Alvin Lee makes a bloody mess of his life, catching his wife in bed with a lover and executing them both. Bleeding out and staring into the abyss, he begs for one final audience with his 13-year-old daughter, Lila Lee.

His daughter, 13-year-old Lila Lee (Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith, Phantom of the Paradise, The Incredible Melting Man, Laserblast and short time member of The Runaways and drummer for Joan Jett) is the star of the church, where her voice and beauty draw attention — thanks to the peculiar beauty people from her hometown have, which is known as the “Astaroth Look” (inspired by the “Innsmouth look” from H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow over Innsmouth).

While the Reverend (director Richard Blackburn, who co-wrote and appeared in Eating Raoul, as well as appearing as the voice of Dr. Zaius in the Return to the Planet of the Apes cartoon and Stunt Rock) tries to shield her from the gossip of her father’s gangster past, the pull of the letter draws her toward the town of Astaroth. It’s a journey paved with red flags: a perverted ticket taker, a bus trip that turns into a midnight vampire ambush and the eerie realization that her religious guardians might have their own carnal designs on her.

Interestingly, that church is on a soundstage that was once Mayberry for TV’s Andy Griffith Show.

That said — the letter leads her to find the town of Astaroth, despite dealing with a young couple who discuss how the Reverend obviously wants to have sex with her, a ticket taker offering her strange candy and a broken-down bus ride that ends with a vampire attack.

Rescued by Lemora, the Queen of the Vampires, Lila is taken to an ancient stone estate. Here, the film sheds its skin; it’s not just about blood-drinking, but about the predatory nature of influence. Lemora feeds her wine that tastes suspiciously like copper, demands she sing for the children of the house, and subjects her to an unsettling, intimate grooming process. 

Lila goes to her room, and her father, now a vampire, attacks her. Lemora explains that over the last year, many people have become ugly and beast-like; they need to be killed. Lemora sucks the vampire blood out of the wound Lila has, then reads her a bedtime story and brushes her hair.

Tomorrow, there will be a blood ceremony that will make Lila and Lemora sisters, allowing them to share power. “Will it be in a church? Baptist?” asks Lila. “No, more ancient,” answers Lemora.

As Lila explores the house, she finds the diary of a girl who was in her shoes in the past. Turns out that Lemora is the queen of the vampires, feeding on her adopted children. So Lila escapes through the town, just as the Reverend comes to save her. As Lila’s father has become one of the monsters, she must kill him. Lila mourns, prompting Lemora to offer her a vampire’s kiss. When the Reverend finally arrives, Lila reaches out to him, wanting to embrace and kiss him, something that he had resisted in the past. Now, she overcomes him, and as they embrace, she bites into his neck as Lemora watches. We cut to Lila singing in church as the movie ends.

I’d compare this film — subtitled “A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural” — with Valerie and Her Week of Wonders. It’s richly dark, both in lighting and subject matter. It feels more like a dream or a children’s fable than a movie and is worth multiple viewings. It’s such a shame that this movie has been lost and forgotten for so long.

You can watch this either in-person or virtually at the Chattanooga Film Festival. For more info, visit the official site.