| 4D Man/The Playgirls And The Vampire |
| The Playgirls And The Vampire is like an old friend you like to see every so
often. Shot as The Vampire's Final Prey this movie features the screen's first naked vampire and she is a cutie too! Yeehah! It also seems to be the template for every other Italian gothic chiller to follow down the path. We're given the stranded travelers, the ever present horrible weather with the wind whistling evilly in the background. A castle set in the lonely countryside chock full of mystery, legend and spooky goings on.All is overseen by the seemingly creepy sinister housekeeper and the secretive enigmatic lonely count who is struck by the beauty of one of the ladies. Toss in the standard curious female who ignores the order to not explore the castle at night meeting a grisly fate, a vampiric double for the count and simmer to a low boil.This film is also a bit unusual in the fact that the ending is somewhat downbeat. Due to the nudity this film was shown only in adult theatres. It eventually made its way to the drive in like many of the other films discussed this time out. The castle used in this film also turned up in other Italian gothic horrors adding to the film's importance.While it may not be the best of its kind it certainly is a forerunner in the genre. |
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| The Playgirls And The Vampire |
| Site Map Archives Summer 2004 The Ape/British Intelligence Blood Castle/Vampyres Gallery Of Horror The Mole People The Night Evelyn Came Out Of Grave Twilight People |
| 4D Man was an interesting little flick that came out in 1959 from
the people that brought you The Blob. Robert Lansing starred as Scott
Nelson a scientist. Scott's brother Tony (shades of I dream Of Jeannie) developed
a method to alter the molecular properties of objects. Scott goes it
one step further and then in true mad scientist fashion tries it on
himself.
Scott now has the ability to pass through objects like walls and what not. Ol skip would have been right through the Girl's shower room wall in a flash Sadly not only is the process driving Nelson mad but it is killing him as well. When he passes through people he steals their life energy killing them and temporarily revitalizing himself.Of course he goes so nuts that his brother has to attempt something desperate to save mankind from the 4D Man. One scene that always stayed with me was when Nelson is first trying out the process and he puts his hand into that block of wood.Then it gets stuck and he can't get it out.Arrggh! Of course when I was little and watching this with a friend I commented on how awful it would be if he had put his weenie in the block instead of his hand and have it get stuck. Little boys being the morons they are we started rolling on the floor clutching our groins in agony. Well a parent came up and yelled at us thinking we had been kicking each other in the balls and to stop. Parents.Nosensahumor. Anyway this is a nifty low budget flick with a jazz score that seems just a tad out of place. Lansing and Lee Meriwether are solid in their roles. Well at least she is as Lansing has that irritating habit of being less than solid.A very young Patty Duke rounds out the cast. |