Review of The Velvet Vampire

A vampire in the middle of the desert? That is just what is the subject of this somewhat forgotten, semi-erotic tale made in the only decade one would make a movie about a female vampire with inclinations toward both sexes: the seventies! Now before I get too far, let me say that this film is unique in several ways. It has as its vampire a vampire that defies almost all of the traditional myths about vampires. This one, named Diane, can go about freely in the sun. She can see her reflection in the mirror. She sleeps in a luxuriously large bed(all the more room to entertain her guests). She does feed on blood. She is reputed to be over a century old.. She has a deathly aversion to the Crucifix. What does all this mean? I really don't know, but I am of the opinion that the director and writer were portraying a real vampire rather than a mental vampire(one that believes herself to be a vampire). Diane, played deliciously by Celeste Yarnell, meets a guy and his wife while at a club in Los Angelos. They are invited to her house in the middle of nowhere in the Mojave Desert. Once there, we see Diane and company explore a mine shaft, visit a ghost town, have sexual relations in three different pairings, ride on a dune buggy, and see Diane suck the venom out of a bikini-clad Sherry Miles's leg. This is a strange film not always sure where it is going, but it does lots of things fairly nicely. The acting is pretty good. Yarnell, aside from being beautiful, gives a good performance despite the flaws she inherited with a script fraught with problems. The script keeps cohesive though never explains anything really and tries way too hard at the end. The sex scenes are really quite tame by today's standards. I liked the guitar score throughout much of the film. Though I believe the movie tried to heap much on its being seen as a risqué film in its favor, the film is much more than that. It is far from great, but it is definitely worth a look.