| Salems Lot |
![Salems Lot]()
In this adaptation of Stephen King's novel, a vampire
and his human familiar come to the small town of Salem's Lot to
begin a reign of terror. David Soul plays a relatively believable
vampire hunter, although his acting at times seems a little forced.
The premise and story are fairly good, even with all the adaptations
and cuts you find in a novel turned horror movie. My largest
disappointment with this film was in the portrayal of Barlow, the
"king" vampire. Whether it was a decision of the director or the man
who penned the screenplay, the portrayal of Barlow as little more
than a grunting animal was a travesty. For those who have read the
novel, I'm sure most would agree that what made the Barlow character
so compelling and such a worthwhile adversary was his exceptional
intelligence. In this film, Barlow resembles nothing so much as the
vampire of mythic lore, grunting, discolored and disfigured, with
only limited mental faculties. Still, there is enough here for most
vampire fans, and fans of the book will enjoy seeing it brought to
visual fruition, if a somewhat limited one.
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| Return to Salems Lot
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![Return to Salems Lot]()
Loosely based on Stephen King's novel (the only things
in common are the town name and the vampires).
Michael
Moriarty plays Joe Weber, a professional anthropologist who returns
to the town with his adolescent "troublemaking" son, seeking a house
willed to him by his late aunt. What he finds is that his aunt is
not at all of 'late', as with the rest of the town she is one of the
undead.
The Judge, Axel Page
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| From Dusk Till Dawn |
![From Dusk Till Dawn]()
I couldn't believe how bad this film really was. It
was as if Quentin Tarentino lacked an ending to a film and asked
John Carpenter to finish it for him. The only thing even remotely
good about this film was Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin's hilarious (but
patently offensive) speech in front of the vampire bar, and the
gorgeous Aztec pyramid matte painting at the end.
A ward of
warning however, there are some offensive scenes in here and the
movie is alas one of the shoot em up - knock em down films.
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| Kindred-The Embraced
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![Kindred-The Embraced]()
The uneasy peace between five tenuously connected
clans of vampires in San Francisco is constantly under siege,
maintained at cost of "final death" by Julian Luna, a vampire prince
who must mete out justice for infractions committed by the Kindred.
A chilling, atmospheric, eight-episode series (in three volumes)
based on Mark Rein-Hagen's cult novel, "Vampire: The Masquerade."
For vampire lovers, this is a good item for the collection.
Although many familiar with White Wolf's Kindred were horrified by
the inaccuracies in this series, when viewed separately it stands on
its own as an alternative view into the world of the vampire.
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| Fright Night |
![Fright Night]()
Holy Cow! What do you do if you're a teenage horror
film fan and you realize your new next door neighbor is a vampire?
Well if you're Charlie Brewster (William Ragsdale) and you're in
this knockout horror movformances from Amanda Bearse as Charlie's
girlfriend, Stephen Geoffreys as his weirdo friend Evil Ed, and
especially Chris Sarandon as the bloodsucking but smooth vampire,
and you have a film guaranteed to knock your socks off! Check it
out!
If you're looking for a good, old fashioned vampire
frolic, this is a good place to start. This movie has all the
traditional elements and it does it in a way that's fun and
thoroughly enjoyable. The cinematography is very good for the time,
and while the acting can get a bit campy at times, you'll walk away
from this one with a smile. Hats off to Chris Sarandon for playing a
thoroughly despicable but eminently likeable villain.
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| Fright Night Part 2 |
![Fright Night]()
In typical Fright Night fashion, this film carries on
the tradition of trying to be scary and humorous at the same time,
and carries it off without too many hitches. The vampire death
scenes were very well done, particularly death by holy water and
death by sunlight. We didn't get to enjoy the traditional death by
staking scene, but it wasn't an obvious omission. All the
traditional trappings of the vampire hunter (and I do mean ALL of
them!) were there, and the presence of red roses were as
particularly nice touch that you don't always see.
Regine
Dandridge, vampire and sister to Jerry Dandridge (the vampire in the
first Fright Night), is in town and is seeking revenge against
Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) and Peter Vincent (Roddy
McDowall.) And, to make sure the job is done right, she's brought
three friends (another vampire, a Renfield-like walking corpse, and
a werewolf.)
Story-wise, this film is purely awful and
starts with a contrived beginning. After psycho-therapy, Charley
Brewster no longer believmes, hard to follow. Since writer/director
Tom Holland had no involvement with this sequel, this comes as no
surprise. Visually, though, this film isn't bad -- The monster
special effects are of better quality than most horror films. The
cinematography is rich and establish a Gothic atmosphere.
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Come one come all Mortals who are willing to stick their neck out for a vampire to feed upon. We will be willing to share our Dark Gift to you mortals if you pass our test.
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