The Shiver of the Vampires (1971) - full transcript

Listen. In a while I will return
to the radiant darkness of death.

But first, I want to give you
the means to save your lives

and even a chance to save my soul.

Later tonight,
as soon as death has taken me,

I want you to go to the cemetery.

Hurry, before it's too late.

Go to their tomb

and drive this stake into their hearts
so they are destroyed forever.

Pull this stake from my heart and kill them.

Listen, if you are too late,

swear that you will serve them.



That way your lives will be spared.

They need living accomplices
to supply them with victims.

Now let the light strike me down.

Is it a good place for a honeymoon?

It's a very beautiful castle, you'll see.

I really want to see my two cousins again.

I only saw them when I was little,

and I have wonderful memories of it.

They're quite strange,

but children are always fascinated
by anything unusual.

I don't mind.

I just hope
it doesn't delay our trip to Italy.

The castle is at the end of that lane,

but you will find it empty.



Empty?

They both died yesterday.

You will only be able to see
their two servants.

Strange things have been happening here

since they're not here to protect us.

But... go up to the castle. Go on.

do you know what I've just been told?

I hope you won't be too upset.

- What is it?
- Your cousins are dead.

- Dead?

They've just been buried.

- That's strange. Are you sure?

I can't believe it.

My cousins were expecting us.

We just got married.

That explains our inappropriate dress,
but we had no way of knowing.

The occupants are delighted
to welcome you.

The rooms are ready.
If you'd just follow us.

What a peculiar place.

Antoine, I won't be able to relax
until I've visited my cousins one last time.

I'm going to visit their tomb.
I really have to.

I feel I owe it to them.

- I'm going to go alone.
- But why?

Please.

I'm Isabelle.

Why are you praying at this tomb?

- Two men are buried here.
- I know.

They were my last relatives.

Your dress is new.

Mine was worn by my mother
when my father died.

She died not long after.

Now I'm the one wearing the widow's veils.

- For whom?
- For them.

Them?

We were to be married,
but I was already their bride.

Whose bride?

Who knows? Maybe of both of them.

Now I'm mourning both of them.

I've been widowed twice.

Antoine, please let me sleep alone tonight.

My cousins' deaths have really upset me.

Please understand, Antoine.
Don't be angry with me.

Who are you?

I'm Isolde.

You are Isle.

I'm your friend.

I have some things to tell you,
to explain to you, to show you.

This is where the living
make a religion of respecting the dead.

This is where the dead
make a religion of preserving their lives.

- Why, Master?
- It has to be done.

The terrible curse which is ours
must not be passed on.

Couldn't she live, Master?

She could, but only as the dead live.

She would have to share our eternity.

She should never have entered
this sinister vault.

This is the price we pay for our safety.

Our evil should not be propagated.
We would be discovered.

Go and see if our guests are resting.

What will happen to you now?

Loneliness does not trouble us
when we are near our masters.

- And now that they've left?
- They haven't left us.

They haven't left anything or anyone.

The way you remember them is touching,

but the fact is,
we will never see them again, so -

We'll see them once their work is finished.

- In the library.
- What do you mean?

What library?

I really don't know what's going on.

This is the time of day they usually work.

They'll come to see you
when they are finished.

- So, they're alive?
- But we were told they were dead.

Isle went to their tomb and now -

They could at least meet us.

What about Isabelle?
She thinks they're dead too.

That's what people in the village are saying.

You shouldn't pay attention to rumours.

Of course, it was them I saw last night.

- You saw them last night?
- Don't you remember?

- I was asleep.
- Listen.

You weren't in your room,
so I went looking for you in the park.

I saw two men in a chapel.

The two servants were there.

Some sort of ceremony was
being carried out. A human sacrifice.

The two men were covered in blood.

I was afraid for you.
I hurried back,

but you were sound asleep.

I thought I was hallucinating.

Now, if the lords are alive, I wonder-

I'm going to try to find them.

They work during the day,
in their library.

What happened? Where were you?

I went to look in the library.

