LESBIAN VAMPIRES

Bloody, sexy and lesbian

Thanks to the historic figure of the Hungarian countess Elisabeth Bathory (Erzsébet Báthory, 1560-1614) and novel "Carmilla" by Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, a whole film-genre of erotic lesbian vampire stories came to life.

The Pornfilmfestival Berlin shows three very different examples of that genre which combines sex, and the ever so important question of love beyond death: In "Vampyres" by José Ramón Larraz we see the classical setting of a young couple that ends up in the middle of nowhere near a spooky castle and finds itself involved with a lesbian vampire couple. As always, sex has two different goals here: one is deadly and for the matter of bloodsucking and the other serves the purpose of lust and happens only between the lesbian protagonists.

A totally different approach comes from Philippines: Three girls are trapped in their home as the "Three Days Of Darkness" descend on the earth. They must cope and try to fend off the demons that have come to take them. Surprisingly the whole story evolves into a lesbian love drama.

Modern West-European city life sets the background for "Vampire Diary" where a young video-artist falls for a real lesbian while making a documentary in London's Gothic scene. Self-abandonment becomes a whole new perspective in this film. Both "Vampire Diary" and "Three Days Of Darkness" can also be seen as very interesting approaches to the "lesbians who want children" issue with a rather unexpected twist.

Three Days of Darkness (Tatlong Araw Ng Kadiliman) L NX
25.10., 16:15, Moviemento 2
Philippinen, 2007, 90 minutes, Khavn De La Cruz, Tagalog original version with English subtitles
Armageddon stretches into three long days, trapping three women in a house as darkness shrouds over the world and fulfils the doomsday prophecy. As they claw and feel their way around the ominous old house, the women are confounded with their demons within and the demons unleashed on earth. The suffocating, palpable dark turns every second into an agonizing eternity and they are catapulted into choosing between ways to combat their mortal dread - turning to religion for any desperate hope of redemption or satiating their lustful desires for one another in what could be their last remaining hours.


Vampire Diary L NX
23.10., 22:15, Eiszeit 2
Great Britain, 2007, 90 minutes, Mark James & Phil O'Shea, English original version with German subtitles
Holly is shooting a documentary about London's neo vampire scene when she meets the mysterious Vicky, who claims to be a real vampire. Holly is intrigued and falls for Vicky, with all the blood red consequences...


Vampyres L NX
26.10., 20:15, Eiszeit 1
Great Britain, 1974, 87 minutes, José Ramón Larraz, English original version

A large mansion and the surrounding woodland are for sale. For some reason, it is difficult to sell it... Two female vampires ensnare male and female victims with their sexy bodies, then chew their blood the old way. When an American Lady fights back, they team-up against her...
This Hammer-flavored gothic outing (originally titled "Daughters Of Dracula") involves the sanguinary exploits of two female vampires who bed down together in a queen-sized coffin by day and seduce male and female victims by moonlight, leading to lots of steamy soft-core sex scenes followed by copious amounts of the red stuff. One of their victims falls in love with Moore, even as he grows increasingly anemic due to her nutritional requirements. Moody photography and lush sets enhance the film's fatally hedonistic atmosphere, and the stars assay temptingly feline performances that render their characters' seductive powers chillingly real. This was a late entry in the European "lesbian vampire" sub-genre, a 1970s phenomenon made popular by such filmmakers as Jean Rollin and Jess Franco that made a comeback in the late 1990s.

Abbreviations:
H = Heterosexual, S = Gay, L = Lesbian, T = Transgender, NX = does not contain explicit sex scenes, X = contains explicit sex scenes, D = documentary film, FT = Fetish, SW = Sexwork (films on sex work and prostitution), F = films made by female directors, A = animation