By Melissa Antoinette Garza
FULL MOON OF THE VIRGINS (1973) or THE DEVIL’S WEDDING NIGHT as it is also known is a great piece of Italian horror sexploitation directed by Luigi Batzella and the late great (but uncredited) Joe D’Amato.
The film shows a flash of a woman in white running thru the woods before the credits. Thereafter, two twin brothers Franz and Karl (Mark Damon) discuss Karl’s intent to travel to Transylvania to locate a ring of great power. He doesn’t want it for himself but instead to put it in a museum for everyone to see.
Franz asks if Karl is afraid of vampires, but Karl is not. In his possession Karl has an Egyptian talisman that was worn in honor of the demon Pazuzu. The amulet is supposed to protect him. Captain Howdy got around in ‘73 and was seemingly a bi-polar King of the Demons.
Franz demands to know exactly where Karl is going and finds out that he’ll be visiting Castle Dracula. Franz sneaks the amulet and goes to the castle first in effort to get the ring. When finding the talisman gone, Karl heads out.
Upon arriving Franz goes to a local tavern and meets the innkeeper’s daughter Tanya (Enza Sbordone). She is fearful of vampires and Franz teases that he could be one. I like Franz. He’s a cute, pale, dark haired man who knows how to wear a cape. He also turns on the charm quickly.
Tanya immediately urges him not to go to the castle in fear of what could happen. He tells her of the amulet, but then goes on to add some extra charm. He tells her that he is doubly protected since the vampires are only after virgins and that he’s then far more concerned for her safety. Go Franz – that is a slick move and one she willingly falls for.
The next morning at the castle, Franz is welcomed by the maid Lara (Esmeralda Barros). He enters claiming to be an architect. At nightfall, he wanders the grounds and comes upon a crypt. He sees Lara’s dead body inside of an open grave. He flees back into the house and runs square into the gorgeous Countess (Rosalba Neri) draped in a lovely blue gown playing the piano. He tells her of what he had seen, but then Lara appears in the doorway. The Countess says that the legends are just getting to him and Franz does not disagree. He agrees to stay for dinner.
The Countess and Franz have a romantic dinner. Franz tells him that all other women seem like ladies of the night compared to her to which this glorious femme fatale responds that she too is a lady of the night in her own way. I love her. Franz believes himself to be in control, but the Countess is toying with him the whole time. She has his number from jump and she’s using him to get her husband Dracula back.
The two share an erotic encounter where Franz is working her body nicely. The man has a few decent moves and he gets a point for some softness in his touch. Still even in the bedroom, it’s The Countess who owns it. While she’s on top, he opens his eyes and she shows him the ring and then reveals herself in bat form. His expression is hilarious. Is it odd that I’ve seen human-on-bat action in two different movies within the past 4 days? Nah – I’m sure that’s the average.
After her fun with Franz, The Countess answers a knock at the door to meet Karl. He asks to see his brother, but she lies and says that he’s gone. Karl is about to speak up when he’s hit over the back of the head by Lara.
The Countess claims Franz was rude and took off after scouring the grounds. She turns it on nicely and asks him to stay the night to make amends for his brother’s rudeness.
In a magnificent and surreal scene, Lara brings out drinks for Karl and The Countess. Karl begins to hallucinate. All of them start hysterically laughing as the camera shifts from one image to the next. We see a demonic face, the ring, bright red colors, and then back to them. Most pleasurably intercut is some beautiful visual jazz as Lara and The Countess tenderly make love on the floor. Lara then pours blood upon The Countess’s naked writhing body as she reaches her apex while lying in the crypt. Covered from head to toe, she stands in the smoky midnight sky like a naked demonic Queen bathed in the bright red blood of her victims. Feminine prowess and confidence in full glory as she reveals her true self to the open air and the viewers watching.
If anyone is keeping score, I’m #TeamCountess. She turns me on way too much for it to be any other way. Not to mention, the boys were trying to steal her ring. I say the gorgeous vamp was just protecting what was hers (and also killing a bunch of virgins). Therefore, she did nothing wrong. Again, this is why I could never be on a jury. When a gal or gent makes my knees weak, they can get away with a lot – and the Countess can do no wrong. She is sublime.
Later, Karl finds Franz and pulls him from a coffin. He brings his brother inside the castle. Meanwhile, Tanya shows up to tell Franz that he left his amulet with her the night before. She yells up to Karl thinking it’s Franz and he comes down to retrieve it. When he gets there, she’s been attacked and the talisman is on the ground. He grabs it and leaves.
The Countess returns to start her black mass. Virgins in white nightdresses have been summoned and stand before guards decked out in black hoods and red robes. The women have near zero resistance and are in a state of controlled and possessed lust.
Tanya, the final sacrifice, is the one exception as she is strapped to the table and handed over. Franz must kill her to complete the spell as the event is actually a wedding ceremony. The Countess intends to marry Franz, who is now slowly becoming possessed by her dead husband Dracula.
While she waits for her new fiance to come and kill Tanya, the virgins are undressed by Lara and briefly fondled until being given to their guards for temporary safekeeping. They are tossed on the alters and sacrificed in front of a wickedly roused Countess who stares on in excitement and yells out spells commanding assistance.
Karl overhears Franz discussing Dracula with The Countess and thinks his brother is lying. When he flashes fangs, Karl figures out that his twin has turned and the two get into a knock-out drag-out fight.
The ending is fun and crazy. I see some complaining that it isn’t surprising, but it doesn’t have to me. It’s a cool, solid story with a tough-as-nails fem vamp who takes orders from no one.
Everyone does a fantastic job. Mark Damon nails it portraying both brothers. He’s believable and makes it easy to differentiate the two by slight mannerisms and conveyance of emotion.
That said, this movie is what it is because of Rosalba Neri. Stellar doesn’t even begin to explain how fantastic her performance is. The way in which she works her eyes is an art form. She can tell a story and cut someone down with a glance. She is divine and daring and everything fabulous about the glorious women of the 70s. Just Yummy!
Scared Stiff Rating: 8.5/10
