The Vampire Doll (1970)
Director Michio Yamamoto
Starring Kayo Matsuo, Akira Nakao, Atsuo Nakamura, Yukiko Kobayashi, Yôko Minakaze

In 1970, director Michio Yamamoto released the first film in what is now called the Blood Thirsty Trilogy, which has recently been released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video. They all have somewhat of a vampire theme to them, using the feeling of traditional gothic horror and the usual vampire trappings that was being made famous by Hammer studios in the UK, as well as in America. But these are kept in a modern day Japan setting and still putting their own little touches in there.

The first title in the trilogy is The Vampire Doll (1970), also known as Legacy of Dracula as well as The Blood Thirsty Doll. One of the things that we notice right away is the music, from composer Riichirô Manabe, who would go on to compose the scores for the entire series. Here, he gives us a great sense of atmosphere, especially with the use of the harpsichord. It really gives a special feel to it and not something you’d expect in a film made in Japan. The cinematography is also something you’ll notice, with several great shots, like wide set-ups with different characters on each of the far side, or some incredible creepy shots of the vampiric girl, with her yellow glowing eyes and a devious and demented smile. The camera work really excels here, including one sequence at the end that has a combination of the camera speeding up and/or quick jump cuts, creating one of the more memorable death sequences. There is a little bit of gore, but mainly just bloodletting.

The story opens up with a young man returning after a six month work engagement, to see his girlfriend. But when he arrives at her family’s home, he is told that she had died in a car accident a couple of weeks ago. Devastated, he stays the night, but hears a moaning in the night. When he looks outside, he sees his supposedly dead girlfriend, and goes outside to investigate. A week later, when he doesn’t return home, his sister comes to the house looking for him. As she digs deeper into her missing brother and the mysterious circumstances with his girlfriend, the secret of this cursed family comes to light. I really enjoyed that the story was more than just a girl returning from the dead, but having a little more to the reveal.

Kayo Matsuo plays the sister in search of her brother and does a great job giving the audience a sense of loss and wanting to know what happen to her brother. Yôko Minakaze plays the dead girl’s mother and shows the strength as she keeps her dark secrets inside, letting very little emotion get through to the surface, other than the polite smile. But the real star is here Yukiko Kobayashi who plays the mysterious undead creature. She doesn’t have a lot of screen time, but with just a look, she can send chills up your spine. Between the glowing yellow eyes and that devilish smile, she gives one hell of a performance.

Recently released by Arrow Video on Blu-ray in the Blood Thirsty Trilogy Box set, each of the films have a high definition (1080p) presentation which have been transferred from the original film elements, and just look fantastic. The films come with newly translated English subtitles, as well as a new video of film scholar Kim Newman discussing the trilogy. If you’re not familiar with these titles, but like classic gothic films, then I think you’ll find these highly entertaining.