- Are they the men you saw?
- Yes. That's them.

So this is our dear cousin.

And our latest cousin.

Please excuse our late arrival.

It's little Isle.

So different now.

And this must be Antoine.

My dear Antoine, what happened to you?

An unfortunate accident.

Old castles are dangerous.

Full of traps and mysteries.

You have to be very careful.

Very careful.

We were surprised to hear of your deaths.

Your reappearance is even more surprising.

We never disappeared.

That's just a story, a joke.

Made up by the locals.

It's unbelievable.
What kind of life do you lead?

These days everything
is unbelievable, my friend.

We lead the life we have to live.

What about you,
did you choose your life?

In any case,
mine doesn't seem so strange.

Appearances are deceptive.
What do you do?

I'm an electronics engineer.

Is it unbelievable to substitute
an electronic brain for a man's?

It's more than unbelievable.
It's dangerous.

- Our life is the result of our work.
- It's related to our work.

- What work?
- Very important work.

We researched the historical origins
of our family. We have studied -

The religions
our family practised over the years.

- We were lifted very high.
- We were taken very low.

We discovered that the roots
of our family go back

to very precise religious origins.

Which were of great scientific interest.

That hardly seems to be scientific progress.

If you ate instead of talking,
at least your meal would progress.

What about you?
You're not eating very much.

- In fact, I wonder if you eat at all.
- Antoine, please.

- Actually, we do eat.
- But very little lately.

- But before -
- Things were different.

But what about the research
you carried out?

You must have learned something
important about your origins.

- We learned that our family -
- Which we traced way back.

Significantly helped some religions survive
at the end of the Middle Ages.

The worship of the goddess Isis.

You're Egyptologists?
Egyptologists -

No, I mean the religion
which continued in Europe

in spite of the persecution
it suffered from the Catholic Church.

That is why things were borrowed
from foreign religions.

- Like the goddess Isis.
- Who we already mentioned.

Christians hunted down their enemies.

They adopted the ancient religion
of the horned god

who has been worshipped since prehistory.

Violently persecuted,
this religion went undercover.

Although they claimed
to worship the goddess Isis,

in actual fact, they had turned
a male god of local origin

into a female god of foreign origin.

So those who opposed Christianity

adopted two arguments
against their persecutors.

They'd say:

“We can't be blamed
for worshipping the horned god,

because she's a woman.”

Or: “She's a woman,
so we don't revere an idol.”

This woman was the Virgin Mary.

As I said, it was all about derision,
because it was verging on blasphemy.

In fact, it was all about blaspheming
the Virgin Mary.

With this notion of reversal,
derision and blasphemy,

we then take up this reversal of rites,

which was later to give us Black Masses.

The worship of the dear Isis

is at the very heart
of the Western crisis at that time.

- It's also at the heart, the very heart -
- Of our research.

We're alone at last.

Please, let me be alone again tonight.

We're alone.

Your cousins are weird.
Don't take them seriously.

I've had enough of your cousins
and their muttering.

Don't get upset. You just said
not to take them seriously.

- They're intelligent.
- Intelligent but crazy.

I'm not hanging around here.

It's 9:00.

I remember.

They always went out at this time.

They used to send Anubis,
their dog, to fetch me.

They went out hunting.

They hunted at night, like wolves.

They were so cheerful.

Sometimes I'd slip away and go with them.

You wouldn't have understood.

They hunted their dreadful prey with stakes.

They carried holy scapulars and crosses.

They looked like two lords
from the ancient era of the Crusades.

They'd return covered in blood
and drunk from the battle.

But one day...

they returned
with wounds on their necks.

They had what looked like bites
which were bleeding.

Bleeding.

They bled to death.

It's Anubis, their dog.

He's calling me.

Who are you?

Why did you bring me here?

Did you send Anubis to me?

What do you know?

Miss, I know that Anubis
used to bark under your window

when your lovers wished to see you.

You hounded the two masters
of the castle with your selfish love.

That will have to stop immediately.

The lords have been dead for several days,

and my love for them only troubles me now.

