The Vampire Happening / Gebissen wird nur nachts - das Happening der Vampire (1971)

“To have Clarimonde was to have twenty mistresses; ay to possess all women: so mobile, so varied of aspect, so fresh in new charms was she all in herself – a very chameleon of a woman, in sooth.” – Theophile Gautier 

I came across The Vampire Happening originally, about ten years ago, because I was interested in seeing more films made by Aquila Film Enterprises, the same company that produced one of my all-time favorite Jess Franco films Succubus (1968), as well as Adrian Hoven’s Castle of the Creeping Flesh (1968). However, Jess Franco was not involved in The Vampire Happening. This time, I was instead following the co-producer of Succubus Pier A. Caminnecci, who I thought seemed like an interesting guy, based on some of the backstory Jess Franco gave on him during an interview included on the old Blue Underground DVD release of Succubus, which included an interesting anecdote about Franco finding inspiration after coming across what he referred to as the Necronomicon at Caminnecci’s house. During the interview, Franco also said that Caminnecci was “…very rich…” and “…refined but sometimes insufferable because of his pretentious airs.” At the time, Caminnecci seemed surprisingly young for a film producer. He was the wealthy son of Harras Ursus Caminnecci Siemens, and he also co-founded Aquila Film Enterprises with actors and directors Adrian Hoven and Michel Lemoine.  

Caminnecci did seem to like to have cameos and bit parts in the films he co-produced. He makes a brief appearance during the opening to The Vampire Happening in an “adult movie” scene-within-a-scene with his wife Pia Degermark that is being shown to a mixed audience of passengers, with various jokey reactions, on a commercial airplane.

Degermark and Caminnecci married the same year The Vampire Happening came out, and I cannot help thinking that the film was intended as a starring vehicle, or perhaps even a sincere gift, from Caminnecci for Degermark to be elevated and fondly remembered by the world, as she was the beautiful lead and main attraction to the film in a dual role as actress Betty Williams and her undead ancestor Clarimonde.

Holocaust 2000 (1977)

There is a lot to say about unoriginality in some of Alberto De Martino’s films, with Holocaust 2000 and The Antichrist being quickly produced cash-ins of The Omen and The Exorcist, respectively, and Operation Kid Brother is probably the boldest Bond rip-off ever. However, these films are also the best of their kind; The Antichrist is easily the best Exorcist knock-off, and Operation Kid Brother, along with De Martino’s Special Mission Lady Chaplin, probably ranks in to any Eurospy fan’s top ten list.

The Italian-British co-production Holocaust 2000 (aka Rain of Fire) is regarded as being better than any of The Omen sequels, and so, it would seem to me that to call Holocaust 2000 a lackluster version of The Omen would be just as foolish as calling Fulci’s Zombie Flesh Eaters a lackluster take on Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. I won’t go as far as saying they are better, but the aforementioned films by De Martino most certainly are not mere copies or inferior imitations of their source inspiration, yet they do have certain superior qualities and, in their own way, became influential themselves.

It is obviously smart from the business end to capitalize on successful international movies by creating other movies in a similar vein, catering to the taste of the audiences of the time, exploiting the spirit of the age. I imagine that this is what most likely gave these kind of genre films the green light from producers who probably cared more about what other movies the pitched script was similar to and not necessarily how original it was. Call this trendy, if you must, but a lot of these movies brought the source inspiration to different directions and new heights and therefore have an originality that can be discovered for those willing to look beneath the surface.

Vampyres: Daughters of Dracula (1974)

Unrequited love and I are no strangers, but just as the muscle eventually grows stronger from the rigorous demands of exercise, so too do I grow more resistant to the sorrows of the lovelorn heart. It is sometimes an issue of attraction only going one way or knowing full well that the honest divulgence of true feelings will most certainly bring severe complications. In either case, it is perhaps best to take the noble route, walk the way of the hero, endure the pain – which will eventually subside in due time – and wish and bestow a fortunate and happy life upon that of the desired, even if I am not to be a part of that future.

Other times it is a matter of knowing when you are playing with fire and that the only best possible solution is to retreat for good, lest you find yourself meeting your doom in more ways than one. But alas, seduction sometimes overrules rational thought, and, like the lead in José Ramón Larraz’s languorous sexy vampire British horror, Vampyres: Daughters of Dracula; even with all routes of escape firmly planted while in the face of a deadly situation, the allure and honor of coalescing with that mysterious, sexy beauty once again somehow seems worth it.

A couple of lady vampires, Fran (Marianne Morris) and Miriam (Anulka Dziubinska), haunt an old vacant mansion isolated in the woods. They seem to have a pretty efficient system for securing blood nourishment by hitchhiking rides from vulnerable English chaps and taking them back to their place. After enticing these poor gentlemen with delectable vintage wines from the cellar and seducing them, Fran and Miriam do their vampire business and leave the bodies inside their crashed vehicles on the road, making it look like an accident.

Get Well Soon (2011)

This odd but satisfying psychological horror short is an interesting and nightmarish look at the deterioration of the marriage between its two sole characters, Theodore and Janet (Gresby Nash and Laura Howard). With its claustrophobic home interior setting, the film maintains a consistent tone as we witness a sort of aftermath to Theodore’s bout with breast cancer, now in remission. Contrary to what should be a good thing, the story takes a more downbeat approach as things seem fairly depressing, instead, with the couple apparently growing distant after Janet discovers she is pregnant. Being disappointed by her pregnancy causes Janet to realize that she truly isn’t happy with her marriage anymore, and so she decides to keep the pregnancy from her husband. The idea of feeling trapped is brought out remarkably well with Janet locking herself in the bathroom as a way of escape.

Theodore learns of the pregnancy after overhearing Janet talking on the phone to a friend. It ends up being real hard on him to know that Janet is deliberately keeping the news about their child from him. As events unfold in a days-of-the-week progression, he undergoes a kind of mental degradation. With the cinematography on display during Theodore’s decline, I could almost feel his inebriation when he starts to go heavy on the drugs and alcohol. The horror elements of the film start to come out more as the problem escalates and reality and nightmare start to merge.

GET WELL SOON showcases terrific performances from its two sole actors (I especially loved the chilling way that Laura Howard abruptly switched her facial expression during a key moment that involves her screaming at something off camera). The story by Michael Woodman is engaging and well written, though some viewers might end up with some unanswered questions (being a psychological horror film this is understandable, but I’m interested in knowing if the consistent use of the bathtub symbolized or meant anything). My favorite part consists of an artistically shot nightmare scene that portrays the cause of Theodore’s drug consumption and the effect that this new ordeal is having on him -- a disturbing visual of Theodore resting on Janet’s bosom as she envelops him and feeds him pills. I also enjoyed getting freaked out by the movie’s ending scene, which caused GET WELL SOON to impress me more than I was expecting. It is genuinely scary, and I admire the way Woodman decided to avoid having a predictable ‘guy goes crazy and kills his wife’ ending.

Get Well Soon: Full Movie (14 min and 3 sec)