Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Vampire's Ghost Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 11, 2018

Lesley Selander's "The Vampire's Ghost" (1945) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. There are no bonus features on the disc. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

I won fair and square, fool!

In the distant African port town of Bakunda there are two kinds of people -- a very small group of foreign aristocrats and businessmen who have come here to build a fortune and a larger group of penniless opportunists hopping for a lucky break that would help them accomplish the same. Many of them intermingle in the only bar in town that serves legit drinks and has a dancer that at times makes it look like a proper cabaret.

When the loud thumps of traditional voodoo drums flood the area, Webb Fallon (John Abbott) tells his concerned aristocratic friends that the local tribes are sensing the presence of the undead. He is certain because he can ‘read’ most of the messages that they are exchanging with their voodoo drums. Roy Hendrick (Charles Gordon), who is extremely skeptical of the explanation and is curious to find out what is really going on, decides to travel to the area where the noise is coming from and invites Fallon to join him so that he can prove him wrong.

Very soon after the two embark on their journey, however, Hendrick realizes that not only is Fallon correct, but that he is unlike the rest of the common folk in the busy town. The discovery shocks him, and after Fallon warns him that it will be in his best interest that he does not reveal his secret, he nearly loses his mind.

It is probably fair to speculate that director Lesley Selander had seen Howard Hawks’ Only Angels Have Wings because in The Vampire’s Ghost he places his characters in an exotic environment that is practically identical to the one in which Geoff Carter and Bonnie Lee fall madly in love. The main difference -- aside from the fact that his film was also conceived with a smaller budget -- is that Selander uses the environment primarily for chills and thrills rather than to tell a moving romantic story.

The film is guaranteed to surprise plenty of folks with preconceptions about the Republic Pictures catalog because its appearance and style are actually of unusually high-quality. It even boldly discards more than a few common clichés that quite a few other well-received bigger horror films from the same period rehash and delivers some genuine surprises that give its story quite the edge. For example, towards the end Selander introduces an interesting twist that basically shifts the focus of attention from the horror to a moral dilemma of the type that psychological thrillers like to use. So despite being only about an hour long, this really is a very well scripted and acted film that has a legit potential to impress anyone with a soft spot for early black-and-white horror films.

*A personal recommendation: If the likes of Earl Kenton’s Island of Lost Souls and Edgar Ulmer’s The Black Cat happen to be amongst your favorites, The Vampire’s Ghost is exactly the type of ‘smaller’ film from the same era that you may not have heard of but I guarantee you will enjoy a lot.

The Vampire's Ghost Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Lesley Selander's The Vampire's Ghost arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

This film has been fully remastered and it instantly shows. Aside from a few tiny white flecks that pop up, the presentation is on par with what would expect from a Criterion release. Close-ups typically boast very nice depth and delineation, and even when light is restricted to help the desired atmosphere clarity remains very pleasing. In fact, there is plenty of footage where the balance between the nuanced grays and blacks is very impressive. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. There are a few spots where native density fluctuations can be observed, but the transfer is completely free of the type of awkward anomalies that digital enhancements produce. Image stability is very good. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Vampire's Ghost Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I thought that the lossless track was excellent. While these types of early films typically have sound designs with some pretty obvious native limitations, here there is plenty of dynamic movement and some quite surprising dynamic nuances. Also, the audio must have been remixed, or at least some work must have been done to ensure that it is clean and stable, because overall balance is great.

The Vampire's Ghost Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, there are no bonus features on this release.

The Vampire's Ghost Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I was very pleasantly surprised with The Vampire's Ghost and have to say that it is probably the best horror film that I have seen to come out of the Republic Pictures vaults. It is rather short, but it quickly builds up an excellent atmosphere, which is what I like the most about these types of early films, and the overall quality of the production is great. The film also looks terrific on Blu-ray, so I really enjoyed viewing it. An outstanding addition to Olive Films' catalog. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.