The Blood Spattered Bride
Encyclopedia
The Blood Spattered Bride is a 1972 Spanish
horror
film
written and directed by Vicente Aranda
, based on the vampire story, "Carmilla
" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It stars Simón Andreu
, Maribel Martín
, and Alexandra Bastedo
.The film has reached cult status for its mix of horror, vampirism and seduction with lesbian
overtones. A well known trailer advertising a double feature
paired with the 1974 film I Dismember Mama
was filmed in the style of a news report covering the "story" of an audience member who had gone insane while watching the films.
The couple arrives at a house where the husband apparently grew up. This is where the rest of the story unfolds. The wife sees the woman from the hotel in the woods on the property but she does not tell her husband. Susan notices in the house that there are paintings up of male ancestors but none of the wives. She is told by the servants' daughter that the wives' paintings are in the cellar. Susan notices that one of the paintings of the wives has the face cut out of it. Susan's husband tells her that the woman in the painting is named Mircalla Karnstein, one of his ancestors, who two hundred years before murdered her husband on their wedding night because he supposedly made her commit unspeakable acts. Susan has violent dreams involving the mysterious woman she has been seeing. She wakes up and finds a dagger under her pillow. At his point, Susan starts to become detached from her husband. The husband calls on a doctor to figure out why she is having all of these dreams and what is wrong with her. Soon Mircalla is invading Susan's dreams, persuading her to use a mysterious dagger, which keeps reappearing no matter where it is hidden, to butcher Susan's husband as Mircalla did hers.
One day while strolling out on the beach, the husband discovers a naked woman buried in the sand, with only her snorkel providing air. He digs her out and takes her home where she reveals herself to be Carmilla. Susan falls under the spell of Carmilla, a man-hating vampire who seduces Susan and puts the bite on her to drink her blood and possess her in a lesbian relationship. The husband finally catches on that Carmilla is really his ancestor Mircalla Karnstein and a vampire, and that his life is in danger. The repressed Susan's desires are awakened in the intense lesbian love affair and she embarks on a spree of bloody mayhem. They kill the doctor, the guardian of the property, and they try to kill the husband too, but he kills them while the two women are resting in their coffins as vampires. (Oddly enough, in a departure from the traditional methods to kill a vampire, he first uses a rifle to shoot the coffin multiple times.) After this happens, the servant's daughter arrives, and reveals that she was bitten too; she then kneels and allows the husband to shoot her once in the head. He returns to the coffin with a dagger, and the scene cuts to a newspaper column declaring, "Man cuts out the hearts of three women," suggesting the husband was found and arrested for three murders.
on January 30, 2001. It is presented in English language; no subtitles or additional audio tracks are provided. The film was later reissued on DVD by Blue Underground
, first as part of a two-disc set with another lesbian vampire film from the early 1970s, Daughters of Darkness
, and then separately.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written and directed by Vicente Aranda
Vicente Aranda
Vicente Aranda , is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Due to his refined and personal style, he is one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a founded member of the Barcelona School of Film and became known for bringing contemporary Spanish novels to life on the...
, based on the vampire story, "Carmilla
Carmilla
Carmilla is a Gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. First published in 1872, it tells the story of a young woman's susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire named Carmilla...
" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It stars Simón Andreu
Simón Andreu
Simón Andreu is a Spanish actor. He has appeared in over 135 films since 1961.-Selected filmography:* The Good Love * Bad Man's River * The Blood Spattered Bride * El sacerdote...
, Maribel Martín
Maribel Martín
Maribel Martín born Maria Isabel Martínez , is a Spanish actress .-Career:She made her acting debut at age seven in the film Tres de la Cruz Roja , by Fernado Palacios...
, and Alexandra Bastedo
Alexandra Bastedo
Alexandra Bastedo is a British actress, best-known for her role as secret agent Sharron Macready in the 1968 British espionage/science fiction adventure series The Champions...
.The film has reached cult status for its mix of horror, vampirism and seduction with lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
overtones. A well known trailer advertising a double feature
Double feature
The double feature, also known as a double bill, was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.The double feature, also known as...
paired with the 1974 film I Dismember Mama
I Dismember Mama
I Dismember Mama, also known as Poor Albert and Little Annie, is a 1974 horror film. During its original theatrical release, patrons were given free paper "Up Chuck Cups" with the purchase of a ticket...
was filmed in the style of a news report covering the "story" of an audience member who had gone insane while watching the films.
