With this retelling of "Carmilla," Hammer had its last masterpiece. Just about everything in this film is pitch-perfect. It's exciting, colorful, beautifully paced, and really quite erotic, even three decades later. In a lot of ways, it's a transitional horror film--bridging the past Hammer gothics with the more mature thrillers of this generation. Every serious student of cinema, even those who don't like horror films, needs to take a look at least a few Hammer Films. For the shortest possible "must see" list, I'd recommend "Horror of Dracula," "The Devil Rides Out," "Quatermass and the Pit," and this lovely film.