The Karnstein Trilogy, a series of

vampire films Vampire films have been a staple in world cinema since the era of silent films, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptat ...

, was produced by

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

. They are notable at the time for their (for the time) daring

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

storylines. All three films were scripted by

Tudor Gates Tudor Gates (2 January 1930 – 11 January 2007) was an English screenwriter, playwright and trade unionist. Biography Gates was involved in stage management by the early 1950s, and began scriptwriting in his spare time. After ''The Guv'nor'' w ...

. They are related by vampires of the noble Karnstein family, and their seat Castle Karnstein near the town of Karnstein in

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered ...

, Austria.

The trilogy

*''

The Vampire Lovers ''The Vampire Lovers'' is a 1970 British Gothic horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Ingrid Pitt, Peter Cushing, George Cole, Kate O'Mara, Madeline Smith, Dawn Addams and Jon Finch. It was produced by Hammer Film Productions. I ...

'' (1970), set in 1790

, starred Polish-born Ingrid Pitt as

lesbian vampire Lesbian vampirism is a trope in 20th-century exploitation film and literature. It was a way to hint at or titillate with the taboo idea of lesbianism in a fantasy context outside the heavily censored realm of social realism. Origins and ear ...

Countess Mircalla Karnstein (born 1522, died 1546). The film was based on the famous 1872 novella "

Carmilla ''Carmilla'' is an 1872 Gothic novella by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu and one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's '' Dracula'' (1897) by 26 years. First published as a serial in ''The Dark Blue'' (1871–72), the ...

" by J. Sheridan Le Fanu; the name Mircalla being an

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...

of Carmilla, which is an alias Mircalla uses throughout the story. *'' Lust for a Vampire'' (1971), featured Danish actress

Yutte Stensgaard Yutte Stensgaard (born 14 May 1946) is a Danish actress born in Thisted, Jutland, Denmark, best known for her starring role in Hammer's '' Lust for a Vampire'' (1971). Career Born Jytte Stensgaard, she moved to the United Kingdom to improve her ...

as Mircalla's descendant Carmilla (born 1688, died 1710). Set in 1830 (it's suggested the Karnsteins reappear every 40 years), Carmilla adopts the name of her ancestor to seduce and murder her way through an exclusive girls' school. *''

Twins of Evil ''Twins of Evil'' (also known as ''Twins of Dracula'') is a 1971 British horror film directed by John Hough and starring Peter Cushing, with Damien Thomas and the real-life identical twins and former ''Playboy'' Playmates Mary and Madeleine ...

'' (1971) features

Damien Thomas Damien Thomas (born 1942 or 1943) is a British actor noted for his roles in British films and television, such as his role as Father Martin Alvito in the 1980 hit miniseries ''Shōgun'' and as Richard Mason in the 1983 BBC production of ''Jane ...

as Mircalla's descendant, the evil Count Karnstein. Mircalla herself, played by German actress

Katya Wyeth Katya Wyeth (born 1 January 1948) is a former model and actress notable for her roles in several classic horror films of the early 1970s. She was married to British actor Michael Bangerter, with whom she had two children. Credited early on as K ...

, appears briefly (though her date of death is now given as 1547). The story concerns sisters Maria and Frieda Gellhorn (played by identical twin ''Playboy'' Playmates

Mary Collinson Mary Collinson (22 July 1952 – 23 November 2021) was a Maltese-British model and actress. She was chosen as ''Playboy'' magazine's Playmate of the Month in October 1970, together with her twin sister Madeleine Collinson. They were the first i ...

and

Madeleine Collinson Madeleine Collinson (22 July 1952 – 14 August 2014) was a Maltese-British model and actress. She was chosen as ''Playboy'' magazine's Playmate of the Month in October 1970, together with her twin sister Mary Collinson. They were the first ide ...

). It is apparently a prequel to the first film: it depicts a member of the Karnstein family as living instead of vampiric and the set design and costumes give the film a 17th-century look and feel, thus resulting in each of the three films being set in a different century.

Other films

A planned fourth film in the series, variously announced as either ''The Vampire Virgins'' or ''The Vampire Hunters'', only got as far as the early draft stage.''The Vampire Virgins'' article
/ref> The 1974 film ''

Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter ''Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter'' is a 1974 British swashbuckling action horror film, written and directed by Brian Clemens, produced by Clemens and Albert Fennell for Hammer Film Productions, and starring Horst Janson, John Carson, Shane ...

'' features a female vampire from the Karnstein family, and is sometimes considered part of the same continuity, though it takes place in England rather than in Central Europe.

Vampire lore

The vampires of the Karnstein Trilogy differ from those of the Hammer Dracula films. Here, vampires can walk about in daylight and are immune to fire (their bodies are consumed, but their spirits just create or inhabit a new body). Their weaknesses are garlic and crosses, and the only ways to kill them is by staking them through their hearts or decapitating them. Some of this lore is retained in the 1972 Hammer film ''

Vampire Circus ''Vampire Circus'' is a 1972 British horror film directed by Robert Young and starring Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters and Anthony Higgins (billed as Anthony Corlan). It was written by Judson Kinberg, and produced by Wilbur Stark and Michael ...

''. ; Cast and characters

* A indicates the actor portrayed the role of a younger version of the character. * An indicates a role as an older version of the character. * A indicates the actor or actress lent only his or her voice for his or her film character. * An indicates the model served as a body double, with the actor or actress's likeness superimposed onto the model. * An indicates the actor or actress lent only their likeness for his or her film character. * A indicates an appearance through a photographic still. * An indicates an appearance through archival footage or audio. * A dark gray cell indicates the character was not in the film.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karnstein Trilogy British film series Trilogies Vampire film series