Plot
Susan, a newly married young woman still wearing her bridal gown, leaves on honeymoon with her new husband and eventually arrives at a hotel. Another woman seems to be stalking the couple from her position in a nearby car, and when Susan is left alone in the room for just a few moments, she has a violent fantasy of a strange man leaping out of the closet and raping her. When her husband returns she insists on leaving, and so they do.The couple arrives at a house where the husband apparently grew up. This is where the rest of the story unfolds. The wife sees the woman from the hotel in the woods on the property but she does not tell her husband. Susan notices in the house that there are paintings up of male ancestors but none of the wives. She is told by the servants' daughter that the wives' paintings are in the cellar. Susan notices that one of the paintings of the wives has the face cut out of it. Susan's husband tells her that the woman in the painting is named Mircalla Karnstein, one of his ancestors, who two hundred years before murdered her husband on their wedding night because he supposedly made her commit unspeakable acts. Susan has violent dreams involving the mysterious woman she has been seeing. She wakes up and finds a dagger under her pillow. At his point, Susan starts to become detached from her husband. The husband calls on a doctor to figure out why she is having all of these dreams and what is wrong with her. Soon Mircalla is invading Susan's dreams, persuading her to use a mysterious dagger, which keeps reappearing no matter where it is hidden, to butcher Susan's husband as Mircalla did hers.
One day while strolling out on the beach, the husband discovers a naked woman buried in the sand, with only her snorkel providing air. He digs her out and takes her home where she reveals herself to be Carmilla. Susan falls under the spell of Carmilla, a man-hating vampire who seduces Susan and puts the bite on her to drink her blood and possess her in a lesbian relationship. The husband finally catches on that Carmilla is really his ancestor Mircalla Karnstein and a vampire, and that his life is in danger. The repressed Susan's desires are awakened in the intense lesbian love affair and she embarks on a spree of bloody mayhem. They kill the doctor, the guardian of the property, and they try to kill the husband too, but he kills them while the two women are resting in their coffins as vampires. (Oddly enough, in a departure from the traditional methods to kill a vampire, he first uses a rifle to shoot the coffin multiple times.) After this happens, the servant's daughter arrives, and reveals that she was bitten too; she then kneels and allows the husband to shoot her once in the head. He returns to the coffin with a dagger, and the scene cuts to a newspaper column declaring, "Man cuts out the hearts of three women," suggesting the husband was found and arrested for three murders.
Cast
- Simón AndreuSimón AndreuSimón Andreu is a Spanish actor. He has appeared in over 135 films since 1961.-Selected filmography:* The Good Love * Bad Man's River * The Blood Spattered Bride * El sacerdote...
as the husband - Maribel MartínMaribel MartínMaribel Martín born Maria Isabel Martínez , is a Spanish actress .-Career:She made her acting debut at age seven in the film Tres de la Cruz Roja , by Fernado Palacios...
as Susan - Alexandra BastedoAlexandra BastedoAlexandra Bastedo is a British actress, best-known for her role as secret agent Sharron Macready in the 1968 British espionage/science fiction adventure series The Champions...
as Mircalla\Carmilla - Rosa Maria Rodriguez as Carol
- Dean Selmier as the doctor
DVD release
The film was first shown in the USA under the title Till Death Do Us Part in a cut version, and released on DVD uncut and uncensored as The Blood Spattered Bride. The DVD was first released by Anchor Bay EntertainmentAnchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment is a U.S. based home entertainment and production company and is a division of Starz Media, which is a unit of Starz, LLC. It was previously owned by IDT Entertainment until 2006 when IDT was purchased by Starz Media. Anchor Bay markets and sells feature films, series,...
on January 30, 2001. It is presented in English language; no subtitles or additional audio tracks are provided. The film was later reissued on DVD by Blue Underground
Blue Underground
Blue Underground is an American company specializing in releasing authoritative editions of cult and exploitation movies on Blu-ray Disc and DVD....
, first as part of a two-disc set with another lesbian vampire film from the early 1970s, Daughters of Darkness
Daughters of Darkness
Daughters of Darkness is a 1971 Belgian horror film , directed by Harry Kümel...
, and then separately.
External links
- Web Oficial de Vicente Aranda (Spanish)