Kiss of the Vampire Cover Analysis

Kiss of the Vampire is a Hammer Produced film, in 1963, upon the basis of "Vampires" and their interactions with human society. There are many different representations on the front cover, conveying the views and ideas of the audiences that the film appealed to when it was released. For example, the main image shows a male vampire holding on to a woman, and what seems to be a human holding on to a male. Mise en scene presents the male vampire with sharp teeth in his mouth, carrying conventions of most vampires, so they can suck blood. This partners with the V in the vampire part of the masthead, since it has blood dripping from the tip, posing as a Vampire tooth. The female being carried by the vampire is limp and appears to be lifeless due to her head hung back, and her kneeling position. Mise en scene shows, in addition, one of the straps of her night dress to be loose, giving connotation of sex and submissiveness.

The other vampire holding on to the male seems to fall victim to the "male gaze". The male who she's holding also has his head back, and the audience is unable to tell whether he has his eyes open or closed, it's left for assumption. Due to this, the audience can assume his eyes are open, and he's looking at the woman in her face, whilst her attention is mis-directed, making it seem, from a media knowledgable persons