The Vampire Happening

The Vampire Happening (German: Gebissen wird nur nachts, lit. They only bite at night) is a 1971 West German comedy horror film directed by Freddie Francis.[4]

The Vampire Happening
German film poster for The Vampire Happening
Directed byFreddie Francis
Written byAugust Rieger
Karl-Heinz Hummel[1]
Produced byPier A. Caminnecci
CinematographyGerard Vandenberg[2]
Edited byAlfred Srp[2]
Music byJerry van Rooyen[2]
Release date
  • June 4, 1971 (1971-06-04) (West Germany)[3]
Running time
102 minutes[2]
CountryWest Germany[2]
LanguageGerman[4]

Plot

Cast

Production

In the early 1970s, Italian producer Pier A. Caminnecci was looking for a film for his wife Pia Degermark whose previous film Elvira Madigan (1967) was a critical and financial success.[1] Caminnecci set up an international production for her in West Germany directed by British director Freddie Francis and written by German screenwriters August Rieger and Karl-Heinz Hummel[1] The script features a sub-plot based on Theophile Gautier's short story "La Morte Amoureuse."[1]

Francis later stated:

I was aware from the start of the difficulties in shooting a horror parody. I really believed that I was working with normal people in the movie industry, and thought I could have made a decent film. With time, I became aware that the producer was an imbecile who treated the project like a home movie. He wanted to do the casting, make cameos in the film, and wanted his wife as an actress. It was a disaster which I can't say anything serious about.[5]

Reception

The film was not well received.[6] Allmovie gave the film one and a half stars out of five, stating that it is "not considered to be one of the crown jewels of the genre"[4] In his book Comedy-Horror Films:A Chronological History, author Bruce G. Hallenbeck referred to the film as "sort of a ripoff of Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers" and "doesn't come within lightyears of Polanski's vision".[7]

See also

References
  1. Hallenbeck 2009, p. 92.
  2. Browning & Picart 2010, p. 91.
  3. "Gebissen wird nur nachts - das Happening der Vampire". filmportal.de. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  4. Fountain, Clarke. "Vampire Happening". Allmovie. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  5. Zatterin, M., "Carreras, Francis, Guest, Lester", Fantafestival, 1986.
  6. Hallenbeck 2009, p. 93.
  7. Hallenbeck 2009, pp. 92–3.

Works cited
  • Browning, John Edgar; Picart, Caroline Joan (2010). Dracula in Visual Media:Film, Television, Comic Book and Electronic Game Appearances, 1921-2010. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786433650.
  • Hallenbeck, Bruce G. (2009). Comedy-Horror Films:A Chronological History, 1914-2008. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786433322.
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