Halloween Bites! The Vampire Bat

“Don’t let the vampires get you.”

Skillfully blending horror, science fiction, and a dash of comedy, 1933’s The Vampire Bat punches well above its weight class. The film, released by Majestic Pictures, is a fine example of a poverty row film company utilizing everything in its arsenal to make a film that was just as good, if not better, than the multitude of productions from the major studios at the time. The production shot much of the film on existing Universal Studios sets from popular movies like Frankenstein and The Old Dark House. It also managed to nab popular and established major studio actors such as Lionel Atwill, Dwight Frye, and Fay Wray, who would appear in eleven films in 1933 including starring in the legendary King Kong. It was written by Edward T. Lowe, Jr. (House Of Frankenstein, House Of Dracula) and directed by Frank R. Strayer.

In the film, a string of mysterious murders are occurring in the small village of Kleinschloss. Victims are found drained of their blood and have puncture wounds on their necks. Talk of a large vampire bat and/or a vampire being the culprit is running rampant through the village, with fingers being pointed at a number of people including the simple-minded Hermann (Dwight Frye), a gentle man who keeps bats as pets. Trying to break the case, inspector Karl Brettschneider (Melvyn Douglas) believes that there is a human killer on the loose and not a vampire. Dr. Otto von Niemann (Atwill) studies the bodies of the victims in an attempt to assist Brettschneider. Brettschneider’s love interest, Ruth (Wray), works for the Dr. von Niemann. When the true murderer is revealed, the story takes a dark turn. Is a vampire murdering the villagers of Kleinschloss? Is something even more sinister happening in the village? Watch The Vampire Bat to see what happens!

Being a huge fan of Universal Studios’ classic monster films and loving actors such as Atwill, Wray, and Frye, it was a no-brainer for me to check out The Vampire Bat. The film is very well done and features a great amount of humor that isn’t found in many of its contemporaries. The story is well executed and interesting as well. I really enjoyed this movie and think that you will enjoy it as well.

Be sure to check out The Vampire Bat. As of this writing, it is available on a number of free streaming services including Pluto TV. It could easily be slipped into a Universal Monsters movie night and viewers wouldn’t even realize that its from a poverty row studio.

Halloween Bites! Queen Of The Damned

“Boo……”

Something of a sequel to 1994’s Interview With The Vampire and cobbled together from the second (The Vampire Lestat) and third (Queen Of The Damned) novels of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, 2002’s Queen Of The Damned is a mess. Stuart Townsend takes over the role of Lestat from Tom Cruise and Aaliyah portrays the titular character, known to her vampire children as Akasha. The rest of the cast includes Marguerite Moreau, Vincent Perez, Lena Olin, Paul McGann, Claudia Black, and Christian Manon. Antonio Banderas’ role of Armand is taken over by Matthew Newton.

In the film, Lestat awakens in the modern world and is inspired by…..nu metal. He forms a band with some mortals and his music in turn gives new life to Akasha, the first vampire and the mother of all vampires. Lestat also challenges his fellow vampires to come out of the shadows and expose their kind to humanity. This causes a rift between the vampire race, with many vampires intent on killing Lestat and Akasha wanting to lay waste to any vampire that stands in her way as she drinks all of humankind dry. Hoping to stop Akasha is a small group of ancient vampires that include Marius (Perez), Maharet (Olin), Armand (Newton), Pandora (Black), and others. Oh, and then there’s the human caught in the middle of it all, Jesse (Moreau), who begins the film as a researcher intent on finding out if Lestat is really a vampire and winds up as one of the primary pieces in the film’s climax. The plot is all over the place, downright silly at times, but there are a few saving graces for the film.

Townsend does a really good job as Lestat. He’s not quite as flamboyant or sadistically funny as Cruise’s Lestat, but he works in this film. Perez and Olin also give very great performances. Newton looks more like Armand from the books, but he doesn’t have much of a role in this film. Neither does Claudia Black as Pandora. Aaliyah slithers around a lot and doesn’t do much else. She’s the most powerful ancient vampire around and, to be quite honest, gets taken out rather easily despite being able to set vampires on fire at will. Poor Marguerite Moreau sucks the life out of every scene. She’s a much better actress than this film shows her to be, and that’s a real shame.

