El vampiro (1957) - full transcript

How can I help you, Miss?

Haven't they come from The Sicomoros
to collect me?

The Sicomoros?

You're Miss Marta Gonzalez,
Don Emilio's niece?

Yes, sir, hasn't my uncle
come to collect me?

Yes. He was here at noon, but left
when he heard about the landslide.

And, what time is he going to be back?

No, I don't think he'll be back, Miss.

We thought we wouldn't have trains
until tomorrow, but as you can see,

they've been stopping here
since half an hour.

Isn't there anybody who
can take me to The Sicomoros?



I'm afraid not, Miss.

People don't go out after sunset.

So, what should I do?

You can only wait until tomorrow.

Look, that man over there
has the same problem.

Miss, don't ask any more questions,
I've already tried everything.

But, my aunt is very sick, and I need
to get to The Sicomoros tonight.

Yes, I also lied about
my nephew's Baptism,

but it didn't work.

Come with me, this will take a while,
take a seat and relax. Here, I'll help you.

You know, it seems
that people here are terrified

to leave their houses after sunset...

I wanted to walk to the closest town,
about three hours away from here,

but that fat man over there wouldn't let me.



Someone's coming.

What an ugly man.

Yes, he is not very attractive, you're right.

I've come to pick up that box.
Here's the ticket.

All right, it's all yours.

Isn't it a shame to have someone deliver
soil from Hungary?

Soil?

What's wrong with our soil?

Whims of the rich.

It's for a man called Mr. Duval,
who's lived here for ten years.

I think he's a little peculiar. He's very odd,
only goes out at night

and wears a black cape like that one.

Wait a minute, I have an idea.

Good afternoon, sir, sorry to bother you,
but, can you give a ride to that lady?

She's very pretty and she'd be
good company on the road.

I'm not going into town.

She neither,
she's going to The Sicomoros.

Where?

To The Sicomoros.

Of course.

Tell her to come here.

It's all settled.
He'll take you to The Sicomoros.

Hurry.

But, where are you going?

I'm going where you're going.

Just go.
If you're going to The Sicomoros.

Then, I'm going to The Sicomoros.

Let's go.

Just a moment, wait.

I want to see her one last time.

I can keep it, sir.

Rest in peace, beloved sister.

This is what she always wanted, patron.
God wants her to rest here for ever.

Thus will be, The Sicomoros
will always belong to us.

Read this.

What happened?

You should get off here.

But, this is not The Sicomoros.

I take a detour here,
you can continue on that road.

Take us there,
we'll pay you whatever you want.

I can't...

Get down.

Fool. He could've taken us there.

Well, where are we now?

At the crossroad.

We need to follow that fence
to The Sicomoros.

Is it far from here?

- Half an hour from here.
- Half an hour?

Miss, if we're going to walk for half an hour,
in this foggy and deserted place,

we'd better get to know each other,
don't you think?

My name is Enrique.

I'm Marta.

Nice to meet you.

Well, now I'll tell you
some things about me.

I have a mole on my back, on this side.

I hate the countryside, because I think
it's a place for cows, not for people,

and I'm a commercial traveller.

I work in a store, and they let me...

...my uncle Emilio wrote to me two days
ago saying that I should come today,

that I should be here no matter what.

Your ill aunt's husband?

No, they're brothers,
I have another aunt living in The Sicomoros,

but none of them is married.

Hey, Miss, are you sure
this is the right way?

This seems a bit long to me.

Sure, I know this place.

I hope my aunt isn't seriously ill.

She was like a mother to me.

She raised me as a child.

Hey, why didn't they get married?

Are they too ugly?

No, on the contrary, they were very pretty
when they were young, now they're too old.

They just lived in the Hacienda
by themselves and didn't go out.

I can imagine.
What about your uncle?

My uncle Emilio is different.

He travelled all around the world for many
years, he came to The Sicomoros

two months ago.

I still remember the yard full of flowers,
the bright hallways.

The cages with birds.

The fountain.

The most wonderful memories
from my childhood are in that bright yard...

This is called the hanging tree,
the road makes a turn here

and soon we'll be at the front gate.

What are you looking at?

I don't know, I couldn't tell.

I've been having a strange feeling
since he left us on the road.

What do you mean?

I feel that someone has been following us.

I haven't seen anybody.

Me neither, but I felt
something cold on my back.

What do you want?

I'm Marta, my uncle
and aunts are waiting for me.

Yes, Miss, I'll open right now.

How are you, Anselmo?

My child.

Let me help you, sir.

Why is everything so deserted?

Miss, it has been like this
for a long time.

