The Horrible Sexy Vampire (or the Highway Vampire as it’s Spanish title translates to) is a bizarre little Spanish horror entry from 1971 that I’ll own up to having never seen before this Blu-ray ended up in my player last weekend. The film opens up with a couple, tired from a road trip stopping for the night in a hotel. They get prepped for the night with a bath, however, after a few minutes of waiting the girlfriend goes to check on her boyfriend and finds him murdered. She is not far behind. When the cops investigates, the coroner doesn’t simply think that this is a serial killer, but the work of a centuries old vampire. After this we are introduced to a castle and it’s Count, Adolf Oblensky, who begins to ponder if he has recently seen a long deceased relation.

This is a bizarre little number that relies more on atmospherics than on story (and this is fine by me). This is the type of movie that works best at 2 am, then in the middle of the day, when the atmosphere can work wonders on the tired mind. The pacing is very deliberate, but the location work in Stuttgart with the use of the castle is excellent. Also, the vampire in this story isn’t the fang-piercing variety, and prefers the use of strangulation. The direction from Jose Luis Madrid overall creates a solid experience that is in line with the dreamier Eurohorrors of the era.

Mondo Macabro presents the film in an excellent 2:35:1 1080p transfer that looks great. Colors are solid, detail is great, blacks are quite solid. Audio is handled with English and Spanish mono with no issues. There is a really informative commentary track by David Flint and Adrian J. Smith and also a gallery, and trailer. RECOMMENDED!