For those hording toilet paper

Giles Barton (Ralph Bates) in Lust for a Vampire (1971)

This was a somewhat first time viewing of Lust for a Vampire, although it does feel familiar, as if I had at least seen bits and pieces of it at some point. My favorite single still besides the very one below is of Bates at his study desk with the skull, scrolls, feather-quill ink pen, stacked books, crowded with no empty space available, the lamp lighting his eyes, his face down into his work while Richard Lestrange (Michael Johnson) gobbles booze (after professing his love for Carmella, a woman he doesn't even know) while grousing about his current status (in love but unable to secure affection, at a job at the girls' school that hasn't brought satisfaction). Bates is a historian, totally engrossed in the Karnstein lore, eventually offering his servitude to Carmella.

Carmella, fog accompanying her as if a pet following her every move.

Giles Barton declares his loyalty to Carmella

Carmella gets a good bite after Giles offers himself to her, but she doesn't necessarily even want his services, just disregarding him once she feeds from his throat. He isn't her preferred choice, it seems. Leaving him behind as he crawls on the earth, begging for her, Carmella is more than confidant he'll no longer be a nuisance to give her grief.

The film has its bad rep, but there are moments here and there as a Gothic Horror nerd I truly appreciate, so despite its less-than-savory critical reaction, Lust for a Vampire isn't a total waste. At least to me, it wasn't.