Grave of the Vampire (1972)

I’ve never been a fan of big budget movies, or should I say, having an unlimited supply of money and still making a shitty movie has always confounded me. However, having limited time and money, and trying to make the best movie you can…. Now we’re speaking my language. When you consider this film was made over eleven days and with a budget of fifty thousand dollars. (A paltry 350k today) They did a pretty decent job.

The movie is written by David “The Sapranos” Chase, based on a book by….David Chase. The plot is pretty basic. Boy meets girl. Vampire kills boy. Vampire rapes girl. Girl has vampire’s demon spawn. Spawn grows up to avenge mom and kill vampire.

The concept of the movie is actually pretty interesting, though none of ideas get to fully develop. One moment there is a blood sucking demon baby in the 1940s, the next the baby is a 1970s hunk flirting with the co eds in his demonic studies class that just so happen to live in the apartment below him. Spoiler alert, he goes for the repressed British Blonde over the brassy and very forward red headed American. Go figure. Also, spoiler alert his vampire dad is the professor!

With the exception of one clunky scene near the end, the movie does well for itself. I’m sure the filmmakers assumed that the majority of the drive in audience would be high/drunk, asleep, or necking in the back seat by this point. But the end is exciting enough to bring everyone’s attention back to the screen.

If your planning a double or even triple feature of 70s horror flick this is a great appetizer for movies with a little more “bite” to them.