As someone who read the first few entries in the Vampire Chronicles, I’ve always believed that Lestat becoming a rock star was a ridiculous idea. It was so ridiculous to me that I gave up on the series. Of course, the film took things a step farther by having Lestat become a nu metal rock star and that’s even more unbelievable. It’s equal parts dumb MTV video and mild horror. In short, this movie is pretty bad.

Watch Queen Of The Damned for the performances of Townsend, Olin, Perez, and Newton. Skip it for the bad music, terrible plot, and weak ending.

Halloween Bites! My Best Friend Is A Vampire

“This blood’s for you.”

Sometimes all you need is a lighthearted horror comedy to put you in a good mood. 1987’s My Best Friend Is A Vampire is the perfect film to do just that. Rated PG, it’s a fairly family-friendly comedy that has a little bit of action, a little bit of romance, and a few light scares. The raciest moment in the film takes place near the beginning when our hero/vampire, Jeremy (Robert Sean Leonard) is seduced by the slightly older and very beautiful Nora (Cecilia Peck), who is wearing lingerie. She bites him on the neck and is then promptly dispatched by a crazed vampire hunter named Leopold McCarthy (David Warner) and his inept assistant, Grimsdyke (Paul Willson). The duo then set out to kill Jeremy, but misidentify him as his best friend, Ralph (Evan Mirand). While all of this is going on, Jeremy is falling for the nerdy and lovely Darla (Cheryl Pollak), and being trained for his new afterlife by Modoc (Rene Auberjonois), his vampire counselor.

The film is pretty funny and, to be quite honest, I didn’t know that it even existed until just a few days ago despite the fact that I’m a fan of Auberjonois, Pollak, and Warner. Leonard would go on to have a very solid career in film and on television. Auberjonois was already on a successful series, Benson, and would go on to appear in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Pollak, despite being a very good actress and having good looks to boot, continuously works but hasn’t become a major star. Kathy Bates has a small role as Pollak’s mother in the film as well.

The film has a pretty straightforward message of accepting people as they are, but some people also see it as having a deeper message of accepting homosexuals. In fact, Jeremy’s parents believe that he may be homosexual and try their best to support him and his new, weird behaviors. The movie plays fast and loose with the rules of vampirism. For instance, Jeremy and Modoc are sensitive to light, but can move about in daylight freely. Garlic burns them, they have no reflection, and their hunger for blood can be quenched with animal blood. They do not have to feast on humans.

Give My Best Friend Is A Vampire a chance. It’s a really well done film that has a decent soundtrack, a really likeable cast, and a fun plot. It’s the perfect introductory film for new vampire fans. I highly recommend it.

Halloween Bites! Vampire In Venice

“My prince…..”

I’ve watched a LOT of vampire films over the years. Most of them are decent and watchable, but a few are just bad, really bad. Vampire In Venice is one of the worst. Not only is the 1988 film a convoluted mess on the screen, it was a complete disaster behind the camera as well. Most of the blame for the misery on set falls heavily upon Klaus Kinski, who went full prima donna on the director and turned into a sexual predator on a few of his female costars. Kinski portrays Nosferatu, the same vampire that he portrayed in 1979’s Nosferatu The Vampyre, except he rarely shows his fangs and he isn’t bald or pointy-eared in this pseudo-sequel. Nope, instead, he looks like the oldest member of Whitesnake parading through the streets of Venice. Big hair and an even bigger ego, that’s Klaus Kinski in this film.

The movie gives us the story of Professor Catalano looking for the wicked Nosferatu some two hundred years after his last known appearance. He arrives in Venice at the request of Princess Helietta, who believes that the vampire is stowed away beneath her family home. So what’s one to do in order to see if ol’ Nosferatu is hanging out under their castle? Have a seance, of course, and unleash him on the poor people of Venice! Catalano and others attempt to stop Nosferatu as he begins to hunt those that are hunting him. He seduces Helietta, whips Catalano…….and then turns his attention to Helietta’s young sister, Maria, whom he claims can save him with her virginal love. Oh, and a lot of other goofy things happen as well. It’s all a big mess, but watch it for yourself and let me know what you think of the film.

