Cuadecuc, vampir

Cuadecuc, vampir is a 1971 experimental feature film directed by Spanish filmmaker Pere Portabella. The film presents a unique cinematic experience that is more of a meditation on the nature of filmmaking and storytelling rather than a traditional narrative film. It stars the iconic Christopher Lee, known for his portrayals as Count Dracula in a number of Hammer Horror films, alongside Herbert Lom and Soledad Miranda. The title 'Cuadecuc' is derived from Catalan, which roughly translates to 'worm's tail,' referring to the end of a film reel, and 'vampir' is the Catalan word for 'vampire,' alluding to the film's vampiric themes.

The production of Cuadecuc, vampir is one of its most fascinating characteristics. It was shot on the set of another film, "Count Dracula" (1970), directed by Jesus Franco. Instead of creating a conventional, scripted vampire film or a behind-the-scenes documentary, Portabella's work resides in an enigmatic space between reality and fiction. The movie is essentially shot using leftover film stock from the Count Dracula production, which adds to its dreamlike and abstract quality.

With a stark black-and-white aesthetic, which enhances the eerie and otherworldly atmosphere, Cuadecuc, vampir's images are haunting and evocative. The absence of color in the film, along with its rather ethereal cinematography, provides a sharp contrast to the typical splashy and vivid palette often associated with vampire movies from that era.

Despite featuring Christopher Lee and other cast members from "Count Dracula" in their respective roles and costumes, Cuadecuc, vampir does not flesh out a conventional story; instead, it plays like an avant-garde deconstruction of the horror genre. The film combines elements of surrealism with docufiction, purposely blurring the lines between the film being made (Count Dracula) and the film being observed (Cuadecuc, vampir). Viewers get glimpses of the actors both in character and as themselves, between takes and sometimes directly engaging with the camera.

This behind-the-scenes approach to filmmaking becomes even more striking due to the lack of synchronized sound. The film entirely eschews dialogue in favor of an eerie and sometimes jarring soundscape created by composer Carles Santos. This minimalist approach to sound further confounds the viewer’s traditional expectations of what a horror movie—or any movie, for that matter—should feel and sound like.

The occasional diegetic noise, paired with the asynchronous soundtrack, works to create an unsettling effect, designed to provoke reflection and contemplation rather than simply delivering a straightforward horror narrative. The auditory experience is as experimental as the visuals, with the sounds being manipulated to feel both familiar and strange. It is as if the essence of a horror film has been distilled and repurposed to comment on the act of film production itself.

Cuadecuc, vampir reflects Portabella's interest in political commentary, typical of his other work. Made during the late Francoist period, Portabella’s film can be seen as a subversive piece, exploring tyranny and power in ways that skirted the era's strict censorship laws. The vampire motif in particular serves as a poignant metaphor for exploitation and authoritarian rule, with the undead figure and its associated themes quietly resonating with the socio-political climate of Spain at the time.

In this context, Christopher Lee's participation takes on additional layers of meaning. Lee was a consummate Dracula and his mere presence carried the weight of the many vampire stories that had been featured in popular culture. However, in Cuadecuc, vampir, Lee appears almost like a specter in the machine of cinema – a powerful reminder of the distance between the depicted horrors of the screen and the real horrors present in contemporary society.

The film also includes the late Soledad Miranda, an actress whose tragic death shortly after filming leaves her performance hauntingly magnetic. Her ethereal beauty and screen presence further punctuate the film's themes of impermanence and the ephemeral nature of life and art.

Herbert Lom's appearance also bridges the gap between the reality of the actors and the characters they are portraying. His poised performance in conjunction with the non-traditional filmmaking approach creates a subdued tension that lingers throughout the film, defying any reduction to simple categorization or genre norms.

Cuadecuc, vampir is more of an experience and a feeling than a story, and its influence on both genre filmmaking and experimental art cinema has been noted by cinephiles and scholars. Similarly, it serves as a provocative artifact from a turbulent era in Spanish politics, safely packaging its critique in the guise of a film about making a film. While it does not seek to scare in the conventional manner of horror films, Cuadecuc, vampir is still an unsettling and absorbing art piece that lingers in the mind long after the final frame.