CSI:Miami 2011 October

Every year one of the top television dramas do a vampire episode for Hallowe'en, this year CSI:Miami did theirs.

The plot runs around a murder in the house of a famous vampire writer, which at first looks like it was committed by a crazied fan.  As the course of the show progresses, we learn that it was done by the author's staff who are blackmailing her.

One of the better takes on vampire drama I've seen in a few year, and bonus points for having both Orlando Jones{From Dusk till Dawn 3 Hangman's Daughter, Vampire Assistant} and Johnathon Schaech{Forsaken, Masters of Horror} in it.

It's easy to understand why such a popular show would tackle such a popular topic as vampire authors given that they are the new breed of creature.  Some would even say the business of writing about vampires is a vampire in itself.  It's even created a subgenre of fans that would make the great Renfield run screaming for the hills... or laughing as he was known to do.

Happy Hallowe'en.

Witchcraft 13 Blood of the Choosen-2008

Plot: A lawyer/detective is following a series of ritualistic murders. The victims all have two things in common,  they're all men who's had their hearts removed.  He soon learns that it's the work of a powerful coven of witches who's behind the killings, as well as the fact all the men are warlocks.  Can he solve the case before it's too late?


Yes, this part of the famed Witchcraft series that started in the late 80's early 90's.  I seem to remember part 3 {The Kiss of Death}  having a bit of a vampire/incubus feel to it. Not too mention being just plan old bad; this however was nearly painful to sit through.  I do hope this is the last of the series.
It is out as part of an 8pack horror fest.

For an indie film, this had plot holes ontop of plot holes.  It keeps referring back to past films in the series, and if you are like me, you might have caught one or two of the really early episodes back twenty years or so ago, but other then that, most likely have not heard of the others in the series.
Being that it is part 13 in the series, it should have either given some back history for anyone not familiar with it's myths or it should have removed itself from the thinning thread of the mythology all other to be a stand alone.

For such a low-budget/no-budget indie film, the effects which were minimal were used to their extreme advantage, but the money should have gone into improving the sound of the film.

Fist of the Vampire -2007

Plot: A brutal murder happens in 1977, by a group of vampires as they attack a family.  30 years later, a cop goes undercover to bust up an underground fight ring, only the managers are the same vampires from 1977.  Can he defeat them or will he end up dead?


Let me say right off,  it was a bonus for me as one of the main characters is played by wrestler the Blue Meanie.

This was part of a 4pack {which I will get to the others at a later date} and when I saw the first few minutes of the film, wasn't too sure I was getting my money's worth {I paid $8 Canadian for the dvd pack}  as it is a low budget-indie film, but I was quickly surprised.

The vampire scenes are bloodsoaked, but the rest of the fights are kept to a minimum, which gets it's point across without being over cocky.  And the writing is witty enough to keep you laughing through some of the lesser scenes.
It does take about a half hour before it starts to gel, but it's a film to add to your watch list simply because it is a different take on the subject of vampires.

It's shot as a cross between the 'ploitation films of the 70's and a music video, giving itself just the right amount of grittiness for a vampire homegrown. 

The Element Encyclopedia of Vampires by Cheung

For a book that is roughly 3 pounds and claims to be the A-Z book on the topic of vampires, it really doesn't have anything new going for it at all.

I've been collecting these types of encyclopedias for the few decades, and honestly, have seen better.


This one is edited by Theresa Cheung, and is part of the Element Encyclopedia  series (others in the series include witchcraft, secret societies, mystical creatures etc)  and has limited drawings and most entries have only a short paragraph, compared to other books on the topic which give things their own page.

The only real plus this has for it are the quotes that start each new chapter.

The book is fine if you are thumbing through it at the library, but don't waste your time buying it.

Fright Night 2011

Plot: Charlie Brewster discovers that his next door neighbour is a vampire after people in the suburbian area where he lives keep disappearing.  After breaking into Gerry's house, he finds many of the missing people.  Now, with only the help of his girlfriend and a stage magician, he needs to destroy the vampire before sunrise.


This is without a doubt the only time I've seen a remake and thought it was worthy of having been done.
From the subtle changes in the characters, to the costumes, to the modern locations, this version of Fright Night not only held up it's promise to be a great horror film, it held up it's promise to be one of the best films in the last few years.

The vampire genre has been bleed dry as of late by the meek and watered down offering that we've been getting to the extreme other end of the spectrum with the overly sexual ones.   This finally has a balance to fill any fang-fan up to the brim.

Chris Sarandon has a few moments cameo midway through the film.  Which I thought was a brilliant nod to the original {he played the vampire Gerry in the 1985 version }  As well as the inclusion of the iconic dress worn by the character Amy after she's been bitten, and the club scene.
Keeping the monster teeth {which looks very much at times like the teeth of a parasitic leech} was also a great touch as it let you know you were watching a horror film.

The biggest changes beside the location of the story, were Charlie's mother having a larger part in this one, and making Peter Vincent {fearless vampire killer} into a stage magician instead of a horror host. And mixing together both of Gerry and his renfield {played by Johnathan Stark in the original} was an interesting touch.

I await what the film's crew/producers have in store for us next, as a remake of Fright Night 2, I hope is in the works.

What's in a name

One of the key quotes for the remake of Fright Night is the line "That's a terrible vampire name Gerry"
which is being used in the commercials constantly.   It got me thinking about some of the classic vampire character names.  Names you won't be able to think of without thinking about the movies they are connected to.

4- Vlad
3- Radu (the Subspecies series)
2- Armand (Anne Rices Vampire Chronicles)
1- Lestat

Okay, so Lestat is the most obvious and a bit of a cheat as Anne Rice created the name when she originally wrote Interview with the Vampire back in 1976.

I think the vamp name game quote though has to go to 1992's original film version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer  with the line "Pike isn't a name it's a fish". 

Just classic.

Movies this week-Aug 14-19 2011

There are two vampire movies this week being released that I am currently aware of. 

 
Priest gets it's DVD/Blu-Ray release  on Aug 16th  and the remake of Fright Night is released in cinemas on Aug 19th


These are release dates for Canada and the US