When corpses drained of blood begin to show up in a European village, vampirism is suspected to be responsible.
When the villagers of Klineschloss start dying of blood loss, the town fathers suspect a resurgence of vampirism. While police inspector Karl remains skeptical, scientist Dr. von Niemann cares for the vampire's victims one by one, and suspicion falls on simple-minded Herman Gleib because of his fondness for bats. A blood-thirsty mob hounds Gleib to his death, but the vampire attacks don't stop.—Sister Grimm <[email protected]>
In the small village of Kleinshloss, the locals are scared with a serial killer that is draining the blood of his victims, and the Burgomaster Gustave Schoen is convinced that a vampire is responsible for the deaths. The skeptical police inspector Karl Brettschneider is reluctant to accept the existence of vampires, but the local doctor Otto Von Newman shows literature about cases of vampirism inclusive in Amazon. When the apple street vendor Martha Mueller is murdered, the prime suspect becomes the slow Herman Gleib, a man with a mind of child that loves bats. The group of vigilantes chases Herman, while Dr. Von Newman's housemaid Georgiana is attacked by the killer.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Fellas from a small village start dying under mysterious circumstances n the local doc conclude that the deaths r all the same, blood loss, with two punctures in the neck caused by needle-sharp teeth. The town elders suspect of vampires, but the local cop remains skeptical. Fear of the vampire and suspicion of a local lunatic who is fond of bats quickly spread around the town and people start fearing him.—[email protected]
People are dying in the German town of Kleinschloss. They are found dead in bed and drained of blood. Burgermeister Gustave Schoen [Lionel Belmore] thinks that vampires are at large, but Detective Karl Brettschneider [Melvyn Douglas] thinks otherwise. When several people report being attacked by a giant bat, suspicion falls on Herman Gleib [Dwight Frye], the village idiot, who is known for befriending bats. When another person dies, Dr Otto von Niemann [Lionel Atwill] is called in to examine her body. He concurs with the vampirism theory. When yet another person is found dead, the word goes out that Herman must be captured.
In the meantime, von Niemann's maid Georgiana [Stella Adams] finds the crucifix of one of the victims in the bedroom of von Niemann's assistant, Emil Borst [Robert Frazer], and remembers that there were muddy footprints in Emil's bedroom the morning after a victim was murdered. At the same time, however, Herman is tracked to a cave but, when the townspeople attempt to take him, he panics and falls off a ledge. He is killed, and the townspeople finish the job by driving a stake through his heart.
Not knowing about Herman's death, von Niemann has hypnotized Emil to attack Georgiana in the same manner as the other victims. Emil brings her body to von Niemann's lab where she is hooked up to a machine which sucks the blood from two wounds made in her neck by a metal wraparound collar. A bit later, Karl and his girlfriend Ruth Bertin [Fay Wray] (who is also von Niemann's lab assistant) find Georgiana dead in her bedroom. Karl remembers that Herman was seen in the garden earlier that day, and the circumstantial case against him seems to tighten.
However, when the Burgermeister reports Herman's death, Karl realizes that the timing is wrong and that Herman was innocent. He swears to search for clues, but Dr von Niemann advises him to first get a good night's sleep and gives him some sleeping pills to help. Later that night, Emil climbs over the roof to Karl's bedroom. Meanwhile, Ruth overhears von Niemann sending a mental suggestion to Emil, and she suspects the truth. Von Niemann confirms her suspicion, explaining that he has created a life form (looks like a sponge in a jar) that demands blood for its continued growth. Von Niemann takes Ruth to the laboratory where they find Karl waiting for him. "I didn't take your sleeping pills, Doctor," explains Karl. When von Niemann attempts to place the blame on Emil, Emil shoots him and then turns the gun on himself. [Original synopsis by bj_kuehl].
