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  • New York AG Seeks $36B From Kalshi Over ‘Illegal Gambling’

    New York AG Seeks $36B From Kalshi Over ‘Illegal Gambling’

    In brief

    • New York State wants Kalshi shut down and stripped of three times its gains, with damages put at a minimum of $36 billion.
    • The Commodity Futures Trading Commission sought a restraining order against New York’s enforcement a day earlier.
    • Kalshi has been restrained in Michigan and Washington and refused relief in New York, with Minnesota the lone exception.

    New York State is seeking at least $36 billion from Kalshi, asking a state court to shut its prediction market down and strip it of three times whatever it has earned. Attorney General Letitia James filed the petition on Friday alongside a motion for a temporary restraining order, treating the platform as an unlicensed gambling business across eight counts. Filings put the damages figure at a minimum, pending a full accounting.

    The counts run from the New York Constitution’s gambling ban to bookmaking, possession of gambling records, unlicensed mobile sports wagering and the federal Wire Act. The state also wants $100,000 for every offer of sports wagering, restitution and disgorgement.

    “Kalshi has chosen to ignore New York’s gaming laws, which exist to protect consumers, prevent problematic gambling, deliver funding for critical public services, and ensure that every company plays by the same rules,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul in a statement, adding that the state was taking action to stop its “illegal behaviour” and bring the firm into compliance.

    Investigators placed test bets, including four contracts on Connecticut to beat Michigan in April for $1.14 including fees. The petition says Kalshi lets 18-year-olds open accounts where New York sets the floor at 21, and offers markets on games involving New York college teams, which even licensed operators are barred from touching.

    A federal-state collision

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission had moved first. It sued New York in April to establish that federal law gives it sole authority over event contracts, and on Thursday asked the court in that case for a restraining order barring the state from bringing criminal or civil enforcement against Kalshi or any other CFTC-registered platform. New York filed the next day regardless.

    Kalshi has mostly been losing. It sued the New York State Gaming Commission in the Southern District last October, was denied a preliminary injunction on July 7 and refused protection pending appeal on July 27. A Michigan judge restrained it in June, and King County Superior Court granted Washington a preliminary injunction on July 20. Its two real wins are the Third Circuit, which upheld an injunction against New Jersey in April, and Minnesota, where a federal judge blocked the state’s ban on July 27.

    The Minnesota ruling turned on whether event contracts count as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act. Judge Katherine Menendez found many do, and singled out sports and pop-culture markets as the doubtful cases. New York’s petition is aimed almost entirely at sports.

    Washington versus the states

    New York is the latest front in a campaign the Trump administration has run for months. The CFTC has sued Illinois, Arizona and Connecticut over their attempts to police event contracts, added Wisconsin, and moved against Minnesota within hours of its ban becoming law. The president has backed the agency directly, calling state officials who oppose prediction markets “SCUM.”

    Kalshi’s own figures, quoted back at it in the petition, put its valuation at $22 billion and annualized trading volume at $178 billion. James sued Coinbase and Gemini in April on a similar theory.

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  • New York sues Kalshi, alleges it offers a gambling platform ‘plain and simple’

    New York sues Kalshi, alleges it offers a gambling platform ‘plain and simple’

    James’ office described Kalshi’s event contracts as bets and said the platform takes wagers on professional and college sports, elections and culture. The lawsuit alleges Kalshi allows users aged 18 to 20 to wager and lists markets involving New York college teams, both prohibited for licensed sportsbooks in the state.

    “New York’s gambling ⁠laws protect children from underage betting and help combat gambling addiction,” James said in the statement. “No matter what they call themselves, prediction markets like ​Kalshi are gambling platforms, plain and simple.”

    The World Cup helped boost Kalshi’s numbers, adding 3 million during the course of the tournament, according to CNBC. That’s more than double the 2 million the firm said it had at the start of May.

    According to the attorney general’s statement, the lawsuit follows an October cease-and-desist order from the New York State Gaming Commission.

    A federal judge denied Kalshi’s bid to block state regulators on July 7 and rejected an injunction pending appeal on July 27.

    CoinDesk approached Kalshi for comment outside of regular U.S. office hours, and had not heard back by publication time.

  • Critical Day in the Crypto Market: A $10.5 Billion Option Surge in Bitcoin and Ethereum! What Are Investors Expecting?

    Critical Day in the Crypto Market: A $10.5 Billion Option Surge in Bitcoin and Ethereum! What Are Investors Expecting?

