Halloween Bites! Vamps (2012)

“You’ll get rats to put on condoms?

Amy Heckerling directs the sugary sweet vampire comedy, Vamps (2012). Heckerling is best known for a string of hit films that she directed including 1982’s Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Look Who’s Talking (1989), and Clueless (1995). The film stars Heckerling’s Clueless lead, Alicia Silverstone, and Krysten Ritter, perhaps best known for her work in Jessica Jones (2015-2019). The film also features Dan Stevens, Wallace Shawn, Justin Kirk, Kristen Johnston, and Richard Lewis. Sigourney Weaver has a small but crucial role in the film as Ciccerus, the “stem” vampire that made Silverstone and Ritter’s characters, Goody and Stacy. Also keep an eye out for Malcolm McDowell as a very domesticated Vlad Tepish and Taylor Negron in a brief cameo that calls back to one of Heckerling’s early films.

In the film, Goody and Stacy are a pair of young (looking) vampires that share an apartment, party, and run a pest control company together. They also abstain from consuming human blood, choosing to feed on the rats that they catch through their company. Goody runs into an old lover in the film and Stacy falls for the son of Dr. Van Helsing. When a plot is discovered to out vampires, the duo combine forces with humans and vampires to save their race. They also run into trouble with Ciccerus. You’ll have to watch the film to find out what happens.

Vamps is funny and features an amazing cast. When compared to some of Heckerling’s more popular films, however, it definitely falls a tad shy of their quality. That being said, it’s still work a look. I really enjoyed it and never felt as if I was wasting my time. Silverstone and Ritter work extremely well together and I’d love to see them team up again. I also enjoyed the performance of the late Richard Lewis. The only actor that seemed to phone in their performance was Sigourney Weaver who just couldn’t seem to find a rhythm in this movie.

This film flew under the radar for most folks, getting a limited release in theaters and then quickly hitting shelves on Blu-ray and DVD. Despite this, I believe that most fans of vampire films will appreciate this fun film.