It's hard to get people to work
in the Hacienda,

no one wants to work
in Sierra Negra anymore.

A lot of people have left the town.

The place is deserted.

It looks like a cemetery.

But, come on in, come in.

It's your niece, sir,
and she's with a gentleman.

My child...

We thought you were coming tomorrow.

Don't I get a welcome?

It's your aunt...

Don't you recognise me anymore?

Is this the old aunt?

Aunt.

You look the same as when I left here.

It's been so long.

It's incredible,
you look like a different person...

and my aunt Maria Teresa,
where is she?

we've just buried her.

Come on, don't cry...

it's no use.

Come on, let's go upstairs.

Excuse me, sir,
can you get me my luggage?

Your luggage?

- I'm leaving.
- Why?

I have to go.

Martita, the gentleman is leaving.

I'm sorry, I forgot about him.

This gentleman was kind enough to bring
me here from the station...

why don't you stay,
at least for tonight?

Where are you going to go now?

To a hotel.

No, we haven't had hotels in Sierra Negra
for a long time now.

Where are you going to go?

This is your home too, please, stay.

Come this way.

I'm so sorry to have come
in such a painful time.

It's painful...

yes, very much...

although we should be
happy for her death.

Why do you say that, aunt?

You have no idea how much she suffered
these last months. Isn't that right, Emilio?

Yes, in fact, only death could free her
from the pain she was suffering.

How did she die?

She suffered a heart attack,
but she had been disturbed for five years.

You mean mentally ill?

Yes, she experienced
persecutory delusions.

What were her fears?

Vampires.

Yes, things she heard from the people
in the other town...

they're extremely superstitious.

She was convinced there was
a vampire somewhere in this house,

stalking her to suck her blood,

and at night, she suffered even more.

She would lock herself up in her room

and surround herself with all the crucifixes

and mirrors in the house.

And, why would she do that?

Nonsense, those are legends.

Yes, they say you can frighten away
vampires with crucifixes,

and you can find them with mirrors.

Yes, I've heard something like that.

It's said they don't reflect on mirrors, right?

Yes, that's what they say.

Well, excuse my niece.

She's very tired from the trip
and I don't think she wants to hear this.

You're right, aunt, let's go.

Excuse us.

Do you collect old books?

No, I don't understand a thing about that.
They've always been there.

They seem to be part of a file
from an old mine in Sierra Negra.

Unfortunately, it's too late.

I followed your instructions,
no one knows who I am, or why I'm here.

Then, keep it that way until
you leave, I beg you.

It'd be very painful if they found out
now the reason you are here.

Soil?

And he will come to life again,

my brother, Count Karol Lavud,
buried by his enemies,

who put an end to his immortality
in this unworthy crypt.

This is soil from the cemeteries
in the woods of Baconia.

We will take it to his grave in two moons.

Its hidden power will revive him

at the very minute
of the one hundred anniversary

of his death, and then we will continue

enjoying our lost happiness

that we shared in other times.

And together, we will impose in this county

the power and the domain
of the house of Lavud...

Bring the horses, Jorge,
we will leave immediately.

Do you know that you are
one of the owners of The Sicomoros?

No, I didn't know it.

Maria Teresa gave you her part in her will.

She was so kind with me.

You are an owner of The Sicomoros,
like Emilio and me.

But, The Sicomoros
is not what it used to be.

There are people who want to buy it.

They would pay good money.

But, would you sell The Sicomoros?

Yes, I want to sell it.
But Emilio doesn't want to.

According to the deed, we shall reach
a majority of votes

within the owners to decide upon the sale.

Then, I'm the one making a decision?

Could we talk about this
some other day, aunt?

Everything has happened so quickly,
that it seems like a nightmare.

Think it over, the house is a wreck.

People don't want to work
in the countryside anymore.

But, she is buried here...

What's wrong, aunt?

Nothing, someone's coming...

Be careful, there's a stranger in the house.

I know, don't lose sight of him.

He is a very important neighbour,
he may have come to offer condolences.

You should meet him.

Excuse me with him, please,
I'll meet him some other day...

I'm exhausted, and I don't feel
like talking to anybody.

All right, I'll take care of him.

Have a good night.

You too, aunt.

Mr. Duval, he's a neighbour.

I know.

You are the importer of soil from Hungary.

What are you saying?

He is just exaggerating.

He may have seen a box with soil
that I picked up at the station.

He might think I receive them all the time.

That's just a sample.

If that's a sample, I can't imagine
what a whole order would be.

I don't understand.

It's an old tradition.

Don't tell me it's soil from a cemetery.

No, nothing like that.

