DIAMETRALE

Vampire Films at the 6th DIAMETRALE Night Visions at Cinematograph Innsbruck
Since Murnau's *Nosferatu – A Symphony of Horror* (1922), the bloodsucking undead have been as much a part of cinema as the rattling of the projector. They come in many forms: repulsive and hideous like Max Schreck, elegant and mysterious like Bela Lugosi, or alluring and terrifying like Christopher Lee.
The history of cinema can be traced through the countless adaptations of the vampire myth: vampires flutter through expressionist horror films, shape genre cinema in the Hammer Films productions of the 1950s, embody erotic fantasies in 1970s B-movies, or blend pop culture with social criticism in contemporary series.
This year’s Night Visions presents a particularly biting triptych: an absolute underground shocker in the dark, no-future style from Vienna, one of the few exploitation vampire films directed by a woman, and a masterful revival of the genre from East Asia.
In this spirit – carpe noctem!