Product Context
The film "Kiss of The Vampire" (KoTV) was produced by Hammer Film Productions and distributed by J. Arthur Rank and Universal. Released in 1963, it was intended to be the second sequel to the 1958 Dracula, however it has no reference to the character.
In addition to Dracula, Hammer was successful with various other monster movie franchises, such as The Mummy or "Frankenstein: Universe also experienced early success in this genre. The historical context of 1963 shows early-stage "Beatlemania and The swinging sixties, JFK's assassination and the Soviet Union's first woman in space.
Cultural Context and Media Language
The 1960's audiences for this advert are assumed to be familiar with the codes and conventions of monster films and their posters, such as composition, fonts, and representations of the monster and its mostly female victims. The capitalized serif font of the title connotes ideas of the Vampire genre with the wooden texture (symbolizing a stake, for example) and the dripping blood from the 'V's gang.
Using a painted main image is highly conventional of films of the period, linking to Christopher Lee's Dracula poster. The color (anchored by the text "In Eastman Color") conveys ideas of a modern retelling of an old story. The greys, blacks, and browns reinforce the film's dark, scary tones, where the red highlight in the color palette draws attention to the bats, blood, and vampires - visual signifiers for the genre. The stars are listed conventionally, with the highly paid male actors first, in order of game, with Clifford Evans starring in Hammer's "Curse of the Werewolf" (1961).
Theoretical Perspectives
Semiotics - Roland Barthes
Suspense is created through enigma surrounding the connoted relationship between the male and female vampires, possibly emphasized by the word 'Kiss' in the title and the fate of their victims. Barthes' semantic code could be applied to images of the bats and their association with horror and vampirism. The symbolic codes of horror, darkness, and fear are more widely forced through signifiers such as the moon and the male victim's submissive sacrifice' gesture code.
Structuralism → Claude Levi-Strauss
The idea that texts are constructed through use of binary oppositions could be applied to the opposing representations of the vampires and their victims or the romantic connotations of 'Kiss' opposed in the film's title to the stereotypical vampire monster.
Political and Social Context - Representation
The 1960s are often seen as the beginning of women's sexual liberation, aided by the introduction of the contraceptive pill in 1960. Older stereotypes of women as passive victims of men and more modern male gears of women challenging male dominance could be seen as encoded in this film poster. Both women wear pale dresses made of light materials and these dress codes serve to reinforce their femininity by highlighting the curves of their bodies and revealing their upper chest and arms. The gesture codes of the women and their male victims indicate power dynamics, with one woman showing aggression and dominance and the other being presented as a submissive victim.
Theoretical Perspectives: Stuart Hall's Theory of Representation
Imagery of the blood, the vampire's cape, bats, and castle form the shared conceptual road map, giving the poster a wider world. This encourages the audience to decode the genre and iconography.
Conclusion
The film poster of "Kiss of the Vampire" reflects the cultural and historical context of the 1960s, and through the theoretical perspectives of semiotics, structuralism, and political and social context, it can be analyzed to understand its representations of vampires, victims, and gender dynamics. The poster invites the audience to decode the imagery and symbolism, contributing to the broader understanding of the film.
