During the violent demise of a flamboyant vampire named Count Mitterhouse, the vindictive blood sucker vows deadly revenge on the locals of his small Serbian village.

Fifteen years later, a mysterious travelling carnival named the 'Circus of Nights' comes to town - and the little community is overjoyed at the prospect of a respite from their woes.

But all is not what it seems with this band of ethereal gypsies...shape-shifting bats turn into lithe acrobats...brooding magicians morph into deadly black panthers...

And soon the town's children are disappearing one by one! (Cool!)

Creative and inspired, this erotic-tinged fang pic is excellently paced, full of atmospheric delights, and electrified by just the right dashes of gore.

Undermentioned and underrated, this enjoys a well-deserved spot in Hammer's respectable early '70s vampire canon.