What’s crazy about this film, from the overacting to the horrible editing, is that some parts of it are absolutely amazing. The music, composed by Luigi Ceccarelli, is beautiful, as is the song “Mask” by Vangelis. Some of the cinematography is brilliant as well, capturing Venice’s beauty with perfection. As much as I hate to say it, the sequences of Nosferatu wandering around the streets of Venice, directed by Kinski, actually add to the atmosphere of the film. It’s crazy how so many beautiful things could come from such an ugly production.

Speaking of the ugly things, Kinski was accused of going off script on multiple occasions. According to his costar, Barbara De Rossi, Kinski ripped her gown open, exposed her nude body, and viciously groped her breasts and inserted two of his fingers into her vagina. The groping scene is actually in the film, as is a portion of the violent attack that Kinski performed on another costar, Elvire Audray, who he was simply supposed to grab in a dark warehouse and bite her on the neck. Instead, Kinski ripped her clothing off and bit her on the vulva. Kinski’s ripping of her shirt is in the film, but thankfully that is where the scene ends. Audray apparently (and justifiably) ran off of the set in a screaming fit and never returned.

So, do I recommend Vampire In Venice? Yes and no. Yes, because there is beauty to be found deep within this mess, and, no, because Kinski was such a terrible human being by this stage in his life.

Halloween Bites! Son Of Dracula

“Alucard is undoubtedly a vampire.”

Although it features a powerful cast including Lon Chaney, Jr., Louise Allbritton, Evelyn Ankers, and Robert Paige, and has one of the most twist-filled plots of any Universal Horror film, 1943’s Son Of Dracula falls a little flat. In the film, Chaney’s Alucard (Dracula spelled backwards) arrives in New Orleans, LA, with plans to marry the beautiful Kay Caldwell (Albritton) and spend eternity with her on the quiet Dark Oaks plantation. Unknown to him, however, Kay has plans of her own, and she uses her womanly wiles to manipulate Alucard who, spoiler alert, is actually Count Dracula, and her fiance, poor Frank Stanley, to get what she wants. What does she want? You’ll have to watch Son Of Dracula to learn Kay’s true motives.

While there were some initial praise for Son of Dracula, it eventually became known as one of the weaker entries in the Universal Monsters catalogue. Chaney is, in my opinion, one of the best actors in the Universal Monsters universe. He is the only person to portray the “core four” Universal Monsters: the Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Mummy, and Dracula. He’s also the first Dracula to be shown transitioning from bat to man and man to bat. Sadly, his portrayal of Alucard/Dracula is one of his worst performances as far as I’m concerned. He lacks the regality of Bela Lugosi and the stoicism of John Carradine, both of whom portrayed the count in far superior fashion.

The real stars in this film are Louise Allbritton as Kay and Robert Paige as Frank. Allbritton is manipulative and gives off a sinister vibe as her true intentions are revealed. Paige spirals into insanity and does a great job of showing that to viewers on the screen. The rest of the cast do fine jobs, but Allbritton definitely carries this film. The special effects for the film were excellent for their time and the music was sufficient.

Son Of Dracula is definitely worth checking out for Louise Allbritton’s performance. If you are a film history buff, you’ll also want to see it for the bat-to-man/man-to-bat transformations. Other than that, it’s a tough sell due to its disjointed plot that had all the makings of a brilliant film, but lacked proper direction and editing.

Halloween Bites! Interview With The Vampire

“I assume I need no introduction.”

Following the success of 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and after years of failed attempts, Anne Rice’s 1976 novel Interview With The Vampire was finally given the green light and placed squarely on the shoulders of hot new director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game). Jordan and Rice clashed over the production, especially over the casting of Tom Cruise as Lestat, but it finally hit the big screen in 1994 and proved to be a massive success. I remember watching it in the theater as a freshman in college that year. I loved the film and the book.

The film centers around an interview of Louis (Brad Pitt) by Daniel Malloy (Christian Slater). Louis tells Daniel how he reluctantly became a vampire and formed an uneasy relationship with Lestat. Lestat constantly pushes and manipulates Louis, trying to make him consume human blood. Louis resists, choosing instead to drink the blood of animals like rats. Louis also tells Daniel about Lestat’s turning of young Claudia into a vampire, something that is forbidden in vampire law and how Lestat’s behavior eventually leads Louis and Claudia to murder him. They run off to find other vampires like themselves, but the thought that Lestat survived…..and that he might be looking for them, looms in the back of Louis’ mind. You’ll have to watch the film to discover what happens next.

