Villain(s)  Vampires

Actor(s):  Hélène Rémy, Tina Gloriani, Walter Brandi, Maria Luisa Rolando

Brief Description  The Vampire and the Ballerina (originally titled L'amante del vampiro) is a 1960 Italian Gothic horror film directed and co-written by Renato Polselli. Spurred by the massive success of Hammer Films’ Dracula in Italy, this low-budget black-and-white feature blends classic vampire mythology with erotic undertones and ballet choreography.

Plot:
The film begins in a rural Italian village where a peasant girl named Brigitta is attacked and killed by a vampire. Her employer, a local professor, and the town doctor dismiss her death as severe anemia, chalking up the vampire rumors to peasant superstition. Meanwhile, a troupe of beautiful young ballerinas is staying at the professor's countryside mansion to rehearse a new dance play in peace. Among them are Francesca and her best friend Luisa. Francesca's boyfriend, Luca, visits the mansion and proposes a group picnic the following day. During the outing near a local waterfall, Luca proposes to Francesca. A sudden, violent storm disrupts the celebration. While the rest of the dance troupe returns safely to the mansion with Luisa's fiancé, Giorgio, Luca stays behind in the woods to find Francesca and Luisa. Seeking shelter from the torrential rain, the trio stumbles upon a seemingly derelict, ominous castle.

Unbeknownst to them, the castle is inhabited by Countess Alda, a centuries-old vampire queen, and her monstrous vampire servant, Herman. The vampires live out a volatile dynamic of love and hatred, utilizing the blood of young victims to maintain their youth and vitality. Once inside, the dancers and their partners are subjected to psychological terror, hypnosis, and supernatural manipulation. Francesca falls deeply under a hypnotic, erotic vampire trance. As the vampires plot to drain the young women completely for a full rejuvenation ritual, the relationships, love, and loyalty between the friends and their fiances are pushed to a breaking point. Ultimately, the men must fight through the supernatural horrors of the castle to destroy the undead brood and rescue the ballerinas before they are permanently transformed into ghouls. The iconic shot of a vampire's face deteriorating was achieved entirely through a homemade practical trick. The crew made a plaster face cast, placed a layer of ash over it, and molded an adhesive rubber mask on top.