Turn around.

One moment.
You are no longer welcome here.

You cannot deal with what I am
or what they are now.

What's going on?

What's happened to you?

I loved you. Remember?

You were men when I loved you.

Look at you now.

Why do you obey this creature?

That was good.

You adopted the only behaviour
that was appropriate:

Silence.

She was the last connection
with our former life.

We are now free. Free,

never to die again.

We are free never to live again.

You have forgotten something else
about your past.

You mean to say...

you're going to kill poor Isle too.

I seduced her. it's taken care of.

Would it matter to you?

We have to turn her into
one of our own race, your own race.

Enough. Don't be insolent.

Her name is Isle.

She was predestined for it,
just like you were.

I implore you, Isolde.
Don't rub salt into the wound.

I see. You have not yet forgotten

that not long ago
you were vampire slayers.

It didn't stop you becoming vampires,
because it was your fate.

If this monster hadn't bitten us -

Who are you calling a monster?

Do you think this is an ideal situation for us?

Our body requires that we satisfy
our most beastly appetites,

whilst our lucid spirits
wish to fight against them.

And, above all,
fight against your atrocious revenge.

I'm proud of the way I am.

I appreciate my position
as a wandering vampire.

It's an honour, a very important privilege.

The master of the world
sends me where I can be of use.

Without me, the monster, as you call him,
would never have infected you.

I remember that your sudden appearance
that night paralysed us.

The same way my gaze paralysed Isle
and placed her at my mercy.

Why us?

I will remind you again.

It was your destiny.

In antiquity, this region
was a kingdom of vampires.

There are many in the world.

Even your research brought you to us.

- Nothing happens by chance.
- It's outrageous.

It isn't. You're still at home.

You have your own tombs
to escape the light of day...

and devoted servants.

You're bourgeois vampires.

Why aren't we the same as you?

You're a wandering vampire
and we're bourgeois vampires, you say?

My parents were both vampires

who were able to give me eternal life.

When I was born, the master of the world
invested them as initiates.

In short, you killed Isabelle,
who could have given us a child,

so we couldn't become initiates,
making us your superiors.

She loved you
because you hunted vampires.

- She'd never accept you like this.
- What do you know?

Why didn't you try to seduce Isabelle
like you did Isle?

You had made her a woman.
She was too set in her ways.

You gave her a joyous life in that village.

But I'll give you Isle to console you.

She is all ready.

You are just as desirable as Isabelle, Isolde.

And we are still masters
of this faraway village.

We could both take you,
just like we took Isabelle.

Stop.

Stop it. I hate men. I hate them.

No! Leave me alone.

Who's going to wake him, and how?

He must wake up naturally.

We'll wake him gently.
One of us will slip next to him.

He's had a long period of abstinence.

We need to awaken his desire
so he'll open his eyes.

- You do it.
- You do it.

- No, you.
- No, you.

We'll both have to do it.

Where are they?

I'm going mad.

I don't really know what I saw,
or thought I saw,

but I know these people are dangerous.

We must leave straight away.

No, it's not possible. I feel weak.
I need peace and rest.

You won't get any rest here.

I'll help you, even carry you,
but we must go.

You don't understand. I love my cousins.
They're my only family.

I thought I'd lost them.

Your only family?
What about me? I'm your husband.

Of course you are, Antoine,
but it's not the same.

- And you aren't truly my husband yet.
- Is that my fault?

If that's the way it is, I'll stay.

- Isle, what's the matter?
- It's the window, the light.

What are you talking about?

The daylight hurts my eyes.

You're not awake yet. Let's go out.
The fresh air will do you good.

You've changed since we've been here.

You seem... distant.

Lost.

- Isolde.
- What did you say?

Isn't that the name of that woman
who took you to that ceremony?

So I wasn't dreaming.

Leave it. Leave it alone.

What's happening? What's the matter?

- Are you ill?
- No, it's nothing. I'm all right.

- The daylight hurts my eyes.
- The daylight hurts your eyes?

