Vampire in Venice

Vampire in Venice (Original title: Nosferatu a Venezia), also known as Nosferatu in Venice and Prince of the Night, is a 1988 Italian horror film directed by Augusto Caminito and starring Klaus Kinski, Christopher Plummer, Donald Pleasence and Barbara De Rossi.

Kinski had previously played a vampire in Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre. Donald Pleasence had previously played Dr. John Seward in Dracula, and Christopher Plummer later went on to play another vampire hunter, Abraham Van Helsing, in the film Dracula 2000. The film proved unsuccessful at the Italian box-office and received limited release abroad.

Plot
Professor Paris Catalano goes to Venice to investigate the last known appearance of Nosferatu during the Carnival of 1786. Catalano seems to think that the vampire is searching for a means to put an end to his torment and actually be dead. He stays with a family who, legend says, has the vampire trapped in a tomb in the basement. After a séance, "the vampire" appears and then it becomes a question of how do you put the evil back into the box.

Cast

 * Klaus Kinski as Nosferatu
 * Christopher Plummer as Professor Paris Catalano
 * Donald Pleasence as Don Alvise
 * Barbara De Rossi as Helietta Canins
 * Yorgo Voyagis as Dr. Barneval
 * Anne Knecht as Maria Canins
 * Elvire Audray as Uta Barneval
 * Clara Colosimo as Medium
 * Maria Cumani Quasimodo as Princess

Production
Director-producer Caminito had intended to produce a legitimate sequel to Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre, with Kinski reprising his role. However, the actor refused to shave his head and don his make-up again. In this film, Kinski sports long blond hair. The vampire character here is simply called "Nosferatu" (and not Dracula). Nosferatu is an almighty and indestructible lord of the undead who wishes his immortal life to end, but can only die if a virgin woman grants him her love. Christopher Plummer plays Paris Catalano, an ineffective vampire hunter.

The film had a troubled history, with several directors being fired and leaving the project, while Kinski's behavior on set caused many delays in shooting. Producer Caminito decided to direct the film himself when director Mario Caiano resigned after being insulted on the set by Kinski. Kinski claimed in his autobiography, All I Need Is Love, that he ended up directing himself in certain scenes.