The Playgirls and the Vampire is a fantastic early Italian gothic horror film and not necessarily because it is scary but because it also features a number of preposterous scenes that take away from it.  While there were many great horror movies out at the time when this was released, this film is, simply put, a lot of campy fun.  It is not to say that there is not a little bit of moody atmosphere to be found, because there is and it does work quite well, but more often than not it makes you groan at how silly it can sometimes be.  That ridiculous, goofy quality that is present may not be what the makers of the film were going for, but thankfully it was at least balanced out by those moments when it tried to take itself seriously.

On the whole, the movie did end up fitting the mold of a horror film with many of the scarier scenes being those few that took place outside of the castle walls as well as the final moment between the vampire and Count Gabor.  It was even a little exciting to see the vampire first battle his bride and then his ancestor.  The suspense was built up with all the strange happenings within the manor and it did tend to overshadow the campier aspects of the film.  At least sometimes.  Aside from that, the dancing girls were ludicrous only for the fact that they were supposed to be a professional troupe and could not even do a single step together that was in unison.  The blonde girl did a great striptease and was probably the only talented member when it came to dancing though surprisingly, their manager who was like the comedic relief of the film, danced better than everyone put together.  Out of everything in this entire movie, from the vampire bride or the reveal of the main vampire himself, the fact that Lucas could dance was the most shocking.

Of all the performers, only a few really stood out, particularly Maria Giovannini who could not stop talking about her legs for the first part of the film and who soon became a vampire and Alfredo Rizzo as the manager of the girls.  The latter because he was so laughable and the former because of that constant mentioning of her legs and the fact that she had the only nude scene in the entire film.   That tends to usually make one memorable.  Walter Brandi was fairly good playing the dual roles of both the Count and the vampire as was Lyla Rocco as the woman he loves named Vera.  In a bevy of beauties, at least she was able to stand out some as the object of affection for two men, for one a reincarnation of a lost love and the other, simply a woman.  Brandi at least showed some talent when stacked up against the rest of the cast, and if there had been a few extra strong players, this film might have turned out a bit differently.

Despite being fairly silly at times, the film really is a fun little B horror.  Piero Regnoli did a solid job at writing and directing and though the story was a pretty standard and we had seen it all before, and though there were a few thrills and chills to be had, it could have been a much better picture if the material had omitted those characters and moments that played up the comedy aspect.  The Playgirls and the Vampire is definitely a movie that avid horror fans would enjoy.

3 out of 5