The Vampire Doll


The Vampire Doll is a 1970 Japanese horror film directed by Michio Yamamoto.

Plot

Returning to Tokyo from a six month business trip overseas, Kazuhiko leaves to visit his girlfriend Yuko at her isolated country home. After a week when nothing is heard from him, his sister Keiko and her fiancé Hiroshi go to find him. Yuko's mother Shidu tells them that he left after being told that Yuko had died when a landslide struck her car two weeks before he arrived. Keiko suspects there is more to the story. She and Hiroshi stay and try to trace her brother's last steps and end up uncovering tragic and horrifying secrets about Shidu and Yuko.

Cast

The Vampire Doll was the first of three vampire films made by Toho studios in the 1970s. The Vampire Doll was followed by Lake of Dracula and Evil of Dracula.

Release

The Vampire Doll was released in Japan on July 4, 1970. The film was released in a subtitled format in the United States under the title The Night of the Vampire on August 6, 1971. The release was limited to New York and Los Angeles. The film has also gone under the title Legacy of Dracula.

Reception

The New York Times gave the film a positive review, stating that the director "tells his grisly story with a cool taciturn detachment. Don't be fooled by what seems a conventional staging. There is plently lurking around the bend, some of it is hair-raising." The review also noted that the film was "exceptionally well-written, with a denouement that is fascinating and—well, almost credible. The acting is on a par with the rest."

Home media

In 2018, Arrow Films released The Vampire Doll, along with Lake of Dracula and Evil of Dracula, in a single Blu-ray set titled The Bloodthirsty Trilogy. This release included uncompressed mono audio, Toho's export English dubs for Lake of Dracula and Evil of Dracula, a video appraisal by Kim Newman, original trailers, and a collector's booklet in the first pressing.