Lust of the Vampire (1956)

aka

I vampiri 

Der Vampir von Notre-Dame

Evil's Commandment

Les vampires

Amazingly compelling and beautiful film that single-handedly launched 

the revival of European horror in the late fifties. "I Vampiri" still 

is a scandalously underrated film even though it's an important classic 

from many viewpoints. Not in the least because it was one of the first 

opportunities for Mario Bava to prove his brilliance to the world! He 

was initially hired as a cinematographer to work with director Riccardo 

Freda but, when this latter couldn't keep up with the hasty filming 

schedule, Bava took over and completed the film within the preconceived 

deadline. The result is a haunting Gothic mystery-tale with a deliciously 

ingenious script and a wonderfully sinister atmosphere. Don't let the title 

mislead you too much, as the film doesn't revolve on the typical bloodsucking 

creatures as you know them, but on an entirely different kind of macabre 

characters. The city of Paris is under the spell of a relentless killer who 

at least murdered 4 young girls in the short period of only a couple of days 

time. Since the bodies don't have a single drop of blood left in them when 

they are discovered, the press cleverly nick-named the killer as "the Vampire".

(Coventry IMDB) NV