    The leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is struggling to find direction around the $64,000 level amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding US monetary policy and geopolitical risks in the Middle East.

    As $BTC continues to move within a narrow range, attention in the cryptocurrency markets has turned to the high-volume option contracts expiring today.

    These options are particularly significant because they fall on the last Friday of both the week and the month.

    According to weekly data, approximately $9.7 billion worth of crypto options will expire on the Deribit derivatives exchange on July 31.

    According to Deribit data, $9.69 billion worth of Bitcoin and $830 million worth of Ethereum options will expire.

    Accordingly, the Put/Call ratio for $BTC options is 0.28, while the maximum loss point is $64,000 and the intrinsic value is $9.69 billion.

    Looking at Ethereum, $ETH options have a Put/Call ratio of 0.63, a maximum stop-loss point of $1,850, and a nominal value of $830 million.

    What Do Options Mean for Bitcoin and Ethereum?

    The put/call ratio is 0.28 for Bitcoin and 0.63 for Ethereum, indicating that investors are generally betting on higher returns and expecting an upward trend.

    For $BTC, this indicates that the majority of investors are positioned for prices to rise, or that bullish expectations are more dominant. A low ratio like 0.28 points to an optimistic (bullish) market outlook.

    In contrast, while call options still dominate for $ETH, this indicates that investors are more cautious compared to Bitcoin. However, according to experts, the put/call ratio and the expiration of options are not considered the sole determining factors of price direction. Macroeconomic developments and investor sentiment also continue to be decisive in pricing.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • British YouTuber and Rapper Yung Filly Found Not Guilty of Raping Woman in Australia

    British YouTuber and Rapper Yung Filly Found Not Guilty of Raping Woman in Australia

    British YouTube star and rapper Yung Filly has been found not guilty of rape in an Australian court.

    The verdict was reached by a Perth jury after an 11-day trial. The 30-year-old, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, was found not guilty on three counts of sexual penetration without consent, but he was found guilty on two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm.

    The jury could not come to a decision on three other counts of rape, according to the BBC. Barrientos will remain on bail until August, when the court will decide his sentencing date. Prosecutors will also decide on the next steps for the three hung jury verdicts, including whether to press ahead on the rape charges.

    The internet personality and rapper had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman, then 20 years old, after performing at a Perth nightclub in 2024. He had pleaded not guilty to all six counts of sexual penetration without consent, three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, and one count of strangulation.

    Barrientos told the court that he “fancied” the woman when they met at his concert. He was in the VIP area while she leaned over the barrier. “I recall putting my hand on her waist,” he told the court, adding that he had not put his hands down her pants or touched her breast.

    The “vibes were good” when they arrived at his hotel later in the evening, he added, explaining that his security guard took her phone away as a “standard practice” to protect their privacy.

    The woman claimed they had consensual sex before the encounter turned violent and she told him to stop. The West Australian reported that Barrientos allegedly bit her neck, cheek and breast, causing bruising and swelling.

    Barrientos is known for his work with the Beta Squad, a group of young YouTubers who make comedic videos. Individually, each of them has gained their own following. Barrientos has accrued over 1.7 million subscribers on the site and 2.4 million on Instagram. He has also presented multiple BBC Three programs.

  • ITV Bullish in First Results Since Confirming Sky Deal, Orders Share Buyback of $135M

    ITV Bullish in First Results Since Confirming Sky Deal, Orders Share Buyback of $135M

    ITV has reported revenue growth of 2 percent in the first half of the year and revealed a £100 million ($135m) sharehold buyback in what CEO Carolyn McCall has described as a show of “commitment to attractive shareholder returns” in the wake of Sky‘s £1.6 billion ($2.13b) acquisition of the broadcaster’s network and streaming businesses.

    In the first results since the industry-rattling mega-deal was announced, ITV said the buyback and interim dividend of 1.7p totaling around £60 million ($80m) represents an “early return of part of the previously announced £950 million net cash return expected on completion of the sale.” McCall said on a call with reporters early Friday: “The announcement of the sale […] was a defining moment to ITV.”

    “And crucially,” she added, “it will also unlock the value of ITV Studios.” (The company’s production arm is not part of the deal, though the report shows Sky will commit to buying £2.1 billion in ITV Studios content between 2028 and 2032.) After news of the deal, the focus for ITV will likely be on its content and big-hitters at ITV Studios (Love Island, Rivals at Disney+), making it a potential takeover target.

