Blood of the Vampire is set into the end of the nineteenth century and tells the story about the wrongly accused doctor who ends in the remote prison where mad warden conducts deathly experiments on inmates, with help of his disfigured sidekick. This one was definitely ahead of its time. Why? Because this one is a brutal prison thriller drama about wrongly accused character with little or no hope for saving himself from the situation he is in. Second, it is horror, classic with mad doctor, experiments and blood letting and blood being the life. Donald Wolfit is fantastic in the role of Callistratus, mad warden/scientist, diabolic and anemic, whose presence steals the charisma from all other actors, although Barbara Shelley as Madeleine and Victor Maddern as disfigured Carl are also fabulous and charming, as only those old school horror movies can provide. Characters that are unforgettable, larger than life and ones that we always love to get back to. I am really happy that I discovered this little jewel and watched it. If you love old school horror, prison break movies, drama and macabre, this one is a keeper.

7,5/10