped by a doctor, two people that you would have no hesitation to trust with confidence.

The film is very fragmented, but not choppy, with very inconsistent points of view and the continuity is off balance, which adds elements of a “ dreamy”“Â Â aspect. This was Dreyer“s first “ talkie”“Â film, and I think to play it safe with the new sound technology, he directed the film as though it was a silent production. Action and music primarily propels the story forward rather than dialogue. Title cards are used in order to define the narrative. Really imaginative superimpositions and shadow tricks are used to display spiritual imagery. To me the film is not so much a horror movie as it is a psychological thriller. Dreyer has a very interesting and haunting take of the spiritual world and vampire affliction.

What“s really interesting is the film was made before Universal“s DRACULA, 1931, but the producers wanted to wait and see how this new horror genre would take with current audiences. Vampyr was released nine months after the hit film DRACULA to less than favorable reviews. I think that was the kiss of death for the film. They should“ve released the film before DRACULA in order to get a foothold in the genre and maybe it would have gained more recognition. Even after a re-edit, the film was only lukewarm with critics and audiences and it quickly fell into obscurity.

If you are really into the vampire genre, and you want to see a film that helped bring vampires to the cinema, I recommend this little known independent gem.