''The Empire of Dracula'' ( es, El imperio de Drácula) is a 1967 Mexican horror mystery thriller film directed by

Federico Curiel Federico Curiel (19 February 1917 – 17 June 1985) was a Mexican filmmaker, writer and actor during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Curiel was born in Monterrey, Mexico, he moved to Guadalajara, Jalisco as a child and attended the University ...

and starring

Lucha Villa Luz Elena Ruiz Bejarano (born November 30, 1936), more commonly known by her stage name Lucha Villa, is a Mexican singer and actress. Early life Born in Camargo, Chihuahua, Luz Elena Ruiz Bejarano was given her pseudonym "Lucha Villa" by televi ...

César del Campo César del Campo (1922–2008) was a Cuban film actor.Cotter p.86 Selected filmography * ''Lola Casanova'' (1949) * '' Confessions of a Taxi Driver'' (1949) * '' Lost'' (1950) * ''The Bandits of Cold River ''The Bandits of Cold River'' (Spanish: ...

and

Eric del Castillo J. Eduardo Eric del Castillo-Negrete Galván (born 22 July 1934) is a Mexican actor of theater, film and television who has dabbled as a screenwriter, director and arguer film, beginning his career in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Early ye ...

. It was influenced by

Hammer Horror Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

films. It is one of several vampire movies made in Mexico in the 1960s, alongside

Miguel Morayta Miguel Morayta (15 August 1907 – 19 June 2013) was a Spanish film director and screenwriter. He directed 74 films between 1944 and 1978. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Morayta was a Spanish artillery officer, who joined the Republ ...

's duology ''

The Bloody Vampire ''The Bloody Vampire'' ( es, El vampiro sangriento) is a 1962 Mexican horror film directed by Miguel Morayta and starring Begoña Palacios, Erna Martha Bauman, and Carlos Agostí. It is part of a duology of vampire films directed by Morayta, fo ...

'' (1962) and ''

The Invasion of the Vampires ''The Invasion of the Vampires'' ( es, La invasión de los vampiros) is a 1963 Mexican horror mystery thriller film directed by Miguel Morayta and starring Erna Martha Bauman, Rafael del Río, Tito Junco, Fernando Soto, Bertha Moss and Carlos ...

'' (1963).

Plot

A man searches for the vampire who killed his father to prevent him from coming back to life, but to do so he must fight his army of beautiful female vampires, who lure men to their estate so they can feed on their blood.

Cast

as Patricia *

as Luis Brener *

as Baron Draculstein (as Erick del Castillo) *

Ethel Carrillo Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, ...

as Diana * Guillermo Zetina as Dr. Wilson. *Robin Joyce as Lily *

Fernando Osés Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the Ge ...

as Igor *

Víctor Alcocer Víctor Alcocer Gómez (March 23, 1917 – October 2, 1984) was a Mexican actor of film, television and voice-over.Mario Orea is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

as Police Inspector *

Rebeca Iturbide Rebeca de Iturbide Betancourt (1924–2003) was a Mexican-American actress of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, who was known for her versatility, being able to play comedy or drama. She was a pioneer in television, playing roles in the mid-19 ...

as Mrs. Brener, Luis's mother *

Altia Michel Altia Herrera Michel (1929–1994) was a Mexican singer, dancer and film actress, who never took a movie role unless it was written specifically for her, where she used her own name, or an alternative spelling Althia Michel. Life and career She ...

as María, maid (as Atilia Michel) * José Dupeyrón as Chauffeur

Reception

In ''El gran libro del vampiro'' ("The great book of the vampire"), Alexis Puig said, "There is a lot of eroticism, especially lesbian: female vampires biting female victims;" and highlighted a scene in which the count must fight inside his own coffin with a man carrying a crucifix as a "very dramatic scene."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Empire of Dracula, The 1967 films 1960s Spanish-language films 1967 horror films 1960s horror thriller films 1960s mystery thriller films Mexican horror thriller films Mexican mystery thriller films Mexican vampire films 1960s Mexican films