    McCall mentioned the Sky-ITV transaction is subject to regulatory approval, with the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority having launched its review. Given this is a media merger, ITV is expecting Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to issue a Public Interest Intervention notice “in due course,” but they still estimate the merger will complete around a year from now. They have not interacted with Nandy since announcing the deal, McCall also said.

    A combined Comcast-owned Sky and ITV would create a formidable British media group. Under the proposed structure, Sky would acquire ITV’s networks and streaming businesses (Media & Entertainment) — including the ITV channel portfolio and ITVX — while ITV Studios, the production outfit behind franchises such as Love Island, Britain’s Got Talent and Netflix hit Fool Me Once, is to be spun off as a standalone listed company, reconfirmed by McCall on Friday.

    The merged operation will sit alongside Comcast’s NBCUniversal assets, bringing together ITV’s mass-reach advertising business, public-service broadcasting obligations and sports rights with Sky’s subscription TV, streaming, broadband and mobile operations.

    Media & Entertainment (M&E) delivered a run-of-the-mill first-half performance, with total revenue up 2 percent. Total advertising revenue increased by 3 percent, with Q2 up 8 percent year-on-year. This was driven by the men’s World Cup, which attracted strong advertising and sponsorship demand from both U.K. and global brands across advertising categories, and “supercharged engagement on [streaming platform] ITVX,” according to the report, which delivered record H1 viewing, up 27 percent, with digital advertising revenue up 13 percent year-on-year.

    Notably, ITV Studios’ revenue in the U.K. was up 17 percent this half-year, but down in the U.S. by 17 percent and internationally by 24 percent, suggesting the company could be hitting a wall when it comes to that much-needed U.S. expansion. 

    Looking ahead, the company has “good visibility” over the full-year outlook and revenue, margin and profit will be weighted to H2 and particularly Q4, when a “really strong delivery schedule” comes into play. This includes The Gentlemen, The Woods and SuburraMaxima for Netflix, Line of Duty season seven and Vigil season three for the BBC.

  • World Cup Boycott Backed by All 55 UEFA Countries as Asian, North and Central American, Caribbean Members Oppose FIFA Stake Sale

    World Cup Boycott Backed by All 55 UEFA Countries as Asian, North and Central American, Caribbean Members Oppose FIFA Stake Sale

    The Asian Football Confederation has joined the North, Central America and Caribbean football association and UEFA in opposition to FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s proposal to sell stakes in its competitions to private investors. On Thursday, all 55 UEFA member associations pledged to boycott FIFA soccer competitions if president Gianni Infantino’s proposal is approved.

    “The FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of global football and derives its strength from the participation of all Confederations and the world’s leading football nations,” the AFC said in a statement on Friday, according to BBC Sport. “Any proposal that risks undermining the unity and universal character of the competition must be reconsidered.”

    Both the AFC and Concacaf stopped short of a boycott but made clear their disapproval of Infantino’s plan. The UEFA decision to boycott came out of an emergency meeting Thursday, days after FIFA announced the plans Tuesday. The first test of the stance arrives in October, when the Women’s World Cup play-offs are scheduled.

    UEFA said a statement after the meeting: “UEFA and its 55 member associations stand as one. We unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors.

    The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football’s greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent. No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.”

    The new company, FIFA Forward Enterprise, has been valued at about $20 billion. FIFA would seek to sell a roughly 20% stake in the entity. Among the potential investors is Thrive Eternal, led by Joshua Kushner, brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared, according to the Financial Times.

    Among the opponents of the plan are the sport’s governing bodies in North America and Europe.

    Concacaf, which runs soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, said it was “deeply concerned by the lack of due process” when the plan was conceived. The federation said it was disappointed that the plan has been revealed “before any discussion with the relevant governance bodies and stakeholders has taken place.”

    UEFA, which runs the sport in Europe, said FIFA’s plan “crosses a line that [soccer’s] governing institutions should never cross.” It added, “The soul and governance of [soccer] are not assets to trade – especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of [soccer]. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”

    UEFA is fast-tracking efforts to hold an emergency meeting of its member associations this week, sources told ESPN, to discuss plans, including a potential World Cup boycott.

    The FIFA plan is subject to ratification by its 211 national member associations. Concacaf represents 41 members, while UEFA has 55.