The film works on a number of levels. The production and direction are excellent. The entire film is erotically charged. The cast, especially young Kirsten Dunst as an aging vampire trapped in a young girl’s body, do an amazing job. Tom Cruise is diabolically fun as Lestat and Brad Pitt easily conveys the internal struggles of Louis. Antonio Banderas also has a wonderful supporting role as Armand, a vampire that Louis considers joining up with after he and Claudia flee New Orleans and Lestat. Speaking of New Orleans, it is featured prominently in the film and is a great character in its own right.

The film was meant to be the first of a series of book adaptations based upon Rice’s Vampire Chronicles book series but that never came to fruition despite its commercial and critical success. A sequel was eventually released in 2002 entitled Queen Of The Damned and starred Aaliyah as the titular character (also known as Akasha) and Stuart Townsend as Lestat. The adaptation was actually a combination of the second novel, The Vampire Lestat, in Rice’s series and the third novel, Queen Of The Damned. It opened in first place but failed to impress audiences. A television series was eventually produced by AMC and currently has two season.

I highly recommend this film. It’s one of my favorite vampire movies. I also really enjoy the book, although later novels in the series aren’t as good in my opinion. I know that I’ll probably get slaughtered for that opinion, as Lestat’s fans are almost as voracious about the books as he is about human blood, but that’s how I feel.

Halloween Bites! Blood Red Sky

“We have control of the plane.”

Nadja and her son, Elias, are on their way to New York City in order to try a new form of treatment for Nadja’s strange illness. A young man named Farid takes a liking to Elias and visits with him while Nadja is taking her medicine in the bathroom. Once all three are on the plane to New York, a group of terrorists take over the flight. During an altercation, one of the terrorists shoots and kills Nadja……or does he? It is soon revealed that Nadja’s “illness” is actually the fact that she is a vampire, and a pretty nasty one at that. The rest of the film features the terrorists attempting to kill Nadja until one of them decides to take extreme measures to finish her. Chaos ensues.

This German film is a Netflix production. It stars Peri Baumeister as Nadja, Carl Koch as Elias, Kais Setti as Farid, Alexander Scheer as Eightball, and Dominic Purcell as Berg. Baumeister really shines in this movie, as she struggles with being a single mother and attempts to stave off her hunger for human blood. Her relationship with Elias drives this story. It’s really excellent. Scheer does an amazing job as the psychotic Eightball. He really takes being a villain to a new level. Setti wins over the audience with his kind portrayal of Farid. The rest of the cast do a fine job as well.

The gore is top notch in this film but it isn’t the entire focus of the movie. There are some very violent scenes in this movie entangled with some powerful emotional scenes. You definitely need to check out Blood Red Sky. This 2021 horror flick is great!

Halloween Bites! The Lost Boys

“Death by stereo!”

Before he made those Batman films, Joel Schumacher was on a role with films like The Client and St. Elmo’s Fire. Another film that he directed was a little family film known as The Lost Boys. Released in 1987, the film surprised critics by opening in second place in its first weekend and going on to become a cult classic that ignited Kiefer Sutherland’s rise to stardom and was the first of nine films featuring Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, better known as The Two Coreys.

The film tells the story of Lucy Emerson and her two sons, Michael and Sam, have just moved to Santa Carla, CA, to live with her father after an ugly divorce. Once they arrive, the two boys travel into town to check out what their new home has to offer. Sam finds a comic book shop where he befriends the Frog Brothers, Edgar and Alan, an odd duo who are using the comic store as a front for hunting vampires. Michael falls for a beautiful young woman named Star who happens to be friends with a quartet of young men who love to ride motorcycles and get into trouble. Oh, and they also happen to be vampires. Soon enough, Michael becomes an uneasy member of the group and Sam does everything that he can to save his brother and the rest of the good people of Santa Carla. Can Sam and the Frog Brothers save the day? Watch The Lost Boys and find out for yourself!

