Customer Reviews

Vampire Clan

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This movie (as described in other reviews) wasn't extremely accurate with the details of what had actually happened but does give you a basic understanding. In real life Rod was a gangly teen with long hair not a manipulating hottie. But Drew Fuller who played Rod did do a great job of how they wanted to depict the leader of the group. When watching this movie people have to remember that this is a MOVIE not a documentary and is only based on what really happened. If you rent this movie hoping to see what actually went one during the murder in 1996, you will be sadly disappointed, although pleased by the acting. If you want to get only the facts then get a book from the library, if you want the facts but also to be entertained and wowed by how gorgeous Drew Fuller is...then get this movie.

I have watched this movie at least 10 times. Real vampires, teenage angst, road trip, and true life crime is how I would summarize the movie. Immediately after renting it, I bought it.

Why do you watch vampire movies? I watch for the psychological thrill; the tensions between death, passion, seduction and sensuality. That is why I cherish this movie. If you want gore or if you cut you might want to skip this movie.

The charged atmosphere among the members of the clan is compelling and believable. The blood drinking was thrilling in ways I have never seen in another movie. No fangs. Instead the movie depicts blades, cutting and sucking. I have personal experience with other real life vampires. I have scars to prove it. This is the real deal folks.

Like another reviewer I would like to have seen the lives of the characters before the road trip. I think this could help build the tensions between the characters and bring out their motivations.

The first few times I saw the movie I watched the murder scenes, but they are not really interesting for me. They are just slasher stuff even though based on reality. I am not even interested in how true to life the killing was.

The pacing and story telling devices work well for me. I think the script is fine. The cuts between the police office and the story is a cool way to tell the story and keeps reminding you that this is all real.

This is the best vampire movie I have ever seen. The Interview with a Vampire ranks second since it is also about the psychology of vampirism.

first off Drew Fuller is a amazing actor and was great in this moive. He is also the only reason I brought the movie.

it's very hard to like this movie because it's real and you should never like something about a murder like this. But it has Drew, so....

my question about the real people is was Rod's girlfriend really pregnant and if so what happen to the baby, since she's in jail. Also Rod got life in prison, does anyone know how long that is, since he's so young, can he be released someday

(personal note: I hope he's never released for the sake of all americans, and I think Heather was involved and should be in jail too.)

After watching the movie I remembered some of the details around this true life story, and the movie was accurate to the facts. The best acting came from Drew Fuller, (Voodoo Academy) who played the lead role as the leader of this gang of twisted kids. He had the look and sound of a twisted genious down and was very well cast in the role. The remainder of the cast ranged from ok to blahhhhzay, again making Fuller's performance stand out. The movie takes you back and forth, starting with the arrest of the gang members and working out all the details throughout the movie. It wasn't as gory as expected it to be, and to be honest it shouldn't be seen as a horror movie.
Unfortunately there were no extras to speak of, no commentary, cast bios, etc. Just the basics.

According to Wikipedia, Naoma Ruth and Richard Wendorf were found by their daughter Jeni Wendorf on November 25, 1996, beaten to death in their Eustis home.

While 49-year-old Richard Wendorf was asleep on his couch and Ruth was in the shower, Rod Ferrell and accomplice Scott Anderson entered the home through the unlocked garage, picking up the murder weapon. Before Richard had even awakened, Ferrell beat him multiple times with a crowbar, fracturing both his skull and ribs, almost instantly knocking him out, and killing him shortly thereafter. When Ruth had found Ferrell and Anderson in the home moments later, