The model Sylvia Morel receives a letter from her uncle Count Walbrooke explaining that her mother had died and she now inherited a large castle. Full of anticipation she tells her fiancé Piero Luciani about it and sets off on her own for the time being. Once there, she learns that her aunt Malenka has been burned at the stake as a vampire, and strange things are happening in the castle, too. The servant Blinka warns Sylvia that her uncle is also a vampire. In addition, the villagers are panicky about the castle. Walbrooke isolates Sylvia more and more from the outside world, so that Piero feels forced to travel to her. Together with his friend Max and the local doctor, he decides to fight against the vampires.

Fangs of the Living Dead is the first horror film by Amando de Ossorio, which is best known for Crypt of the Blind Dead and its three sequels. In this case, we are dealing with a classic gothic horror, which is quite obviously inspired by the Hammer films, and which mainly focuses on a large castle with dark corridors, mysterious events and a centuries-old curse. All the rest of the eye-catching stuff has been put into some good-looking girls, especially in Adriana Ambesi as Blinka, in all too revealing costumes, so that even without any nude scenes it really starts to crackle. Fans of gothic horror are in good hands here, of course.

For a long time it was very difficult to see the uncut version of Fangs of the Living Dead. On several public domain releases from the USA, you can only find the US TV version of the film, which has been shortened by about 20 minutes. This can be seen very well on the US DVD from Retromedia, which is available for comparison, where "A Ben Barry & Associates Televison Release" is shown right at the beginning. The US Blu-ray by Scream Factory provides a remedy, which presents the movie in the right picture format and also in an uncut version. Some of the plot was shortened to make the movie a little bit faster, moreover the cuts were probably necessary to make it run as part of a triple feature together with The Murder Clinic and Bava's Kill, Baby... Kill! in US cinemas.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, it's best to stop reading on here, as there is a crucial difference in the finale. It should be noted that there are two different endings. The US Blu-ray ends with the explanation that the vampires are just a show by Walbrooke, so that Sylvia loses her mind and he can take over the inheritance, while in the US DVD Sylvia leaves the castle with Piero, but Max turns out to be a vampire hunting Freya. All scenes that explain the vampire myth as a deception have been removed from the US DVD.

Image comparison:

DVD (Retromedia):

BD (Scream Factory):

Runtimes: DVD: 74:48 min. / BD: 94:13 min.

The US DVD by Retromedia was compared to the US Blu-ray by Scream Factory.

[00:00:14][00:00:00]

The DVD begins with two insertions of the distributors.

DVD: 22 sec.


[00:00:57][00:00:22]

The DVD shows the US title "Fangs of the living Dead".

The BD shows instead the title "Malenka - The niece of the Vampire".

DVD: 7 sec.
BD: 7 sec.


[00:03:11][00:02:37]

Sylvia asks on the phone how Piero is doing and if he is busy. Piero says he has three broken ribs. She asks what happened to him and he says that they are radioscopies of bruises. Sylvia is relieved.

The DVD only sets in when she wants to tell him about something fantastic.

BD: 12 sec.


[00:05:49][00:05:26]

The plane is driving onto the tarmac. Passengers are boarding. Piero and his friend wave.

BD: 19 sec.


[00:08:44][00:08:40]

Sylvia can be seen longer as she leaves the inn.

She gets into the stagecoach and asks the driver what is going on with the people. The driver does not answer, but starts driving. Sylvia looks at the old houses while driving.

The camera pans to the castle earlier.

BD: 1:16 min.


[00:10:40][00:11:52]

Sylvia runs up the stairs a little longer.

BD. 2 sec.


[00:10:41][00:11:56]

After the cut on the driver she continues to run upwards.

The maid shows her the room. Sylvia says that she doesn't have much clothes with her, because she won't stay very long. She asks about her uncle, but doesn't want to know the answer for the sake of surprise. She tells that she grew up an orphan and suddenly found out about the uncle. She is happy to have an uncle, but thinks that the castle looks more like a museum. When the maid wants to leave, Sylvia holds her back, but then gets scared and lets her go.

The DVD sets in as the maid leaves the room.

BD: 1:40 min.


[00:14:02][00:16:57]

Sylvia asks her uncle why he's not eating. He says he has an appointment later. They're talking about Malenka. Walbrooke says that he liked her very much, but that she died too soon. He doesn't want to go into the details. He wants Sylvia to carry on the family traditions one day. She is unsure and Walbrooke asks if she got the ring. Sylvia thinks it's too big. He says that the ring is something special and belonged to one of the family originators. Sylvia says she's not superstitious. Walbrooke says that her mother didn't believe in it either, but doesn't want to talk about it until later. Sylvia wants to know about her mother. Walbrooke says that she was distraught towards the end and wanted to go to Rome to meet Sylvia. But he stopped her from doing so because she was different from ordinary mortals. He doesn't want to tell her more because he still has an appointment.

BD: 2:40 min.


[00:22:55][00:28:30]

Sylvia goes further down and sees Blinka being whipped by Walbrooke. He wants to know what she did to Sylvia. Blinka says she did nothing. Walbrooke thinks she's a liar and keeps on whipping her.

Only then does the DVD start.

BD: 21 sec.


