El mundo de los vampiros

Mexican horror films are bizarre, as many know. They mix a bit of German Expressionism with their Spanish legacy, add a touch of local folklore, and come out with something quite original, even if the execution is betrayed by small budgets. This is the case of this peculiar item of my 2014 discoveries, a film that turned out to be much better than expected. Produced by Abel Salazar, star and producer of many of those films (including the classic "El vampiro"), it exceeds in atmosphere, zaniness and pretty women, as usual, with a handsome vampire this time: Guillermo Murray had just arrived from Argentina and was given the lead in this tale of vampires fighting for world supremacy. Murray plays Sergio Subotai, a European count that wants to take revenge from the last member of a family that hunted the undead and killed his own family. To achieve his goal he uses the man's nieces, two sisters played by Silvia Fournier who takes the leading lady role, and ex-Miss Mexico Erna Martha Bauman as the wicked sister. What Count Subotai did not count with is that there is a guy in town who has the ability to disturb hounds, call the undead, and neutralize vampires with strange pieces of music. Unfortunately Subotai only has an army of inefficient ugly batmen and sexy vampire girls. As in many of these productions, the tone is ironic and different elements make up for the shortcomings, as the admirable underground sets in Subotai's castle, and the dark cinematography, thanks to old pro Jack Draper. The score composed by Gustavo César Carrión for Salazar's production of "El vampiro" is used one more time to good effect. A recommended horror film with quite decent amusement value.