Lemora

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Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural
DVD cover from Synapse Films
Directed by	Richard Blackburn
Produced by	Robert Fern
Written by	Richard Blackburn
Starring	Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith Hy Pyke Lisley Gilb Richard Blackburn
Music by	Dan Neufeld
Cinematography	Robert Caramico
Distributed by	Media Cinema Group
Release date(s)	May 1975
Running time	80 minutes (original release) 113 minutes (uncut version)
Language	English
IMDb profile

Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural (also called Lemora: The Lady Vampire and The Legendary Curse of Lemora) is a 1975 American horror film, written and directed by Richard Blackburn. Blackburn later gained fame as the co-writer of the Paul Bartel film Eating Raoul.

1 Cast
2 Plot
3 Notes
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Cast

Lila Lee--Cheryl Smith
Lemora--Lesley Gilb
Solange--Maxine Ballantyne
Alvin Lee--William Whitton
The Bus Driver--Hy Pyke
The Reverend--Richard Blackburn

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

During the Prohibition era 13-year old Lila Lee, Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith, seeking to visit her injured father (a gangster) before he dies. She runs away from the Reverend, who has raised her and in whose church she was become well-known as a singer. She ends up taking a bus to the strange town of Astaroth, where people have the "Astaroth Look." Hy Pyke delivers his most unhinged performance, hamming it up all the way as a manic, bug-eyed bus driver who gives Lila Lee a ride to the town. En route Lila is menaced in a swamp by a band of mindless vampires who haunt the woods and town. She is rescued by Lemora Lesley Gilb, the vampires' unofficial queen, who takes a fancy to the girl. It seems she is the one who called the girl to her, though whether to protect her or to corrupt her remains to be seen. Lila is taken to a very old house, where Lemora gives her a bath and tries to soothe her. Exploring, Lila discovers the truth--Lemora is a vampire, one who feeds upon children and who is holding her father captive.

one of the denizens of Astaroth in the film Lemora

Trying to escape, Lila embarks are a night-time journey through the town of Astaroth, learning in the process that there are two types of vampires here. One are like Lemora herself, relatively human in behavior in appearance. The other are mutated, perhaps de-volved, far more animalistic in behavior and monstrous in form. And the two groups are at war.

Meanwhile, the Reverend is seeking to find Lila, and manages to retrace her steps.

After a climactic battle, leaving most of the vampires in the town dead, Lila is hiding when Lemora finds her. When the Reverend shows up not long after, he finds Lila willing, even eager to kiss him. He resists at first. Then, he gives in. That is when she drives her fangs into his throat.

The film ends showing Lila singing again in church. Whether this was intended to indicate the story was a dream, that it was a "flash forward" or if that Lila returned as a vampire to the Church--or perhaps some other explanation--is not clear.

[edit] Notes

Blackburn and producer Fern were students at UCLA when they devloped the idea for this film. It was produced on a shoe-string, with much of the financing coming from Blackburn's parents. Most of the film was shot in 1973; star Smith was only 17 at the time.

The movie had limited distribution during its original release. Due to its pedophilic and lesbian overtones, it was banned by the Catholic League of Decency^[1]. It quickly fell into obscurity except in France, where it became something of a cult film. It was first released on video in the United States (with a mini-documentary on the film) as late as the mid-90's. Today, Lemora still remains a relatively obscure film, but it has developed a strong following in the horror fandom over the years. A DVD was released in 2004, featuring additional footage and commentary by the director and producer.

It's a dreamlike, atmospheric film very much unlike other American horror films of the time, being very erotic in mood, has an aura of dreamy surrealism and is richly colorful,reminiscent of the works of French director Jean Rollin (whom Blackburn was apparently unfamiliar with) and strongly influenced by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and possibly, to a lesser extent, Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu. On his DVD commentary track to Lemora, Blackburn also cites authors Arthur Machen's story The White People a tale of childhood innocence with horrific overtones and Mervyn Peake as influences. Set in the American South of the 30's, in a way Lemora can also be described as a Southern Gothic fable.

It has also generated some degree of interest among gothic rock subculture and vampire fetishists. Lemora has also inspired at least two rock bands, the British gothic rock combo The Ghost of Lemora and the American black metal band Lemora.