    Under the plan, funds raised from the sale of a stake in FIFA Forward Enterprise would be used in part to increase annual payments to members from $2 million a year to $5 million. Each would also receive a one-off payment of $20 million.

    FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement, “Every FIFA member association should have an opportunity to seek a fair share of the available funding to shape its own future, deciding for itself rather than relying on others. This is about the democratization of [soccer] worldwide.”

    Among other opponents of the plan are U.K. prime minister Andy Burnham, who said, “The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone’s to sell. Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out.”

    Much of the opposition to FIFA’s plan is focusing on the role of Infantino, and his relationship with President Trump.

    Football Supporters Europe, which represents fans, said, “The World Cup is not for sale. Enough of this charade. [FIFA] member associations — and everyone who cares about the future of the game — must stand up to the man who wants to sell world [soccer].”

  • HBO Max Picks Up ‘Friday the 13th’ Prequel Series ‘Crystal Lake’ Across Europe

    HBO Max Picks Up ‘Friday the 13th’ Prequel Series ‘Crystal Lake’ Across Europe

    Warner Bros. Discovery has acquired A24’s Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake for HBO Max across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, excluding the U.K. and Ireland.

    The series is set to debut on HBO Max across the region later this year. Peacock has Crystal Lake for the U.S. and will be premiering the show stateside in October.

    Peacock originally ordered the series back 2022, with Bryan Fuller initially attached as writer and showrunner. But creative differences led Fuller to leave the project in May 2024, saying that A24 “decided to go a different way with the material.”

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    Brad Caleb Kane (Max’s It: Welcome to Derry) is now credited as creator, writer and showrunner on the series.

    Crystal Lake stars Emmy Award nominee Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me, Mad Man) as Pamela Voorhees, the mother of the notorious Friday the 13th killer Jason. The series picks up a year after Jason’s drowning death in the town lake. But the arrival of two strangers investigating her past sets off a series of events that prompts the residents of Crystal Lake to question who Pam Voorhees really is.

    William Catlett co-stars as local police chief Levon Brooks. Devin Kessler, Cameron Scoggins and Gwendolyn Sundstrom co-star. Callum Vinson plays a young Jason Voorhees.

    Kane is executive producing Crystal Lake together with A24 and an executive producing team that includes Marc Toberoff, Victor Miller, Robert M. Barsamian, Robert P. Barsamian, Stuart Manashil, Tyson Bidner, Michael Lennox and Roy Lee.

  • $38M in Bitcoin Drained by Coldcard Key Flaw Its Maker Thinks AI Found

    $38M in Bitcoin Drained by Coldcard Key Flaw Its Maker Thinks AI Found

    In brief

    • Coinkite says a build error meant seeds on its Coldcard hardware wallets were drawn from a software fallback instead of the hardware generator.
    • It believes an attacker used AI on its open-source code, and says its own AI review weeks earlier found nothing.
    • Every current model is affected to some degree, and updating the firmware does not repair a seed already created.

    Coinkite believes an attacker used AI to find a flaw that has cost owners of its Coldcard hardware wallets tens of millions of dollars in Bitcoin, and says its own AI review of the same code weeks earlier turned up nothing. 

    The hardware wallet manufacturer published an advisory for its Mk3 and a technical breakdown on Thursday, after learning that seeds generated by its devices were far more guessable than intended.

    The losses to the flaw, which was exploited early Friday, are estimated at 594 BTC, around $38 million. Funds were drained from roughly 500 wallets inside 25 minutes, with 562 BTC since consolidated into a single address.

    Coinkite said it has to assume “someone used AI to review previous versions of our firmware” in order to uncover the flaw. The firm said it had run one of the best available models over its own code a few weeks earlier, and the model “did not find this bug or anything serious.” Attackers and defenders have the same tools, it wrote, but this time “it did not help us, and only helped the bad guys.”

    What went wrong

    Coldcard’s firmware calls a function to fetch randomness, and two implementations of it sat in the codebase with identical signatures: the hardware generator Coinkite wrote, and a software fallback inherited from MicroPython. A preprocessor guard checked only whether a setting was defined, without testing its value, so the build completed against the fallback without complaint. Seed generation had been drawing on it since a March 2021 migration.

    Every current model is affected to some degree. Coinkite estimates the effective search space for an Mk3 seed at about 40 bits, against the 128 a seed is meant to have. Extra entropy from the secure elements on the Mk4, Q and Mk5 lifts theirs to roughly 72 bits, which the company says materially improves the position without reaching the target. Tapsigner, Opendime and Satscard use different code and are unaffected.

