Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale

Rating:
Summary: Classy version of classic horror story
Review: "Carmilla," which predates Stoker's "Dracula," introduced the lesbian vampire to literature, and this reading of the entire text by Megan Follows breathes real life into LeFanu's somewhat antiquated Victorian style. Follows makes the narrator Laura into an intelligent and compelling guide through the tale; she also puts the proper ambivalence in the descriptions of Carmilla's advances, vampiric and otherwise. Indeed, what's most impressive is how clearly the lesbian subtext is presented, and how much emotion is involved. Altbough the plot is a little obvious after two centuries of rip-offs, LeFanu's innate storytelling skill and Follows' presentation make the anachronisms fairly painless, and the uniquely unsettling bits still have their chills.