The 1970s were really at the beginning of the GrindHouse
Gothique explosion. Europe bounced between its desire to produce classic horror
imagery such as castles, cobwebs, and bustiers, and the new open sexuality and
dominating young adult presence. Hammer films itself had struggled to find its
place in the new market. The problem is it faced, how to make vampires relevant
again and shake the shadow of Dracula? Its solution? Bring the circus to town.
Not just any circus, a vampire Circus...
Vampire Circus begins almost in an Indiana Jones fashion.
What I mean by that is the film seems to come in at the tail end of a previous
film, an explosive attack on the vampires Castle Lair. It's grand, mysterious, and
erotic and really sets the tone for things to come. This is the direction
hammer films needed to go, and though it took them a while to get there, they
found their new niche. It's a shame that the old adage it's never too late
didn't apply here because I truly believe the hammer was capable of great things
in the 70s had they been able to hold on just a little bit longer.
The plot of this film is fairly straightforward. The small
town has been besieged by a plague and has been quarantined. Anyone attempting
to leave the town will be shot on sight, no trial no explanation. However, a
circus comes to town, which is welcomed with open arms considering the people
are desperate for something other than the mundane routine of their day-to-day
existence. After all, they are effectively under town arrest. Let me tell you, I
would lose my mind if I were stuck in a small town, unable to leave.
The circus features bizarre and amazing acts that of course
entertained the villagers, or townsfolk, but also frighten them. Thinks don't
fare better in the evening, when it is revealed that the circus is actually a
clan of vampires who have returned to resurrect their slain Master.
The vampires themselves are interesting lot. Count Mitterhaus
is quite a departure from Christopher Lee. Young, arrogant, with an almost 60s
British rock look to him, he's more rock star than we've seen from hammer
films. In fact, he works as an almost precursor to Anne Rice’s vampire Lestat. Taking
a page out of the Twins play book, we have a vampire pair who actually shares
each other's pain. Not original in and of itself, but a nice addition though
vampire story. The circus is male leader Emil, shape shifts into a panther, and
of course there is the naked tiger girl, and who doesn't love a naked tiger
girl.
Hammer films broke a lot of new ground with this movie; hell
even broke a couple of taboos. This film features child murder, which is always
welcome, but also pedophilia, which is unheard of for pretty much any film. It
appears in the form of an undercurrent and suggestion rather than an on screen
asked, but unless you're an idiot you do know it's there.
The thing about this film which makes it good is it truly is
in a class all by itself. The circus seems ripe for picking when it comes to
horror but there are so few circus horror films. That being said, there are even
fewer good circus horror films. I don't think I could even fill one hand with
the number of big top terrors that are worth watching.
The film was directed by Robert Young, who didn’t do much in
the horror genre, but did go on to direct the excellent Robin of Sherwood television
series In the UK.
Though the film strays away from the usual hammer pool of
talent, it features many familiar genre faces including Adrienne Corri (madhouse, a clockwork Orange), David Prowse (Darth Vader of Star Wars), and Thorley
Walters (Frankenstein must be destroyed, Frankenstein created woman). Of course there is no denying Hammer Glamor as this film introduces us to the gorgeous Domini Blythe.
As with any of the typical hammer fair, this film has its
flaws but is far superior to most anything else of that time. It continues to
surprise and amaze people who give it the chance, because of its daring and
discontent story. There will never be another time like this are another hammer
films for that matter. The Vampire Circus is the film for you to have in your
collection, because the circus doesn't come the town that often and rarely is
it worth the price of admission.
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