7/10
Good and original vampire movie from Hammer Film Productions and Rank Organisation
20 March 2012
In Nineteenth Century Europe , at a Servian little town called Schtettle and surroundings have been committed several murders and neighbours think the guilty seems to be the count Mitterhaus (Robert Tayman) . When professor Albert Muller (Laurence Payne) watches how his wife Anna and daughter go into a castle , townsfolk (Thorley Walters , among others) enter to rescue them . They get to kill the sinister vampire count but he promises a grisly curse . Fifteen years later the bloodsucker's curse is carried out on descendants (John Moulder-Brown , Lynne Frederick) . Schtettle (same place from 'Twins of evil') people are dieing for strange illness and the place is quarantined . A village is at first relieved when a circus breaks through the quarantine to take the local's minds off the plague . Only the ¨Circus of nights¨ (Adrienne Corri , Anthony Corlan , David Prowse) passes the limits to bring happiness and joy . The circus appears in the isolated location , but early instead of bringing fun and amusement , the circus brings only misery , mutilation and death . ¨The circus has various animals and attractions as 'Hall of Mirrors', and 'Mirror of life' . It seems all the members are bloodsuckers who have the unique ability to become themselves into animals . They intend to take vendetta on the village , whose inhabitants murdered their ancestor several years formerly .

This vampire film contains thrills , chills , suspense , creepy events and is quite entertaining . From important production companies as ¨Rank¨ and ¨Hammer Films¨ that took two plots , one about an eerie circus and the other about bloodsucker depredations and cobbled them together enough well . There are some fine scenes , as the dancing of the panther woman and and other fantastic ones as the deeds in a Hall of Mirrors . Enjoyable performance for all casting , Adrienne Corri as a circus ringmaster , she subsequently worked in 'Clockwork orange' ; Anthony Corlan as a panther man , he has a long career as Anthony Higgings ; Thorley Walters , a Hammer usual ; Lynne Frederick who married and inherited to Peter Sellers , though she died early ; David Prowse as a strongman , he posteriorly became famous as Darth Vader's Star Wars . Colorful cinematography by Grant , made at Pinewood studios , Shepperton , London , England . Creepy and frightening musical score by David Whitaker .

The motion picture produced by Michael Carreras is well directed by Robert W. Young who has a mediocre career with average titles as ¨Hostage¨ , ¨Scandalous ¨, The world is full of married men¨ ; however ¨Vampire circus¨ is a good yarn and results to be his best film . Hammer film buffs will no doubt recognise this film is one of the best of the Terror House .
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