Product Details

• Actors: Lauren Hutton, Jim Carrey, Karen Kopins, Cleavon Little, Thomas Ballatore
• Directors: Howard Storm
• Writers: Dimitri Villard, David Hines, Jeffrey Hause, Jonathan Roberts
• Producers: Dimitri Villard, Frank Hildebrand, Robert Wald
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: October 5, 1999
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0792842421
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #183,394 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is the movie that was supposed to make Jim Carrey a star--in 1985, no less. Perhaps it's no wonder that it took him until the 1990s (and In Living Color): this bloodless vampire comedy almost sank his movie career before it began. Carrey plays an innocent L.A. teen, the unlikely object of the affections of slinky Lauren Hutton, a long-lived vampire who needs the blood of a virgin to stay young. So, she woos the unsuspecting, naive young Valley guy. But most of the jokes fall flat, and only when Carrey cuts loose briefly and lets his wild side show do we get a glimpse of the future Ace Ventura. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hey, it's the white guy from "In Living Color"!!, May 26, 2003

By 

Willow Masters "Krissy27" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once Bitten (DVD)

Brief plot synopsis: A female vampire needs the blood of a virgin to stay young; she finds Mark Kendall(Jim Carrey); hijinx ensue.

I first saw this when it came on tv; at the time Jim Carrey was either a nobody or "that white guy from "In Living Color" (btw why ...isn't that on dvd yet?). Shortly after I saw this JC started getting big with movies such as "The Mask" and "Ace Ventura". With those films in mind "Once Bitten" is somewhat of a novelty. Even though it is billed as a comedy, JC's character is a far cry from the rubberfaced madman we see in the aforementioned comedies. This is the Jim Carrey we saw in "The Truman show" the man who can play a character that we just like; someone accessible enough that we could know the guy or someone like him. JC's acting is brilliant here, I do enjoy JC's other work but it's refreshing to see him in a role like this. If you're a JC diehard it's a must buy, If you're not a diehard, there's still a good chance it will be a welcome addition to your movie collection. ...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Low Budget Laugh Riot! Vampires Beware....., January 29, 2007

By 

C. Crockett "Domino713" (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once Bitten (DVD)

This movie about a shy L.A. highschool student who ran afoul of a centuries old vampire is a laugh riot (even if it's for all the wrong reasons!).

Quick Synopsis: Jim Carrey stars as a typical L.A. teenager who is growing a little restless to lose his virginity to his high school sweetheart. What he doesn't know is that a local vampire (Lauren Hutton) is struggling to find the innocent blood of a virgin, and has set her sights on him! In order to maintain her youthful appearance, she must drink the blood of a virgin (the same virgin) 3 times before midnight on Halloween. If she succeeds, her victim becomes a vampire in her service forever!

"Once Bitten" is a comedy that saw the budding young career of Jim Carrey, an actor who would eventually rise to the upper tier of Hollywood, but who was at the time just an innocent young actor in a C rate movie in the 1980's. I think part of what makes this movie so appealing was the fact that looking back on it, one could laugh their butts off at the bad writing, terrible acting, and downright hilarious 80's vibe the entire movie has. Want to see bright florescent neon lights? How about some pretty bad fashion choices? This movie will give you one heck of a blast from the past!

I would describe this film as one of those deliciously guilty pleasures that you watch and enjoy even though you know it's a terrible movie by all standards. I find it incredibly fascinating to watch Jim Carrey in one of his first films, and be able to see that he truly had some raw talent back then...(very raw talent. It took another decade or so for him to hone his skills and improve). However, even in the mid-1980's he had that incredibly expressive face, and a natural talent for humorous body language. He's just a lot of fun to watch!

I'm not going to lie...this movie is so bad that it's good!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting Vampire movie!, April 15, 2010

By 

John Lindsey "John" (Socorro, New Mexico USA.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Once Bitten (DVD)

Mark (Jim Carrey) is your typical 18 year old who is near graduation as he has a sweet girlfriend Robin (Karen Kopins) as he's a virgin on the verge of trying to get laid. One night in Hollywood as he and his two friends Jamie and Russ (Thomas Ballatore and Skip Lackey) go out searching for fish, they stumble into a private sleaze bar where a gorgeous 200 year old vampiress named Countess (Lauren Hutton) who has an efeminte butler named Sebastian (Clevon Little) seeks out Mark for she must have a virgin to remain beautiful for eternity. But as she seduces Mark she bites him where it doesn't tan in the sun turning him into a semi-vampire where he craves blood, scares young boys and even has dreams about Countess as it seems to puzzle his friends and girlfriend.

Exciting and mildly funny teen sex horror comedy that marked Jim Carrey's debut on the big screen back in 1985. The film offers some quality laughs like the hilarious yet homoerotic shower room scene where Jamie and Russ have to check where Mark is bitten as everyone freaks out which made me laugh out loud and the acting isn't too bad. It's really a movie about virginity and learning about what true love can be, i highly recommend this movie to anyone who liked "Fright Night 1 & 2", "Vamp" and "The Lost Boys".

The DVD offers a nice look with widescreen and fullscreen versions with only one extra which is the teaser trailer, the film is still great fun.