Le Bal des vampires

The Fearless Vampire Killers is considered a celebrated film classic, but I must admit that when I saw it, I was somewhat disappointed. The individual ingredients are intriguing, and one could write at length about the beautiful sets, all the horror clichés and elements that Roman Polański incorporated and parodied in the film. However, as a whole, the film didn't quite work for me. I'll even admit with a blush that The Vampire Wedding by Jaroslav Soukup, though understandably of significantly lower cinematic quality, provided me with more entertainment value. Polanski is indeed an above-average director but a below-average actor. I'm not sure if that's the reason why I feel somewhat distant from The Fearless Vampire Killers. Overall impression: 50% with consideration for the director's persona. (14/06/2006)

There's no dumber vampire movie out there than this. Even the Tate-Polanski phenomenon does not change that. That’s saying something, given that I was able to enjoy some of the Hammer stuff. It's bad enough that 30 years later Polanski himself returned to the theme and in 1997 the Austrian musical "Dance of the Vampires" was born. In its original staging it was performed for three years at the Raimundtheater in Vienna. Today it is a modern classic. (25/07/2020)