The Vampire Happening | |
---|---|
![]() German film poster for The Vampire Happening | |
Directed by | Freddie Francis |
Written by | August Rieger Karl-Heinz Hummel [3] |
Produced by | Pier A. Caminnecci |
Cinematography | Gerard Vandenberg [2] |
Edited by | Alfred Srp [2] |
Music by | Jerry van Rooyen [2] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes [2] |
Country | West Germany [2] |
Language | German [4] |
The Vampire Happening ( German: Gebissen wird nur nachts, lit. They only bite at night) is a 1971 West German comedy horror film directed by Freddie Francis. [4]
![]() | This article needs a
plot summary. (October 2023) |
In the early 1970s, Italian producer Pier A. Caminnecci was looking for a film for his wife Pia Degermark whose previous film Elvira Madigan (1967) was a critical and financial success. [3] Caminnecci set up an international production for her in West Germany directed by British director Freddie Francis and written by German screenwriters August Rieger and Karl-Heinz Hummel [3] The script features a sub-plot based on Theophile Gautier's short story " La Morte Amoureuse." [3]
Francis later stated:
I was aware from the start of the difficulties in shooting a horror parody. I really believed that I was working with normal people in the movie industry, and thought I could have made a decent film. With time, I became aware that the producer was an imbecile who treated the project like a home movie. He wanted to do the casting, make cameos in the film, and wanted his wife as an actress. It was a disaster which I can't say anything serious about. [5]
The film was not well received. [6] Allmovie gave the film one and a half stars out of five, stating that it is "not considered to be one of the crown jewels of the genre" [4] In his book Comedy-Horror Films:A Chronological History, author Bruce G. Hallenbeck referred to the film as "sort of a ripoff of Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers" and "doesn't come within lightyears of Polanski's vision". [7]
The Vampire Happening | |
---|---|
![]() German film poster for The Vampire Happening | |
Directed by | Freddie Francis |
Written by | August Rieger Karl-Heinz Hummel [3] |
Produced by | Pier A. Caminnecci |
Cinematography | Gerard Vandenberg [2] |
Edited by | Alfred Srp [2] |
Music by | Jerry van Rooyen [2] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes [2] |
Country | West Germany [2] |
Language | German [4] |
The Vampire Happening ( German: Gebissen wird nur nachts, lit. They only bite at night) is a 1971 West German comedy horror film directed by Freddie Francis. [4]
![]() | This article needs a
plot summary. (October 2023) |
In the early 1970s, Italian producer Pier A. Caminnecci was looking for a film for his wife Pia Degermark whose previous film Elvira Madigan (1967) was a critical and financial success. [3] Caminnecci set up an international production for her in West Germany directed by British director Freddie Francis and written by German screenwriters August Rieger and Karl-Heinz Hummel [3] The script features a sub-plot based on Theophile Gautier's short story " La Morte Amoureuse." [3]
Francis later stated:
I was aware from the start of the difficulties in shooting a horror parody. I really believed that I was working with normal people in the movie industry, and thought I could have made a decent film. With time, I became aware that the producer was an imbecile who treated the project like a home movie. He wanted to do the casting, make cameos in the film, and wanted his wife as an actress. It was a disaster which I can't say anything serious about. [5]
The film was not well received. [6] Allmovie gave the film one and a half stars out of five, stating that it is "not considered to be one of the crown jewels of the genre" [4] In his book Comedy-Horror Films:A Chronological History, author Bruce G. Hallenbeck referred to the film as "sort of a ripoff of Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers" and "doesn't come within lightyears of Polanski's vision". [7]