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(More customer reviews)So, the fabled `Vampire Strangler' gets the special edition treatment. For those who don't know, this is softcore superstar, Misty Mundae's only "hardcore" film. However, be warned: if you are not a Misty Mundae fan, this film will not interest you in the slightest. If you are looking for a good hardcore movie, again, you need to look elsewhere: this is not a film that you will want to buy on a whim. It's a very low-budget affair complete with shoddy camera work and rotten acting.
If you already own the `Ultra-Naughty' DVD (Misty Mundae in Vampire Strangler Unrated Uncut Region 1 Ntsc), is it worth getting this new edition? Well, yes it is if you're interested in the additional material. This new edition contains a re-edited version of the film with the hardcore scenes incorporated into the main feature. The previous version only had these as bonus material. The new edit gives the film a running time of 88 minutes; the previous version's running time was 54 minutes. There is little discernable improvement in picture quality from the originally issued material.
Some stock footage of eastern European street scenes has been added to give the impression that Lydia (Misty Mundae) hails from Transylvania. Additional material has also been added to the scene where Lydia is woken up by something. In the new version, a projector suddenly appears and begins showing an 8mm black and white film of a couple having sex. The original sequence saw Lydia getting out of bed to check the door before returning to bed. This sequence does not appear in the new version.
On the second DVD in this set, the `Vampire Strangler' related extras consist of isolated erotic scenes (these are the deleted scenes as per the original Ultra-Naughty edition) and the original `lost' opening scene. I don't know why this scene was not edited into the restored version, but it does answer something that has puzzled me. The original opening credits list six performers: Misty Mondae [sic], Benny the Stain (aka Joey Smack), Stella Axelstar, Michi, Freak Nasty and Sonny Alacard. However, only four people appear in the film. Well, this original opening involves those missing cast members, but Misty does not appear in this scene. Incidentally, the fourth cast member from the original issue is Lily Tiger. Her presence in `Vampire Strangler' is never explained. While Johnnie (William Hellfire) and Lydia are doing their thing, Lily watches and becomes so aroused that she indulges herself in some minor hanky-panky with the doorframe!
The lovely Lily also appears in one of the DVD's bonus films, `The Vibrating Maid'. This seems like an odd choice for a bonus item since it's already available with Lust in the Mummy's Tomb and `The Inn of 1000 Sins'. I would have thought that something a little harder to find such as `Peeping in a Girl's Dormitory' would have been a more interesting choice. Another bonus film is `My Date With Misty Mundae'. Again an odd choice since it can also be found on Girl Seduction: A Collection of Misty Mundae Featurettes 1997-2002 and it is incorporated into the storyline in Vampire Vixens [Region 2] and in the same title in Misty Mundae Euro-Vixen Collection. However, the version on the new `Vampire Strangler' DVD is a little longer and has a "something for the ladies" moment when more of Misty's co-star, Mike Stefano, is exposed during the phone-sex scene than previous issues of this film have shown.
Of more interest to Misty fans is a short (approximately eight minutes), previously unseen film called `My Property'. This was shot in 1998 for the never completed `Hotel Asphyxia' and has Misty paired with William Hellfire for some nasty naughtiness. It's a pity that more unseen Misty footage could not have appeared as bonus material: surely there must be plenty in existence.
There are a number of trailers for upcoming releases including several Factory 2000 films that have never been issued on DVD, trailers for some retro hardcore titles are also included. The package is rounded off with a booklet containing liner notes and photographs from the production. The picture that accompanies Amazon's listing is taken from the slipcase. The pictures that grace the front and back covers of the DVD case are slightly more risque with Misty wearing a vampire cape and not much else in poses that recall Lina Romay in Female Vampire.
Unfortunately, no documentary material is included in the bonus material. An interview with William Hellfire or a commentary track could have been very interesting. There are some quotes from Hellfire in the liner notes, though.
`Vampire Strangler' is not a good film. Its infamous content may lure the unwary into thinking that this Factory 2000 production above all others pushes the exploitative envelope furthest. This is not the case. You need only to look at the Factory 2000 trailers on this DVD to see that their in-your-face sex and violence scenarios have a much nastier edge with softcore material compared to `Vampire Strangler' with its hardcore, but actually quite mellow content. There is only one reason for obtaining this DVD: Misty Mundae. The fact of the matter is that had Misty's later career in exploitation movies not blossomed, then this film would have been long forgotten. For Misty's disciples, any previously unseen material is always welcome. The film itself is worth three stars for Misty, but the small amount of additional material just about bumps the whole package up to four stars.
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