    What owners must do

    Coinkite has shipped an emergency hotfix, version 5.6.0 for the Mk4 and Mk5 and 1.5.0Q for the Q. Updating does not repair a seed already created on affected firmware. Owners need a new seed generated on patched hardware, and the company recommends a strong BIP-39 passphrase, at least 99 dice rolls, or both. Mk3 owners, whose model is out of support, are pointed to a separate migration path.

    A seed created on an affected Coldcard stays weak after being restored to another brand’s device, a point rival hardware wallet manufacturer Trezor made while telling its own users their funds are safe. Block, which published an independent analysis on Friday, said none of its products are affected, and its hardware lead Max Guise urged anyone exposed to move funds as soon as they safely can.

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  • XRP Price Nears Key Breakout Zone as Short Liquidation Cluster Builds Above $1.10

    XRP Price Nears Key Breakout Zone as Short Liquidation Cluster Builds Above $1.10

    The $XRP price traded around $1.07 on Thursday, continuing to consolidate below a key descending trendline that has capped price action for months. The token remains stuck between a crucial support zone and overhead resistance, with the narrowing range signaling that a decisive move could be on the horizon.

    While the broader trend has remained weak, traders are closely watching the $1.10 resistance level, as a breakout above it could shift market sentiment and open the door to further upside. Conversely, losing nearby support could expose $XRP to another leg lower.

    $XRP Technical Analysis: Weekly Chart Nears a Critical Turning Point

    $XRP continued to trade within a descending triangle on the weekly timeframe, with the price hovering around $1.07. The token has consistently formed lower highs since its rejection from the yearly peak, while buyers have defended the $1.04-$1.05 support zone, keeping the broader consolidation intact.

    The immediate resistance lies between $1.10 and $1.12, where the descending trendline intersects with a previous support-turned-resistance zone. A weekly close above this range could invalidate the recent sequence of lower highs and pave the way for a move toward $1.20, while a break below $1.04 could expose $XRP to the next support near $0.93.

    The RSI is hovering near 33, indicating that bearish momentum remains dominant, although selling pressure has eased compared with earlier declines. Meanwhile, the CMF remains below the zero line, suggesting capital outflows still outweigh inflows despite signs of stabilization. Together, these indicators point to weakening bearish momentum, but they have yet to confirm a sustained bullish reversal.

    $XRP Derivatives Data Signals Cautious Optimism

    Beyond the price chart, $XRP’s derivatives data points to a market waiting for a catalyst. CoinGlass’ liquidation heatmap shows a significant cluster of short liquidations stacked above the $1.10-$1.12 resistance zone. If buyers manage to push the token above this level, forced short liquidations could amplify buying pressure and accelerate $XRP’s move toward the next resistance levels.

    On the downside, long liquidation pockets are concentrated around $1.04 and below. A breakdown beneath this support could trigger another round of long liquidations, potentially extending $XRP’s decline toward the $0.93 support zone.

    Meanwhile, Open Interest (OI) has stabilized after declining sharply from its earlier highs, suggesting leveraged positions have cooled. While the recent uptick in OI indicates traders are gradually returning to the market, it remains well below previous peak levels. A sustained increase in both $XRP’s price and Open Interest would indicate fresh capital entering the market, strengthening the case for a bullish breakout. Conversely, a price rally without a meaningful rise in OI could suggest the move is driven primarily by short covering rather than new buying interest.

    Together, the liquidation heatmap and Open Interest data suggest traders are positioning for higher volatility, with the $1.10-$1.12 resistance zone likely to determine $XRP’s next directional move.

    $XRP Price Outlook: Can Price Rise Above $1.2?

    $XRP price remains at a critical technical juncture, with price continuing to consolidate below a key descending trendline while holding above the $1.04 support zone. Although momentum indicators suggest selling pressure is easing, bulls still need to reclaim $1.10-$1.12 to confirm a shift in market structure.

    A decisive breakout above this resistance, supported by rising volume and Open Interest, could trigger a short squeeze and open the door for a move toward $1.20 in the near term. If buying momentum strengthens further, $XRP could extend its rally toward the $1.45 resistance level.

    On the downside, failure to hold the $1.04 support could invalidate the bullish setup and expose $XRP to the next support at $0.93. A deeper sell-off could see the token revisit the $0.75 zone if bearish momentum accelerates.

