VAMPIRE CIRCUS

One of Hammer Films’ most lurid outings, eschewing the typical Christopher Lee / Peter Cushing path and instead mirroring the more permissive Seventies and its outrageous auteurs like Ken Russell. Plus, it fuses vampire lore with the trappings of circus / carnival thrillers like FREAKS and NIGHTMARE ALLEY.

Seeking revenge for a brutally-slain little girl, the townspeople of a tiny Austrian village murder the evil Count Mitterhaus…only for him to curse the villagers and vow that all their children will die so that he may return to live. Fifteen years later, as the village is ravaged by the plague, a travelling circus of shape-shifting vampires comes town town and makes everyone realize that the Count’s prophecy is coming true!