El ataúd del vampiro

EL Ataúd del Vampiro(1958), The Vampire's Coffin, is not a fitting sequel to El Vampiro,both featuring German Robles as aristocratic vampire Count Lavud. This sequel seems like a quickie followup. Most of the film is filmed inside modern buildings or building sets. It lacks the beautiful foreboding night fog scenes of the former. However, when I first wrote this review I had only seen the K. Gordon Murray dubbed version. I expressed thoughts that the Spanish version might be better. I have now seen the Casa Negra restored version in which the beautiful photography and music are quite apparent. The restored version DVD has both Spanish with and without English subtitles as well as the inferior K. Gordon Murray dubbed English version.

German Robles's acting is fine; he is quite the natty-charming-aristocratic-menacing-sensual vampire seeking Martha (Ariadna Welter) from the first movie. There is also an interesting scene in which he picks up a woman in a bar. He returns to this life?? thanks to a thief who becomes an assistant and acquires that status while attempting to steal the Count's large pendant and in the process pulling out the stake and thus bringing the Vampire back from the nether place to which he had been consigned in El Vampiro. The Count does not punish him but acknowledges his appreciation and makes him his assistant. (This is somewhat a precursor to Leo (Manver) the beguiling, willing hunchback assistant in the later Nostradamus films).

The Spanish restored Casa Negra version is part of a two DVD set with El Vampiro in both Spanish with and without English subtitles and dubbed English. The movie does now stand on its own and is worth seeing IN Spanish with or without English subtitles. I would now give it a 7.5 or 8 rating for its genre. IMDb will not allow any modification of my review of El Vampiro so I am unable to mention the quality of the Casa Negra restored version of El Vampiro; it is outstanding. I would add to my earlier review of that film that the photographic and sound quality are magnificent in the Casa Negra restored DVD.

Thomas J McKeon Indianapolis