''Dinner with a Vampire'' () is a 1989 Italian

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by

Lamberto Bava Lamberto Bava (born 3 April 1944) is an Italian film director. Born in Rome, Italy, Rome, Bava began working as an assistant director for his director father Mario Bava. Lamberto co-directed the 1979 television film ''La Venere d'Ille'' with his f ...

and written by

Dardano Sacchetti Dardano Sacchetti (born 1944) is an Italian screenwriter who often worked with Italian directors Lamberto Bava and Lucio Fulci. Screenwriting Sacchetti was born in 1944, in Italy. His first screen credit was for Dario Argento's film ''The Cat o' N ...

. It was among four films made for the Italian television series '' Brivido Giallo''.

Plot

Four actors win an audition to be in a horror movie and travel to the director's castle for a meeting and to spend the night. Unbeknown to them, the director is actually a vampire. The vampire challenges his guests to kill him. Killing this vampire, however, is achieved only in a unique way.

Cast

* George Hilton as Jurek * Riccardo Rossi as Gianni * Patrizia Pellegrino as Rita *

Yvonne Sciò Yvonne Brulatour Sciò (born 25 July 1969) is an Italian model and actress. Biography Born in Rome, Sciò was educated at St. George’s British International School. She started her career as a runway model in the late 1980s. Following her acti ...

as Monica *

Valeria Milillo Valeria Milillo (born 25 September 1966) is an Italian actress. Life and career Born in Milan, Milillo studied acting at the Accademia dei Filodrammatici in Milan, and attended stage courses in Rome, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Zurich, and Munich ...

as Sasha *

Isabel Russinova Isabel Russinova (; born 20 January 1958) is a Bulgarian-born Italian actress, producer and television personality. Biography Born in Sofia as Maria Isabella Cociani, Russinova came to the success in 1983 with the Rai Uno musical show ''Disco ...

as Veronica, Jurek's half vampire companion * Daniele Aldrovandi as Gilles * Igor Zalewsky as Ale * Letizia Ziaco as Nadia *

Stefano Sabelli Stefano Sabelli (born 13 January 1993) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a full-back or midfielder for club Genoa. Career Born in Rome, Sabelli started his career at A.S. Roma. In July 2012 Sabelli left for A.S. Bari in a tem ...

as Matteo *

Roberto Pedicini Roberto Pedicini (born 18 January 1962) is an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Benevento from humble parents, Pedicini and his family moved to Pescara when he was young. Still a teenager, he made most of his living as a wandering ...

as a director

Production

Following the success of the film ''

Demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in media including fiction, comics, film, t ...

'' and ''

Demons 2 ''Demons 2'' () is a 1986 Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava and produced by Dario Argento. It is a sequel to Bava's 1985 film ''Demons'' and stars David Knight, Nancy Brilli, Coralina Cataldi Tassoni, as well as Argento's youngest da ...

'' and other foreign horror films in Italy, the company Reiteitalia would announce in July 1986 that a series titled ''Brivido giallo'' which would be made featuring five made-for-television films directed by

. Of these films only four would be made: ''

Graveyard Disturbance ''Graveyard Disturbance'' () is a 1987 television film directed by Lamberto Bava. Plot Five teen friends after stealing from a store end up in a gothic cemetery. While there they enter a tavern where the bartender challenges them to stay the nig ...

'', ''

Until Death ''Until Death'' is a 2007 American vigilante action film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and directed by Simon Fellows. It was released direct-to-DVD on April 24, 2007. Van Damme plays Anthony Stowe, a corrupt police detective addicted to her ...

'', '' The Ogre'' and ''Dinner with a Vampire''. The films were shot between 1987 and 1988. ''Dinner with a Vampire'' was shot at Castle Sammezzano near

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence was a centre of medieval European t ...

. Italian film historian Roberto Curti described ''Dinner with a Vampire'' as being more openly a

parody film A parody film or spoof film is a subgenre of comedy film that lampoons other film genres or films as pastiches, works created by imitation of the style of many different films reassembled together. Although the subgenre is often overlooked by cri ...

compared to Bava's other films made in the series.

Release

Prior to its television premiere in Italy, ''Dinner with a Vampire'' was released in Japan by Humax on April 22, 1989. It aired on Italian television channel

Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is aimed at both a young adult and adult audience. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, was or ...

on August 29, 1989.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* * *

External links

* 1989 television films 1989 horror films Films directed by Lamberto Bava Italian supernatural horror films Films scored by Simon Boswell Films set in castles Italian horror television films 1980s Italian films {{1980s-Italy-film-stub