The film is equal parts dark comedy, action movie, and horror film. Some of the acting, especially that of the Frog Brothers, is intentionally over the top. Corey Haim is brilliant as Sam and Jason Patric does a fine job as Michael. Kiefer Sutherland, Brooke McCarter, Billy Wirth, and Alexander Winter are wonderful as the Lost Boys. Jami Gertz plays Star. The rest of the cast includes Chance Michael Corbitt, Edward Hermann, Dianne Wiest, and Barnard Hughes.

The film spawned two direct-to-DVD sequels that were nowhere near as entertaining as the original film and a remake of the original is currently in development. The film also had an amazing soundtrack that included songs by Echo and the Bunnymen, INXS with Jimmy Barnes, Lou Gramm, and the wildly popular “Cry Little Sister” by Gerard McMahon.

The Lost Boys is easily one of the most popular vampire films of all time. It is a perfect storm of youth, music, horror, and action.

Halloween Bites! Blood Vessel

“Strigoi!”

Vampires have been on plenty of ships over the years. Heck, the granddaddy of ’em all, Dracula, even featured the ill-fated Demeter, which was eventually given its own film in 2023. In 2019, Director/co-writer Justin Dix gave us Blood Vessel. The film takes place somewhere in the North Atlantic near the end of World War II. A small group of survivors from a medical vessel are adrift at sea on a raft and stumble upon a German ship that has apparently been abandoned…..until the group investigates different parts of the ship. They discover a young girl, a number of charred bodies, and the captain burned up in his quarters. The young girl seems innocent enough, until she bites Nurse Jane Prescott. Then she leads them to one of storage areas below deck where they discover the ship’s lone survivor and a few Nazi items boxed up for safety. What lies in the box? Watch Blood Vessel to see what terror awaits the survivors on the high seas!

The film is actually pretty good. It does have a few slow moments, especially when the group initially arrive on the ship. I love how we get to know a few of the survivors and I actually pulled for a few of them. Robert Taylor, Alyssa Sutherland, and Alex Cooke carry this film. The vampires look amazing as well. They appear to be primarily composed of practical effects with minimal CGI enhancements. There are some tense moments and plenty of gore to boot.

Blood Vessel is a fun ride that takes on water at times, but ultimately doesn’t sink. It’s not a classic, but it’s definitely worth watching if you love historical horror. I definitely recommend it.

Halloween Bites! Dampyr

“She will give birth to a dampyr.”

A supernatural conman and his manager find themselves entangled in a very real supernatural battle in 2022’s Dampyr. In the film, Wade Briggs plays Harlan Draka, who, along with his friend, Yuri (Sebastian Croft), goes from town to town in the early 1990’s Balkans, claiming to be a dampyr that can rid the townsfolk of whatever supernatural or demonic problems ail them. Stuart Martin portrays Emil Kurjak, who is leading a group of soldiers in a violent war that stumble upon a town that has been ravaged by vampires. When one of the soldiers recommends Harlan as the solution to the vampire problem, Emil has his men find Harlan and bring him back to the town. That night, the vampires strike and Harlan discovers that he really is a dampyr, a half-human/half-vampire, that proves to be the only real threat in the world to the immortal monsters. Teaming up with a rebellious vampire known as Tesla (Frida Gustavsson), Harlan and Emil seek out the evil Gorka (David Morrissey), who has plans of his own to eliminate the Dampyr.

The film is based upon an Italian comic series of the same name and is supposed to be the first film in a shared universe featuring a number of other comic heroes and villains. I am unfamiliar with this shared universe and this comic, but I have to admit that I really enjoyed this film. It’s more of an action thriller than a horror film, but it is extremely well done. The CGI is a tad dodgy at times but not so much that it takes away from the film.

The acting in the film is decent, with the weakest performance coming from David Morrissey, who is probably the most recognizable actor in the film for American audiences. Wade Briggs is tasked with carrying the film on his shoulders and I believe that he does a good job. Martin and Gustavsson have a great back-and-forth rapport throughout the film. I’m actually looking forward to another movie featuring this trio of characters.

While it may not be on the same budget level as the MCU films, Dampyr is definitely an enjoyable watch. The story isn’t perfect but it is engaging. The acting is decent and the action is pretty awesome. Give it a look and you might find yourself curious about the rest of this shared universe if and when it arrives on the big screen. The film is currently available in the United States on Netflix.