    For now, the $1.10-$1.12 resistance and $1.04 support remain the key levels to watch, as a breakout from this range is likely to determine $XRP’s next major move.

  • ‘Los Vampires’ Review: Dueling Draculas Spar in an Alluring if Unevenly Executed Flashback to Early-Talkie Hollywood

    The talkies’ arrival was a major hardship in many respects for the movie industry, as theater owners had to install expensive new equipment, and studios could no longer easily export fresh product to lucrative foreign markets. One solution weighed to the latter dilemma was making alternative versions of features in different languages. Universal took that idea farther than most in late 1930 by shooting “Dracula” twice on the same sets, with entirely different casts and directors. One was, of course, the legendary Tod Browning film with Bela Lugosi. The other, directed by George Melford (who’d guided Rudolph Valentino in his most famous role as “The Sheik”), had Spanish emigre Carlos Villarias as the caped bloodsucker. It was forgotten for decades until a 1990s restoration and revival led some latter-day viewers to pronounce it the better of the two.

    That curious footnote to cinematic history has now inspired “Los Vampires,” the first directorial feature in decades from scenarist Craig Mitchell. Like the 2000 Willem Dafoe vehicle “Shadow of the Vampire,” this is a fiction spun from the reality of a fabled production shoot. Henry Ian Cusick and Thomas Kretschmann play fictionalized stand-ins for Villarias and Lugosi, as immigrant actors touchy about “sharing” a starring role that could be a huge break for both.

    In the somewhat convoluted progress of Mitchell’s script, their ego war is eventually eclipsed by fears there’s a genuine murderer on the loose — perhaps even an actual vampire. Not always very precisely balanced between horror, homage and mystery, this intriguing if unevenly realized construct will nonetheless lure genre fans and nostalgists alike with its imagined back chapter of golden-age Hollywood. 

    It starts with nervous Luis de Ossario (Cusik) arriving on the Universal soundstage, where he’s dismayed by a front-office representative’s command that he watch the dailies of English-language scenes shot during the day, then precisely mimic them in Spanish each night. Pride insists he ignore that directive — after all, he too has been a star, called the “Spanish Sheik” by fan mags. But it’s additionally irritating when he’s approached by Romanian thespian Kurt Orlov (Kretschmann), who’s essayed the Count to great success onstage, and likewise advised to imitate his every gesture and intonation. Refusing to do so, Luis stirs a rivalry and potentially endangers his own employment. 

    Still, the dual production goes on as planned. Anxiety heightened by the exhausting nocturnal schedule, Ossario is further rattled by glimpsing sexually explicit footage presumably shot as blackmail fodder. It involves Vianca Sugura (Daniela Couso), the beauteous albeit wholly inexperienced young woman hired as ingenue. Other unsettling revelations include word that the actress originally hired for that part was killed — a fate that later befalls others, including convent-raised Vianca’s protectress Sister Aubrey (Carol Abney). 

    There are additional, underdeveloped subplots. The intended enigmatic blurring between illusion, reality, the supernatural and sordid here too often just feels unfocused, with occasional detours into humor contributing to a wobbly tone. The best sequences seize upon the atmospheric potential of recreated studio-Gothic sets, though there’s surprisingly scant use of B&W film-within-the-film bits. Itself shot entirely on a soundstage, “Los Vampires” occasionally betrays budgetary limits in unconvincing period flavor, despite good work from production designer Ricardo Jattan and costumer Petra Larsen. 

    The lead actors do well enough on this slippery slope. Cusick and Kretschmann offer complementary chords of variable petulance and insecurity, as newcomer Cuoso ably negotiates her character’s shifting ambiguities. The supporting cast turns are competent if sometimes broad. If Mitchell’s resolution to his script’s dangling questions feels somewhat rote, a graceful epilogue leaps several decades forward to end matters on an interesting, unexpected note. 

    While the Lugosi “Dracula” was a huge hit, the Spanish version’s disappointing box office helped curtail future such endeavors in Hollywood, particularly since fast-evolving dubbing technology soon provided a cheaper alternative. Far from a mere copy of its English-language equivalent, however, Melford’s movie is considerably longer, with marked differences of dialogue, narrative sequence and costuming. Those who found Browning’s take too stagey have judged its doppelgänger more fluidly cinematic. Still, only one person became a celluloid legend from Universal’s gambit — and that person wasn’t Carlos Villarias, who outlived Lugosi by two decades yet never achieved anything like the same renown.