Reviews of vampire movies.
Thursday, January 24th 2008
Grade: C
Synopsis: After villagers start turning up dead and drained of blood, local townspeople suspect a vampire.
The Vampire Bat is a highly atmospheric thriller that works almost in spite of itself.
For the first three-quarters, The Vampire Bat is a solid a mystery-thriller. The very American Melvyn Douglas plays a German policeman who, along with a doctor played by Lionel Atwill, investigates a series of mysterious deaths in the local village. All signs point to a vampire and the local loon played by Dwight Frye (in a performance very reminiscent of his turn in Dracula (1931)) is the chief suspect. MORE »
Posted at 12:44 PM in Movie Reviews and Vampire Movies.
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Wednesday, January 23rd 2008
Grade: C
Synopsis: After running out of petrol, a young couple on their honeymoon falls prey to a vampire cult.
The Kiss of the Vampire starts out with a funeral sequence dripping vintage Hammer atmosphere. As Clifford Evan’s character, Professor Zimmer, approaches the grave, the townspeople are visibly afraid and whisper amongst themselves that he’s probably drunk. Zimmer casts a haunted gaze down at the coffin and reaches, wordlessly, for the gravedigger’s spade, which he then hurls down into the coffin. A scream rings out as the camera cuts to the coffin spurting blood where the spade pierced the wood and the vampire corpse within. Cut to opening titles. MORE »
Posted at 2:07 PM in Movie Reviews, Hammer Film and Vampire Movies.
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Wednesday, January 2nd 2008
Grade: D
Synopsis: A vampire countess (Gloria Holden) believes a physician (Otto Kruger) may be able to cure her blood lust.
Dracula’s Daughter is an ill-conceived sequel to Dracula (1931) that’s chock full of plot holes.
Supposedly picking up right where Dracula left off Van Helsing (still played by Edward Sloan, although his character is now credited as Von Helsing) finds himself under arrest for Dracula’s murder. The first hole pops up right here, as neither John Harker nor Jack Seward are mentioned, let alone present, as Harker was at the end of the original film.
The next large plot hole pops up shortly after. The original Dracula was set in turn-of-the-century England, yet this film features cars, radios and telephones, all indicative of a more modern setting. Apparently, it took Van Helsing 30 years to walk out of Carfax Abbey. MORE »
Posted at 3:35 PM in Movie Reviews, Universal Monster and Vampire Movies.
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Friday, December 28th 2007
Grade: C-
Synopsis: A stranger’s arrival makes waves amongst the vampires that lurk in a small New Jersey coastal town.
Cold Hearts is a flawed, but nonetheless impressive, debut from writer/director Robert A. Masciantonio.
The film’s strength is in its script. While the story, which mixes twenty-something angst with supernatural elements, is nothing remarkable, Masciantonio has a real ear for dialog and in that aspect the film shines.
As a director, Masciantonio may not be a visual stylist, but he does find creative ways to work around his limited budget.
Indeed, if anything undoes Cold Hearts, it’s the cast, which is a mixed bag. MORE »
Posted at 3:04 PM in Movie Reviews and Vampire Movies.
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Friday, November 23rd 2007
Grade: A
Synopsis: The vampire Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) travels to England and preys on a doctor’s daughter.
Dracula is the vampire movie. Sure, F.W. Marnau’s Nosferatu may have been first, but show 10 people a picture of Lugosi as Dracula next to a picture of Schreck as Orlok and I’ll wager more people recognize Lugosi any day. Hell, half the people probably won’t have seen either film, but they’ll still know Lugosi’s Dracula.
Lugosi’s become so synonymous with the role that his interpretation has become more definitive than author Bram Stoker’s, and for good reason. He comes across as simultaneously charming and menacing, and his scenes opposite Edward Van Sloan’s Van Helsing are dynamite. MORE »
Posted at 9:30 PM in Movie Reviews, Bela Lugosi, Universal Monster and Vampire Movies.
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