Go and fetch my sunglasses
from the car, please.

Don't open it.

The daylight will kill me.

The blood that you spilled near me
woke me too early.

If my eyes were to see the daylight
it would kill me.

Isle, I can feel you're hesitating.
Are you going to open it?

What will you decide?

I don't know.
I don't know what to do.

I don't really know who you are.

Or even who I am.

I belong to the world of darkness
whose eternal joys will be yours.

Your cousins and I
are messengers down here.

If you spare me, you will become
one of us and others like us.

If, on the other hand,
you open this coffin,

you will be left alone in this world

to carry the weight
of an unbearable mortality.

Take me back to my room.
I'll feel better tonight.

No, I'm too weary to walk.

You're wrong to be afraid of my cousins.
They don't mean any harm.

I love them. I love all three of them.

- Quick, we must get out of here.
- Why? What happened?

They are vampires, both of them.
I saw them drinking blood.

We must leave while we're still alive.

They are alive, and will be so eternally.

What? What are you saying?

- Why are you dressed like that?
- There's a wedding today.

The ceremony which will make me
the same as Isolde

and my two companions.

Isle, I don't recognise you.

Who is Isolde?

You will see her, anytime now.

It's time.

How will she appear?

From where will she arise?

This is Isolde. She's my friend.

It's too late.

- You seem anxious, Antoine.
- Why is the table only set for one?

Isle fears the light.
Can't she eat now?

- Food?
- Food.

As you are aware, we need just a small diet,
from time to time.

A little diet has never hurt any woman.

As for her fear of daylight, well -

it's photophobia. it's quite common.

It's quite normal.

And it is recognized by psychiatrists.

All it takes is a slight imbalance.

- Slightly high blood pressure.
- Tiredness.

Take me, for example. Often I -

The slightest psychological disorder
and photophobia occurs.

You needn't worry.

It's quite normal.

I'd say the fear of sunlight
is just as normal as -

The fear of God.

- Sunlight is the beginning of lunar-
- Wisdom.

The wisdom that was our ancestors',

great admirers of the night sky.

Direct ancestors of us and our cousin.

Direct ancestors.

Get rid of that crucifix.

Grab him.

Fetch the ropes.

I've got him.

Isle, you betrayed me.

They'll turn you into a vampire.
It's inadmissible.

But everything is admissible.
We are just as admissible as you.

Despite all the differences between us.

We understand that these differences
might shock you at first.

If we're so different,
why can't you leave us alone?

You've touched a sore point.

A sore point for Isle and me.

A sore point for us, believe me.

Don't think we've always been this way.

I don't care what you were like!

Very well, but you're making a mistake.

- It will help you understand.
- To understand us.

It will help you understand
the situation we're all in today.

You and us.

In brief, the research we spoke of earlier-

- Took us from one religion to another.
- Each one more underground.

Until we came to
the most underground one of all.

And not just a religion,
but also a symptom of the human state.

If the word human still applies.

In short, we were lead into contact
with vampirism.

That first contact wasn't exactly
to the vampires' liking...

because we were their sworn enemies.

I think we were the most fearsome

and extraordinary vampire hunters
in the whole universe!

Our tally was impressive.

- That's right.
- Fantastic.

- Until the day an unfortunate event -
- An accident.

An appalling accident.

Yes, appalling.

They contaminated us
and made us what we are today.

And so what choice did we have?
We could only accept our new duties.

And we accepted them.

Completely.

So maybe now you can understand,

my clear, in light of our sad story,

that our fate is also worthy
of some compassion.

The initiation ceremony
will take place tonight.

our Isle,

will receive the final kiss,
the final bite,

which will allow her to join us.

Those monsters terrorise you.

I can set you free tonight
and give you back your freedom.

Open the gate. Let me out.

Take that crucifix away.

Let me out, I will die.

Let me out!

Help me!

It will soon be light.

It's time to go back.

We're staying here.

Isle, maybe it's not too late.
I can still save you.

Come back.

Isle, I love you.

I love you, Isle.