Movie Review: Atom Age Vampire (1960) directed by Anton Giuilo Majano (original title “Seddok, l’erede di Satana”)
Brilliant scientist Professor Alberto Levin (Alberto Lupo) is working on a revolutionary cure for skin cancer and scarring, inspired by his research on radiation survivors. With his faithful assistant Monique Riviere (Franca Parisi) and mute manservant Sacha (Roberto Bertea), he’s developed first a serum that causes monstrous cell growth in animals, Derma-25, and now one that reverses the effects, Derma-28. Monique forces him to advance to human testing by injecting herself with Derma-25, and insisting he use the new serum instead of the usual immediate radiation therapy. It works, but now Professor Levin needs a documented experiment that will truly prove that Derma-28 is both effective and safe for humans.
As it happens, Nightclub dancer Jeanette Moreneau (Susanne Loret) has just been dumped by her lover, sailor Pierre Mornet (Sergio Fantoni). It seems he wanted her to give up her job despite it being how they met, but she didn’t want to be unemployed while he was off at sea. Upset and driving angry, Jeanette has a car crash and winds up with severe permanent facial scarring. (Pierre hears nothing about this because his ship already sailed.)
On the verge of suicide as she can’t live with her (pretty concealable) scarring, Jeanette is secretly contacted by Monique and offered the Derma-28 treatment, on the condition that she tell absolutely no one. Jeanette isn’t entirely convinced, but shows up at the Levin mansion anyhow. In the heat of his enthusiasm, Professor Levin fails to get informed consent from Jeanette before subjecting her to the treatment, which uses up the entire existing supply of Derma-28. The process works, and Jeanette is seemingly cured. A combination of her restored beauty and his elation at success causes Professor Levin to become enamored of Jeanette, much to the displeasure of Monique, who thought she was the love interest.
Meanwhile, Pierre arrives back in town and traces Jeanette to the hospital, only to discover that she has vanished with no forwarding address.
Jeanette, while appreciative of Professor Levin’s cure, isn’t nearly as into him as he is into her. She’s pining for Pierre now that she could show herself in front of him. And then the scar tissue starts resurfacing so the doctor slips her a mickey.
Levin realizes that because the scar tissue was so old, it will take multiple Derma-28 treatments to completely eradicate it. But it will take months to synthesize a new supply. He could, however, take glands from healthy beautiful young women and implant them in Jeannette to bolster the Derma-28 in her system and that could also work. Monique immediately realizes that’s the plot of a horror movie and vetoes the idea, much to the professor’s wrath.
It’s not clear if Professor Levin kills her without leaving noticeable marks in the ensuing struggle, or she succumbs to her pre-existing heart condition. But he is able to remove her glands subtly enough so that coroner Dr. Doubré (Tullio Altamura) doesn’t suspect a thing. The cursory investigation of Monique’s death also introduces Inspector Bouchard (Ivo Garrani). He immediately flags Levin as a person of interest, and a potential expert to consult on cases involving radiation poisoning.
Needing more pretty young woman glands, Levin disguises his appearance with Derma-25 (also boosting his confidence to allow him to kill) and commits more obvious murders. He still hasn’t quite taken it in that Jeannette isn’t falling in love with him, and that may bring him to his doom…
So, first off, there are no vampires in this movie, so if you’re only here for the bloodsuckers, cross it off your list. The newspapers apparently nickname the person going around killing women “Seddok”, thus the Italian title, and there’s some speculation (which Professor Levin allows to linger) that the murderer is a Hiroshima survivor maddened by radiation-caused deformities. “A vampire of the atomic age, if you will.”
The “I’ve made this woman beautiful/cured, oh no, it’s not permanent so I need to kill people for their body parts” plotline is a well-worn one for horror movies, and kudos to Monique for both spotting it and trying not to participate. Otherwise it plays out in a fairly standard manner.
Professor Levin shows signs of being a bit unhinged from the beginning, so it’s not too shocking when he goes off the deep end. Monique’s a more interesting character, and Professor Levin would have been way better off returning her interest instead of forcing Jeanette into a relationship. Pierre is a dolt, but seems to have learned how much he truly cares for Jeanette by the end. Stefan? Well, he loves both Monique and Professor Levin more than they deserve and gets little joy of it.
Some nice fade effects. It’s an Italian movie, so I’m not sure why it’s taking place in France. There are multiple cuts, starting with the 105-minute Italian cut, the 87-minute US cut, and the 72-minute video cut, the last of which takes out a racy dancing scene, and much of the first scene of trying to treat Jeanette with Derma-28 which contains important set-up for later plot points. Pretty sure the Italian cut has more racy dancing because it’s in the trailer but not the US cut.
Content notes: several murders, no gore in the US version. Jeanette bases her self-worth entirely on her physical appearance. Racy dancing. Body horror. Inspector Bouchard is a recovering tobacco addict with a currently addicted subordinate–he falls off the wagon towards the end. The US cut should be okay for teens–if there’s more gore in the Italian version, make that late teens.
Overall: The choppy editing of the US version has done a number on the coherence of the film, and it’s going to feel a little creaky to modern viewers. Portions of the plot were already hoary cliches by the time this was made. Mildly recommended to fans of B-movie horror; see if you can find the longer cut.
