Vampyr

        I feel a little bad. It seems like every time I review a film from this era I end up really disliking it. I’m afraid it feels like I’m coming down on the era as a whole, but in reality it is a coincidence that the films I’ve chosen I ended up not liking. I hoped to reverse that trend with Vampyr but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.

Vampyr was written by Carl Theoddor Dreyer (The Passion of Joan of Arc) and Christen Jul (Med livet som insats) with Dreyer also directing. Vampyr was released on May 6th, 1932 in Germany to extremely negative reviews. Dreyer premiered a new cut of the film that September in France that received slightly more positive, though still largely negative, reviews. As is often the case, modern reviews have been far kinder. I was unable to find budget or box office information for this film. 

Vampyr follows Allan Gray (Nicolas de Gunzburg), a writer who rents a room at an inn in a village called Courtempierre. Allan soon meets a young woman named Léone (Sybille Schmitz, Signal in the Night) who is under the curse of a demon called a Vampyr.

I have to say, I agree with the contemporary reaction to this film. While Dreyer’s direction is good and the film is visually interesting, the rest is dull and lifeless. A big issue here is that this was Dreyer’s first sound picture and he was very uncomfortable with the process. He chose to film Vampyr in both French and German, meaning several scenes would have to be shot twice. Because of this, the resulting film has only sporadic dialogue and relies on lengthy title cards to provide exposition.

This is the film’s fatal flaw. These title cards are lengthy paragraphs that bring any momentum that the film has built to a sudden halt. Further compounding the issue is that all exposition about the titular Vampyr is provided by several long, close-up shots of a book being read by the protagonist. This sound/silent hybrid approach ultimately dooms the film.

While an interesting piece of film history, Vampyr is largely a chore to sit through. Breyer’s direction elevates the film a bit, but his discomfort with using sound is evident on screen.

Rating: 2 creepy castles out of 5

Other Observations:

• Does the Dog Die? No animals are harmed in the film.

• Harrison’s Favorite Scare: I honestly don’t have one.

• This film marks Gunzburg’s only film appearance. By trade he was a magazine editor and socialite who helped fund the film.

Next Week: I’m doing another first-time watch with Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. I know next to nothing about this film so I’m quite excited.