[HorrorScience] Mark of the Vampire (1935)

When talkies appeared, many people considered them the main enemy of silent films. Movies with sound had made everything that came before obsolete and boring. Thousands of movies were kept in boxes placed in warehouses, storage rooms and other places that were not ideal for conservation, but of course, why preserve something that no one cares about?

Years passed and many of those films were spoiled or lost forever (in a time without the Internet it was easier for something to disappear from the face of the earth). One of those movies was London After Midnight(1927) from director Tod Browning (Freaks, Dracula…) where his favorite actor (Lon Chaney) played one of his last roles before dying.

The Last copy of that film was lost in a fire years later and currently only a reconstruction of the film made with photos can be found, which leaves much to be desired and can hardly show the real quality of the film.

However, Browning decided to pay himself a tribute years later and return to the idea of ​​that film, adding in turn the actor he had immortalized as Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and thus taking advantage of the vampire vein that gave him such good (financial) results.

So we cannot see London After Midnight, but we can still see Mark of the Vampire (also known as Vampires of Prague), which is not the same, but it is the closest thing we can find.

The film places us in a rural area full of fearful and superstitious townspeople who still believe in vampires, which seems to be funny to tourists passing through the area. However, their fears seem to be justified, as the wealthy Sir Karell is found dead in strange circumstances, with marks on his neck and a notable lack of blood in his body.

Inspector Neumann will try to investigate the possible murderers to find a logical answer, with the boyfriend of the deceased's daughter and the man who will keep and manage his money being the main suspects.

However, the supernatural nature of the crime forces him to rely on the help of an old acquaintance, Professor Zelen who, after investigating the details of the event, will confirm the vampire theory as real.

Now the suspects have changed, and everything points to Count Mora and his daughter Luna, who live near a castle and, according to the townspeople, have the ability to turn into a bat to reach their victims, whom they suck their blood and turn into one of them.

Inspector Neumann will have to look for some evidence to believe such a story, but the evidence begins to appear by itself, especially when the daughter of the deceased Karell falls prey to the attack of vampires, who will not hesitate to appear in the house guarded by the inspector himself and his assistants.

The only solution left for the protagonists is to go to where the vampires hide during the day and kill them all, however there are some loose ends that we will see linked in the unexpected resolution of the film.

Mark of the Vampire It is a difficult film to classify, it is supposed to be a horror film (of its time) but it ends up being more of a mystery, with some very marked touches of comedy, in which there is room for self-parody.

Its conclusion and approach distances this film from works such as Dracula (1931) and yet, in practice, some of the most notable things about that film can be found here again, starting with its beautiful and detailed Gothic sets and ending with Lugosi representing the vampire (although I consider Luna's characterization much more terrifying). This movie also reminds me of House of Long Shadows, since both are a mixture of both genres with plot twists in the final part.

Curiosities about the film:

• Browning had some problems with censorship (once again) when making this film so that much of the script had to be rewritten and adapted, a situation that led to the role of the vampires in the film being diminished and not explaining why Count Mora has a head wound (which he apparently got when he shot himself to end his life).
• Bela Lugosi's final sentence makes a clear reference to his successful role in Dracula, which shows that the actor was not afraid to parody himself.
• This film was edited and re-released on several occasions, which means that we can find it in a version of 80 minutes and another of just over 60.
• Luna, the character played by Carroll Borland, is considered the inspiration for characters such as Vampira, Morticia Addams, Elvira and Lily Munster among others.