I'll use it to plant roses
from the woods of Baconia.

The tradition says you should use soil
from their origin, that's why I brought it.

What was that?

A book fell from the bookshelf.

But, how? No one touched it.

It must have slipped...

This is a very interesting book.

It's a manuscript
and it's over a hundred years old.

They are all from the same time.

Minutes on the murder
of Count Karol de Lavud,

founder of The Sicomoros, native
of Baconia, in the reign of Hungary...

Well, what a coincidence.
This man is a relative of yours.

Yes, that's what it seems.

I bet that Lavud is the same
that's buried in the crypt.

It might well be.

Well, according to this book,
he has been buried for more than hundred years.

Of course, his headstone
is the oldest in the cemetery.

Poor man, he must be all ashes by now.

The gentleman's room is ready.

If you'll excuse me, I'll go to my room.

Can I take this book with me?

I'd like to leaf through it.

Of course.

Pleased to meet you, Mr. Duval.

Show him his room, Maria.

This way, please.

Would you show me the way, please?

What's your name?

- Maria, nice name.
- And your last name?

Santoyo, sir.

Interesting fellow.

Why is he here?

I don't know.

I think he is a commercial traveller.

He came along with Martita
from the station.

I think she doesn't know him either.

He'll leave tomorrow.

But, is she already here?

Yes, but she won't come down now.

She's very tired.

Have you told her that I want
to buy The Sicomoros?

Don't get too excited, Mr. Duval.

Martita has a special affection
for this Hacienda

and will probably agree with me
on the idea of not selling it.

It'll be a pity if she rejects my offer.

A real pity.

This is your room, sir.

Have a good night.

No, don't go, Maria. I want to talk with you.

Tell me, who helped the lady that died?

A servant, sir.

Those nervous attacks
she was having lately,

did she have them at a certain time

or at any time of the day?

No, sir, she only had them at night.

My late mistress didn't have nervous
attacks, nor was she deranged.

Well, they were superstitions then.

No, sir, they weren't.

They weren't beliefs either,
these were real things.

Don't tell me a vampire was stalking her.

Vampires exist, believe it or not.

Have you seen one?

God forbids it...

but my grandfather was killed by one
hundred years ago, in the tunnel of a mine.

Several people died during that time,
all of them from bleeding neck wounds.

Nobody wanted to work in the mine
anymore. It's all ruins now.

Two fellows from town
killed him afterwards.

They killed him?

The only way you can kill a vampire,

because there's no knife or gunshot
that can kill them.

Then, how do you get rid of them?

By sticking them a wood stake
in their chest while they are sleeping.

And, you are afraid of a vampire
that died hundred years ago?

that one is buried in the crypt.
This is a different one.

Nobody has seen him yet,
but the same things are happening.

They've already found
dead bodies by the roads,

all of them with marks on their necks,

and without a trace of blood.

Nobody wants to go out at night,
and even the animals in the mountain

have run to other mountains.

That's nonsense.

Don't scoff at what people
from the country people tell you.

Vampires exist.

They sleep in the day and go out at night
looking for young people's blood,

that's the only thing they eat.

May God protect you, so that they don't
kill you nor make you a vampire.

If they bite you twice,
then you wouldn't grow old

and would live
like the souls in the purgatory

in eternal immortality.

Let the Virgen del Socorro take care
of you over the night, sir.

Receive my condolences once again.

Sleep,

That I ask the night,

while I take care of you...

You'll catch a cold.

Cry, keep crying.

Come on, keep crying.
Don't worry about me.

Tears make women more pretty,

don't believe it's not true,
those are lies made up by beauty experts.

Besides, crying is healthy...

didn't you know?

Listen to this.

I cry every day at breakfast,
from 7:00 to 9:00.

It's the best time to cry.

Try it.

Try it and you'll see.

You and your foolishness.

Besides, the scenery is not
that romantic so as to stay awake

and come here to see it.

Please relax and enjoy what you have here.

Do what I do. I'm reading a crime story.

That's a crime, look.

This is what is left from what it used to be
the nicest place in the world.

Finding the place like this has shocked me
like my aunt's death.

We could say that this is the skeleton
of what you had here before.

Well, what's there to be surprised then?

Look...

nothing has changed,
it's just that you used to see it more beautiful.

That's all.

For example...

you're very pretty...

it's true.

Now I'm looking at you,
and you seem even prettier,

but what if suddenly your flesh were gone

and I were left alone with your skeleton?

I'd run so fast that in a second

I'd reach the station
with the administrator...

the fat chap, remember?

You have such ideas.

Everybody says so.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

You should dream to see things
the way you want.

