Bloodsucking Cinema
 Chet  rates it:    Community rates it: (no ratings yet)
   581 of 1212 readers found this review helpful.

Well if you've never visited a movie theatre or taken any interest in Halloween and you want to find out what the entire hubbub over Vampires is, then this is the film for you! However those of you who worship the dead and suck blood, this will also appeal to you. This is probably thee definitive documentary on Vampires in cinema.

It's directed by Barry Gray, who you probably don't remember from such TV classics as "Vanity Insanity". Seriously though, this guy has a severe lack of experience, yet he pulled this piece off in a very clear, concise manner. Richard Roeper did all the voice over and narrating work, which turned out to be a huge plus. His immense knowledge of films really complimented Grays lack thereof.

He did an excellent job of covering the ENTIRE history of vampire film, starting with Nosferatu and going all the way through the Underworld series. He really dove deep into the backgrounds and significance of these films. He spent allot of time covering the Hammer films. I enjoyed that immensely as I personally believe Christopher Lee played the most chilling version I've seen. This director gave quite a few accolades to that series. Nice to see he's feeding into opinions I've long held.

Of course he did not cut any corners or shy away from anything. He dove into the mind of John Carpenter and his twisted tales of Dracula. He even dove into the pop culture variations, such as Lost Boys and Interview with the Vampire. Say what you will about Tom Cruise, he played a helluva villain. Some movies he could have left well enough alone, such as Uwe Bolls craptacular Bloodrayne.

Speaking of Uwe Boll, he made an appearance discussing his background in horror and what he was shooting for with the Bloodrayne serious. I guess that's really what set this documentary apart from other drivel. He interviewed about everyone who had anything to do with Dracula. First person stories always tend to come off better then rehashes. Heck, he even treated us to commentary on From Dusk Till Dawn by everyone’s favorite pothead, Cheech Marin.

As a horror fan, and a vampire fan in particular, I really loved everything this doc had to offer. It was very well made and upheld the highest production standards. Gray shoved an enormous amount of content into the thin 56 minute runtime. I would recommend this video to any genre fans, and those who are just casual fans. This has been running on Starz for about the past month. I would highly recommend checking it out if you get a chance.

Added:  Tuesday, March 17, 2009
[ Did you find this review helpful?  Yes  No ]
[ Back to reviews index ]

Want to comment on this review?
Register here for a free user account, and you'll be able to.