Arguably starting with the film Dracula’s Daughter, the notion of the famous Count’s distaff side attracted audience members and storytellers. Ingrid Pitt of course starred in a film titled Countess Dracula, although the character in question was in fact Ezebet Bathori (quite famous in her own right). In fact, the original source material, i.e. Bram…
Tag: lesbian
Review: The Unwanted
Until the recent Curse of Styria, it had been literally decades since a major film adaptation of Joseph Sheridan LeFanu’s gothic classic Carmilla. Now, yet another film version is making the rounds of film festivals. For what it is worth, I recommend both! The Unwanted may be the least literal of the two. Or not.…
New Carmilla On The Way
Yet another live version of Joseph Sheridan LeFanu’s classic is on its way to the boards! We’ve covered other stage productions of Carmilla in the past, including that of Chicago’s Wildclaw Theatre and even a Canadian high school‘s version. Now another struggles its way to the stage in front of a live audience. The venue…
Lets Remake Dracula’s Daughter
As before, I formally give anyone at all the right to use any of the ideas that follow. Go for it! With the economy being what it is, and the huge competition from the internet and direct-to-dvd, small wonder Hollywood studios look to established stories for investing purposes. Here’s a suggestion for a remake: Dracula’s…
The Many Faces of Erzebet Bathori
Other than Vlad the Impaler, surely the one historical figure most often assumed to have been a vampire is Erzebet Bathori (Elizabeth Bathory), a 17th century Hungarian Countess and serial killer. One can understand why, especially given the gothic trappings added to an already horrific life story. For the record, she did not bathe in…
Who Should Play Carmilla?
Two film versions of “Carmilla” are in some stage of production right now. A stage play based on Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s last work just opened in Chicago. With the number of Draculas numbering in the dozens, little wonder those interested in the genre find this female literary predecessor increasingly interesting. The current wave of…
Why Lesbian Vampires?
For all practical purposes, the trope Vampire Lesbian emerged with Joseph Sheridan LeFanu’s novella “Carmilla.” Eventually, with the rise of a new medium–motion pictures–an adaptation of that story appeared. “Crypt of the Vampire” became one of the still-relatively few such. The trope, however, could be seen in “Dracula’s Daughter” as well as the eerie “Vampyr.”…
What to do with Dracula?
Draculas have begun to feel like a dime a dozen. Starting with the milestone silent film “Nosferatu” (i.e. skeletal, rat-fanged, pointy-eared) we’ve seen Eastern European versions, Spanish ones, porn Draculas, English Draculas, at least one female Dracula, effete Draculas, etc. We’ve seen the world’s most famous Transylvanian as suave, brutal, silent, wordy, young, old, Byronic,…
Adaptations of Carmilla
For fans of the undead, a favorite topic of debate remains comparing the various film versions of “Dracula.” Even limiting oneself to those explicitly based upon Stoker’s novel, over a dozen versions exist from “Nosferatu” (original and remake) to both Universal versions in 1930, both adaptations that starred Christopher Lee, all three BBC Draculas, the…