It's the best recipe for happiness.

Perhaps.

What do you mean?

It's very true.

Dreaming is the most important thing.

Try it.

How?

By going to sleep right now.

Go and get some sleep.

Tomorrow you'll see things differently.

Lock your door from inside.

Why?

Because I'm a sleepwalker.

He's a Doctor.

Someone brought him secretly.

Don't worry.

There's no reason for him
to be in The Sicomoros.

He came here to see sick people

and she's already buried since nightfall.

Don't trust anybody, Master.

He said he'll be leaving tomorrow,

and if he lies and stays,
then he'll die that very same night.

And, Marta?

She'll be one of us.

The second time her blood
gets into my body,

she'll remain like that, for ever and ever.

She'll be thirsty of her own blood,
searching for it uselessly night after night,

in other bodies. It's our fate.

Like you do it, like I do it,
like we should all do it,

because we're still

in that strange bridge
between the end of life

and the beginning of death.

Are you leaving already?

Yes, there's a train leaving
in half an hour and I don't want to miss it...

How do you feel?

Did you sleep better?

No, not so good.

I had a nightmare and couldn't sleep well.

I want to hear it, tell me.

I dreamt with a tall man in a tuxedo.
He had big eyes...

and was staring at me
at the foot of my bed...

He almost kissed me, but I fainted
and I don't remember anything else.

That explains it.
Now you're waiting for him to come out

from behind that door to kiss you.

Then, why were you staring at the door?

If you knew what's behind that door.

I have no idea.

That was my room when I was a child.

When I left, my aunt promised me to keep
it as it was until I came back.

And now that I'm here,
I don't have the courage to go in.

But, why not?

- Come on, let's go in.

I prefer to do what you told me last night,
dream about it.

I heard my first lullaby in there.

My aunt made it up for me.

She would only sing it
when we were there alone.

It was our secret.

It went like this: "Sleep, sleep,

"that I ask the night,

while I take care of you..."

That's a nice song,
but I've heard it before.

You were singing it last night.

That's impossible. It's the first time I sing it.

I'm pretty sure I've heard it before.
Someone sang it here last night.

I'm telling you that's impossible.

Only my aunt and I knew it,
and she's dead now.

Unless you heard it while someone
sang it from the other world.

Yes, sure, from the other world.
No one sings from the other world.

You know, what happens is
that I hear very strange things.

I don't have a good ear for music, or...

Come with me. Let's go and take a look
at your beautiful room?

Please, don't do it.

It looks as if it had been closed
for a thousand years?

It's full of dust, cobwebs...

There's a little doll in a cradle, is it yours?

Well, why don't you go and take a look?

You'll have to do it one day.

Come on, come in.

Go ahead.

She's in there, she's in there.
I saw her.

Who?

My aunt.

What happened?

What happened, my child? What's wrong?

My aunt is in there, in that room.

She's dressed in black
and has a crucifix in her chest.

But, what are you saying?

Her hair's loose.

Take here somewhere else.
Give her something to calm her down.

Come with me, my child, calm down.

What are you doing, Doctor?

Just checking, but I didn't find anything.

I think that your niece is seeing things.

Forget it, Doctor.

She described my sister exactly the way
she was when we buried her last night.

That can't be possible.

I'm telling you.

Are you being serious?

Well, I'm leaving now.

No, Doctor. Don't go.
I'm begging you.

Go see her, she's very nervous.
Stay with her, at least until she calms down.

Look, Don Emilio.
Let's clear things up now.

You brought me to this Hacienda
to diagnose

if your sister, who said she was seeing
vampires, was ill or not.

Well, now your poor sister is dead,
but this lady sees her,

walking on the corridors,
like I see you now here.

I beg you, Doctor.

All right, Don Emilio,
but only for a few hours,

because I'm leaving at 8:00
to catch the 8:30 train.

And I'll be very happy once I leave...

Where's your niece?

In her room.

Come.

Come on, fix your make-up.
Stop thinking about that.

It's just your imagination.

You heard what the gentleman said.

You've been thinking about it all afternoon.

Forget it.

It's no use.

Dead people never come back.

Mr. Duval will be here in a minute.

Yes, aunt.

And you, go and fix everything.

Make yourself pretty, Martita.

Mr. Duval is very anxious to meet you.

He wants to buy The Sicomoros.

And he's coming here to see you.

I'll look for some jewellery.

Wear this,
Mr. Duval will be here in a minute.

Marta has just discovered me with a mirror.

What should I do?

The ring.

Good evening, Mr. Duval,
come on in, come in.

Marta will be here in a minute.

You'll have to excuse me, but I'm leaving.

