''Vampir-Cuadecuc'' is a 1970 Spanish experimental feature film written, produced, and directed by

Pere Portabella Pere Portabella i Ràfols (; born in 1927) is a Spanish politician, director, and producer. In 1977, he was elected Senator in Spain's first democratic elections and participated in the writing of the Spanish Constitution. As a filmmaker, his s ...

. It stars

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

Herbert Lom Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (), was a Czech-British actor who moved to the United Kingdom in 1939. In a career lasting more than 60 ye ...

Soledad Miranda Soledad Rendón Bueno (9 July 1943 – 18 August 1970), better known by her stage names Soledad Miranda or Susann Korda (or sometimes Susan Korday), was an actress and pop singer who was born in Seville, Spain. She starred in several erotic th ...

, and Jack Taylor. The film tells an abbreviated version of the

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

story using behind-the-scenes footage from the

Jesús Franco Jesús Franco Manera (12 May 1930 – 2 April 2013) was a Spanish filmmaker, composer, and actor, known as a prolific director of low-budget exploitation film, exploitation and B-movies. In a career spanning from 1959 to 2013, he wrote, directe ...

film ''

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by som ...

''.

Plot

The film tells the story of Dracula using behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the film ''Count Dracula'', complete with scenes of the cast and crew working on the film in between takes. The film also shows how the special effects and sets of the film were designed, often splicing these moments with footage of the actors. With the exception of the final scene, which features Christopher Lee explaining the end of the novel, the film is mostly silent, with sparse music and sound effects sparingly used.

Cast

as Himself/Dracula *

as Himself/Prof. Van Helsing *

as Herself/Lucy Westenra * Jack Taylor as Himself/Quincey Morris

Reception

J. Hoberman James Lewis Hoberman (born March 14, 1949) is an American film critic, journalist, author and academic. He began working at ''The Village Voice'' in the 1970s, became a full-time staff writer in 1983, and was the newspaper's senior film critic ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' praised the film, calling it "ghostly" and "among the most highly regarded avant-garde films of the past half century". James Evans of ''

Starburst Magazine ''Starburst'' is a British science fiction magazine published by Starburst Magazine Limited. ''Starburst'' contains news, interviews, features, and reviews of genre material in various media, including TV, film, soundtracks, multimedia, books, ...

'' gave it seven out of ten stars, commending the cinematography, and soundtrack.

References

External links

* 1970 films 1970s avant-garde and experimental films 1970 independent films Dracula films Spanish vampire films Spanish black-and-white films English-language Spanish films Spanish avant-garde and experimental films Spanish independent films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Pere Portabella {{experimental-film-stub