Haunting Desires (3 Stars)

I've been jinxed with this film. I first saw it on television round about 2004, but it I didn't decide to buy it until 2008. The prices were unacceptably high, so I had to wait till I found a good offer on Amazon Marketplace. Finally I ordered it, and it never arrived. Not the fault of the seller, it was someone I'd often ordered from, it was just "lost in the mail". They refunded my money because they didn't have any more copies. After a long wait, more than a year, I ordered it again. Despite being factory sealed the wrong DVD was inside the case. What was contained was a special free-for-rental-stores version of "Tough Luck", obviously intended for free viewing because occasional adverts flashed across the screen during the film. And now, the end of 2012, I finally ordered the film again. And got the correct film, as advertised. Although I do have my complaints with the version I received. Read on.

The film is about a string of murders involving men who had visited the Underworld strip club. Investigations are carried out by a police detective (Jay Richardson) and a newspaper reporter (Beverly Lynne). As they get closer to the truth, sometimes helping, sometimes hindering one another, they stumble on the fact that the club's owner (Evan Stone) and his dancers are all vampires.

The film is good, one of Fred Olen Ray's more adventurous stories. Evan Stone dazzles as the gothic vampire prince. There's a small role played by Eric Masterson as the reporter's boyfriend. In itself I would give it at least 4 stars. The trouble is that this is a censored edition. It's been a long time since I saw it on television, but I'm certain the sex scenes were longer. If I'm right it would be unusual, because Fred's films are never censored. This DVD isn't released on his own Retromedia label, which might be the reason. The film as contained on the disk is only 67 minutes long (from the beginning to the final credits), making it officially a short film. Fred never makes films this short. There must be something missing. So my overall rating is based on the totally unnecessary cuts.