“Genuine,
my love.”
Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire is not a
vampire film in the sense we are used to today. This female vampire does not
have fangs nor does she only come out at night. Theda Bara was known as The
Vamp with the reason being that she was a “vampire” luring men in seductive
ways in her films and looking seductive in promo photos. Like Theda Bara,
Genuine is a vamp in the sense that she lures men in and they go mad with love.
The
film begins with an artist named Percy. Not clearly stated in the film but
according to Wikipedia, Percy has completed a painting of the high priestess
Genuine. Since he has been working on the painting he has become withdrawn from
society. Percy sits down on his couch to read his favorite story about Genuine
a high priestess from Middle Eastern tribe. When he falls asleep his portrait
of Genuine comes alive and she escapes.
Somehow
the story gets flipped back to Genuine when she was a high priestess in her
tribe. Her tribe fought many wars and was finally defeated. The conquering
tribe took Genuine and sold her into slavery. She is bought by an old man named
Lord Melo who is eccentric and keeps her in a locked room in his house.
The
only other people allowed in his house are an African slave and his barber
Guyard. The townspeople are becoming worried over what Lord Melo is keeping in
his house. Since Guyard is the only one allowed in the house he is summoned by
a judge to appear in court at the same time he is to be at Lord Melo’s home.
The barber sends his nephew Florian to attend the old man.
Genuine,
meanwhile, finds a way to escape her prison. She climbs up a ladder and into
the room where Florian is shaving the sleeping Lord. Florian is immediately
captivated by the mysterious woman and her seductive power. He does not want to
leave her side. Since Florian is so in love with her, Genuine convinces him to
kill the old Lord for her and he slits the man’s throat.
Percy
turns out to be Lord Melo’s grandson. He had written to Lord Melo about coming
to visit since they have not seen each other in a few years. Melo had been worried
about Percy arriving and what would happen if he found out about Genuine. When Percy
arrives Genuine is right there. Now all Percy wants to do is shower her with
gifts of anything she could possibly ask for. Soon, of course, Genuine turns
Percy into a mad man with lust.
Florian
has also gone insane. Guyard cannot understand why his nephew has yelled out
that he has murdered someone. The townspeople immediate know that the woman
Lord Melo had been keeping is behind Florian’s insanity and they gather to
storm the house to get rid of her. Before they can arrive at the house to find
the temptress herself, Florian got there and killed her since he could not have
her for his own pleasure.
I
can only thank God Genuine: A Tale of a
Vampire was not longer than the forty-four minutes it ran. It was not too
terrible but it got a bit boring because the plot was a somewhat confusing. The
acting was over the top in some parts but that is to be expected from early
silent films. I went insane with the sets because since this is a German film
the sets were made in the Expressionist style. They were made of large, over
the top, loud shapes that dominated the rooms creating an unsettling feeling. I
love how the Expressionist style was used in German films in the silent era it
added so much to their suspense/thrillers. I will only say to watch Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire if you are
very much into silent films or would like to see really incredible sets. If you
are not into those than skip it.
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