Vampire in Venice (1988) – Augusto Caminito.

Eminent scholar, and stalwart vampire hunter Professor Catalano (Christopher Plummer) is called to a baroque abode in picturesque Venice to root out, and destroy nemesis itself, Nosferatu (Klaus Kinski). While somewhat formal in execution, and prone to theatricality, Caminto's atmospheric Vampire in Venice is voluptuously steeped in Gothic doom-scapes, an enjoyably camp supernatural Euro-creeper with exceptionally fine actors. Many sequences are exquisitely composed, enveloping one in a sinisterly compelling fantasy of forbidden erotica, being drawn deliciously into the bloodiest boudoir of Gothic fiction's most profane fornicator.

Having Herzog's iconic Nosferatu playing Caminito's Nosferatu is, perhaps, a no-brainer, but Kinski manifestly exudes the malign gravitas that so many actors who don the immortal cape pointedly lack. Absolutely NONE creep through crepuscular, cob-webbed catacombs with quite the same appreciable level of ill-omened portent as dirty Onkel Klaus! While Christopher Lee remains the reigning Prince of Darkness, Kinski's evilly libidinous creature is a magnificently dissipated wretch, a degenerate blood-fiend, sinisterly stalking his appetisingly fleshly prey through the spidery back-alleys, set deep within Venice's decaying grandeur. Seen today, it might seem a tad fruity in places, yet Vampire in Venice remains a toothsome terror treat for Gothic romantics.