The Velvet Vampire (1971)

(On Cable TV, July 2022) On the one hand, The Velvet Vampire is a peak-early 1970s film, with several elements that could not have been included at another time. On the other hand, it also carries an eerie timelessness that often makes it feel more modern than it is. Take the opening sequence, for instance, which seems to be setting up a very familiar cliché of a woman in a red dress being stalked in a deserted street at night—except that she is the danger. Interesting stuff, and it predates most of the slasher genre. Then the plot gets going, as a young couple gets invited to an isolated desert resort by a beautiful woman. You’ll quickly guess that nothing is friendly (let alone sexy) in the invitation—she wants to drink their blood, and the male of the pair is considerably more oblivious to the danger of the situation. Much of the film revolves around Celeste Yarnall, as she plays the mysterious woman with a good deal of appeal. (Her sudden introduction driving a buggy over a sand dune seems taken from The Thomas Crown Affair, but likely remains unique in vampire film history.)  Familiar seduction scenes quickly follow, except that she never consummates the deal with the female member of the couple—which seems like the one big difference if the film was remade today. Notable for being directed by a woman, The Velvet Vampire quickly veers in between highs and lows—a slow pacing is enlivened by some provocative dream sequences, and concluded with a high-energy finale on a Latin-dominated city street that makes little sense but harkens back to the first scene. The desert setting still feels relatively fresh, although some of the period material (shot in constant haze) occasionally feels silly. The shift in perspective from the male to the female member of the couple is intriguing (albeit leading to a Final Girl-style trope), but isn’t supported by other, much rougher bits of characterization. The Velvet Vampire is not a great or even a good film, but it still has a hypnotic fascination. I honestly surprised it hasn’t been remade, because for all of the early-1970s material, there’s a core to it that would fit almost perfectly in contemporary cinema.