Mr. Duval, how are you?

Don Emilio, excuse me, but I have to go.

How come you are leaving so soon?

Yes, I'll barely make it to the next train.

Here's your book.
Thank you very much.

Here's my niece, Mr. Duval.

How's the sick lady?

Something horrible just happened.

- What happened?
- I'll tell you later.

Here's Mr. Duval, Martita.

Very pretty.

Nice to meet you, Miss.
You're really beautiful.

Well, I'm leaving now.

Please, don't go.

I'm in a hurry.

At least you'll have time
to enjoy a drink with us.

Well, if it's only one, it will be a pleasure.

Yes, only one, and of the best wine.

Mr. Duval, you should read this book.

It's very interesting.

Is it?

Yes. It's the story of this relative
of yours that lived here many years ago.

They killed him with a stake in his heart.

- Why?
- Because he was a vampire.

Your drinks, gentlemen.

Is that what the book says?

Yes, that's what it says.

And you, Martita?

No, thank you.

Come on, Marta. Drink it.

It'll be good for you.

Is the writer someone respectable?

Well, there's no writer.

They're just copies of the stories told
by many neighbours

when they prosecuted
the men who killed him.

And...

Who buried him in the crypt?

All the people from here, they did that
so they wouldn't have more vampires around.

Those were their beliefs.

According to the legend, if the vampire
doesn't rest alone where he's killed,

then, later on, another vampire
from the same family will come for revenge,

to make sure that the one buried
doesn't have neighbours around his grave.

He has to be there all alone.

But, do you believe in vampires?

Who? Me?

No, please. Not at all.

Go away, Anselmo.

What's wrong?

Don Emilio, my briefcase.

Get me my briefcase.

What's wrong?

I regret that this situation with my niece
should ruin this lovely evening, Mr. Duval.

Don't worry, Miss, I'll come some other day.

Anselmo, show Mr. Duval to the gate.

My briefcase is inside my luggage,
give it to me.

What could be wrong, Doctor?

What's wrong with her?

She's dead.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death.

She moved, patron.

What did you say?

She moved, patron.

I saw it with my own eyes.
She moved her little finger.

That's impossible.

Anselmo never lies, sir.

She'll wake up in her grave
if she's buried like this.

She has pinpoint pupils.

My briefcase, please.

She's breathing.

Take all this away from here.

Don Emilio, let's take her to her bed,
I'll inject her with coramina.

Be careful.

She'll wake up normally
once she gets stabilized.

Are the symptoms for this condition
always the same?

Yes, almost always.

She had the same symptoms
that Marta had.

She was sitting there
and then suddenly she stood up.

Do you think she woke up in her coffin?

Calm down.
Even if it were true, it's too late.

It's never too late.

Come with me. I want you to see her.

Come with me, Doctor.

I'd go mad if I had to wait here.

Come with us, Anselmo. I need you.

Go with them.

It's empty.

How do you explain this?

I don't know, patron.

Tell him, Anselmo.

There's no reason
to keep the secret anymore.

But, what are you talking about?

About this. We found it in the scapular.

"I'm not dead. Get me out of here,
and take me to the tunnel behind the cross."

We did it, sir.

We hid her there.

Open it, for God's sake.

Who is it?

Maria Teresa, he's a Doctor, a friend.

You've brought a Doctor
to see if your sister is insane?

- No, you don't believe me.

It's not enough for you to see
what they did to me.

They wanted to kill me by murdering me
without leaving a trace.

That's why they gave me
those powders.

That way I'd wake up in my grave
and die from suffocation.

And from the horror of being inside a
coffin..

But, I figured that out soon enough.

None of their stuff is a secret to me.
I've heard them talk through the tunnels.

One day, they discovered me,
and wanted to kill Me.

They're vampires, both of them.

The swine has come
to unbury that one...

the one in the crypt.

The only way to finish with them
is by killing them in their sleep.

Sticking a wood stake in their chest.

Do what I say, before it's too late.

I'm not mad.

I'm afraid.

I'm not mad.

If she feels better here, she'd better stay.
We'll come for her tomorrow.

Now you understand, Doctor,
why I asked you to come secretly.

If she's not insane,
then what she says is true.

Karol Count de Duval
January 18, 1840

They are from the same family.

Who?

Duval and Count Lavud.

Use the mirror.

Marta is not here.

What?

They took her through there,
there must be an entrance here.

I'll get a lamp.

Don Emilio. Patrénl

What happened, Don Emilio?

what's wrong?

Well, I'm leaving now.
But before, I want to tell you something.

Do you think that?

...with all my heart.

Your luggage.