Grade: F
Synopsis: A small town doctor can’t stop taking the pills that turn him into a hairy monster.
The Vampire, despite what its title might blatantly suggest, has nothing to do with vampires. Instead, it’s a Jekyll and Hyde story; one in which Mr. Hyde happens to bite his victims. The victims don’t turn into monsters after they’ve been bitten, nor does Mr. Hyde have any aversion to sunlight, crosses, mirrors, garlic, etc.. or any other classic vampire traits. Further, Mr. Hyde doesn’t feed on his victims; he just kills them. So yeah, not a vampire in any sense of the word.
Directed by Paul Landres, who would later direct the slightly better The Return of Dracula (1958) (at least it has an actual vampire!), shows little in the way of visual flair. The whole film feels like an overlong, poorly written episode of The Twilight Zone, with production values to match. When lead John Beal makes his “transformation” into “the vampire”, you’ll be hard pressed not to burst out laughing.
About the only bright spot is James Griffith who gives a stylish turn as a sunglass wearing pathologist for about 30 seconds.
Fortunately, at only 75 minutes it’s all over pretty fast, which, unfortunately, is also its only other redeeming quality.
Bottom Line: It’s a movie called “The Vampire” without an actual vampire; need I say more?