[00:23:54][00:29:49]

Some shots of the castle can be seen.

Sylvia is preparing a letter. She wants the maid to send it to Rome. She puts the letter in her hand with some money.

Sylvia is meeting Walbrooke for dinner. She mentions that her passport was lost. Walbrooke shows her the letter she wrote and Sylvia is horrified that he read it. He asks who Piero is. She replies that it's her fiancé. Walbrooke says that Sylvia has many character traits like the temperament of her mother. She says that he is not quite normal and warns him not to treat her as a prisoner.

BD: 2:50 min.


[00:31:59][00:40:44]

Walbrooke drags Sylvia into the crypt to the stone coffin.

BD: 27 sec.


[00:34:02][00:43:13]

Piero goes to Max after he reads the letter. It's clear to Max that Piero was dumped by Sylvia. He says that she has left Piero because she has now received a castle. Piero doesn't believe in it and wants to find out. Max wants to accompany him on the journey.

They arrive in the village by bus. The landlady says they must share a room.

Here, the DVD shows the scene in which the two walk around the castle, which follows later on the BD. Continue at [00:36:40].

BD: 2:30 min.


[00:39:13][00:48:16]

After Freya hands the book to Piero, Max is horrified and says that they want to go there (to the castle) tomorrow.

The sentence was removed because the DVD already showed how they visited the castle.



[00:44:24][00:53:30]

The dialogue continues. Horbinger says that Piero insulted him and that he would have given him the right answer if times weren't so difficult. He tells him that he came from Germany as a young man with great visions. Time passed and terrible things happened that forced him to become like that, otherwise he would have lost his mind. He also feels unable to decipher the mysterious events. Piero says that there must be a logical explanation behind everything. Horbinger wants to show them something and leads them upstairs.

Freya is sitting by the coffin. Horbinger asks if she could get some coffee. He wants to show them Bertha's neck.

BD: 2:17 min.


[00:46:33][00:57:56]

A fade-over happens as Max is visible. The DVD shows two scenes in which Bertha's coffin is carried through the village. Then it fades to the scene where Bertha's grave is walled up.

The scenes with the coffin seem to come from another film.

DVD: 17 sec.


[00:46:50][00:57:56]

In his laboratory, Horbinger explains that the bat is nocturnal and therefore people are afraid of it. He further explains that the life expectancy of an animal depends on its size. According to his logic, the bat should only live for a few months, but instead it can live up to 20 years. Also, bats are the only animals that survive rabies. He brings Piero a bat in a bowl so he can touch it. He says that although the bat appears to be dead, it is only hibernating. He warms the bowl a little and the bat comes to its senses. He cites fakirs as an example who use similar techniques. For Piero, there is no underlying theme in Horbinger's story. He says that he wasn't idle, but researched the vampire myth. Piero still does not believe in vampires until he has seen them himself.

Now follows the scene in which Piero and Max visit the castle, which was shown on the DVD at [00:34:02].

BD: 3:56 min.


[00:36:40][01:04:31]

Max and Piero can be seen a little longer.

Now follows the scene in which Bertha's grave is closed. On the DVD at [00:46:50]

BD: 1 sec.


[01:01:48][01:19:31]

The scene with Walbrooke starts earlier. He says that he was aware that this meeting was going to happen. He asks Horbinger why he is there, too, and reminds him of the agreement that they don't look at each other's cards. Horbinger is not ashamed. Piero asks where Sylvia is. He says he will see her soon, but first he wants the ring back. Piero gives it to him. Walbrooke adds that it can only be worn by family members to have an effect.

BD: 49 sec.

[01:04:44][01:23:15]

Blinka comes to Sylvia in the room to calm her down. She says it's not too late. Sylvia says she gave up the love of her life with Piero. Blinka says it's not too late. Sylvia thinks Piero has left and she has to stay here forever. Blinka says it is not too late and that she can escape with him. Sylvia says she can't marry anybody anymore. Blinka says that she is human after all. Sylvia says that Blinka knows that this is not true. Blinka says that she wants to tell her a story now.

BD: 1:19 min.


[01:06:49][01:26:39]

Bertha puts on her vampire teeth, which she has taken from a small box.

BD: 17 sec.


[01:07:21][01:27:28]

Piero can be seen a little longer.

BD. 1 sec.


[01:11:31][01:31:38]

Film tear on the BD: Piero frees himself and grabs Walbrooke.

DVD: 2 sec.


[01:11:39][01:31:43]

Piero puts the torch in Walbrooke's chest.

BD: 2 sec.


[01:11:50][01:31:57]

Blood flowing from the wound. Then cut to Walbrooke.

BD: 10 sec.


[01:13:25][01:33:42]

The DVD fades out when the burning head is visible.

Sylvia and Piero leave the castle. Sylvia is glad she'll soon be on a plane to Rome.

Max says goodbye to the castle. Suddenly, Freya is standing beside him. She tells him that she would like to come to Rome with him now that her sister has stopped bringing her. She asks him if she would be successful there. Max suddenly shows his vampire fangs and walks towards Freya. She flees as "The End" is faded in.

Instead, the BD shows the burning head longer. Then follows a cut on the lock.

DVD: 1:23 min.
BD: 31 sec.