I Vampiri (1957)

In Paris, a string of murders against young women is receiving great attention in the press. The killer is dubbed The Vampire because the bodies are all drained of blood but there aren't any bite marks on their neck but there are needle marks. I VAMPIRI is reputedly the first Italian horror film of the sound era. While it wasn't a success when released, it eventually paved the way for such giallo film makers such as Dario Argento, Mario Bava (who's the cinematographer here) among others. Handsomely shot in B&W CinemaScope by Bava, who finished the film after the director Riccardo Freda left the project. With its large old castle with dungeons and hidden pathways, mad scientists and bloodthirsty countesses, it combines elements of both FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA and its influence can be seen in some of the Hammer films like COUNTESS DRACULA.  It's remarkably subtle in its horror elements considering some of the giallo horrors that would follow. The film suffers from a rather dull leading man (Dario Michaelis) playing an irritating character so that I developed a perverse sympathy for the villainess (Gianna Maria Canale). With Carlo D'Angelo, Wandisa Guida and Angelo Galassi.