Produced by Mario Bava and released in Italy as Seddok, l’erende di Satana, Atom Age Vampire is a black-and-white film that combines the mad scientist genre with conventional horror, adding quite a bit of melodrama to create an interesting film that will tax the patience of many American viewers not accustomed to European-flavored thrillers from the 1950s and 1960s.
Directed by Anton Giulio Majano (Un Giorno Nella Vita and The Eternal Chain), Atom Age Vampire centers on a beautiful and vain singer by the name of Jeanette Moreneau (Susanne Loret) whose face is disfigured in a car accident. Much melodrama ensues, as Jeanette believes her boyfriend Pierre Mornet (Sergio Fantoni) will no longer love her because of her disfigurement. However, Jeanette sees a ray of hope when Monique Riviere (Franca Parisi) pays a visit. Monique assists Dr. Alberto Levin (Alberto Lupo), who has created a special serum that can restore life in dead tissue.
The core concept behind Atom Age Vampire is pretty good. While living in post-Hiroshima Japan, the good doctor studied the effects of radiation on living tissue. Although his first serum, called Derma 25, was imperfect, his refined Derma 28 miraculously regenerates dead skin. However, the first few treatments of Jeanette only last a limited time, and soon Dr. Levin runs out of the miracle serum. The only way to create more is to use blood and tissue (glands of some type) from other people. The doctor injects himself with Derma 25, knowing that the drug will slowly turn him into a hideous beast without conscience, and after murdering several people, he continues to treat Jeanette.
Although this part of the story is effective, there is also a heavy dose of melodrama with multiple love interests: Monique Riviere loves Dr. Levin, but he has fallen in love with Jeanette Moreneau, who is in turn still in love with Pierre Mornet but finds herself indebted to Dr. Levin. Then there’s a mute assistant to Dr. Levin who is in love with Monique and protective of Jeanette. All these love interests generate quite a bit of over-the-top acting and some rather monotonous scenes. Only when some detectives start snooping around to press the climax of the movie do things become interesting again.
Atom Age Vampire is a solid B-movie, one that would have been much better had the focus been on the science fiction and horror elements instead of the detective thriller and melodramatic scenes. Viewers interested on a new take on vampirism should check it out, although it may be difficult to sit through the whole thing. Special effects are sparse but do help with evoking some chills, or laughs, depending on how jaded a horror fan you are.
This movie is part of 50 Movies: Horror Classics, a collection of 50 horror movies on DVD that feature Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and many more. It’s available for only $13.49 at Amazon!
Comments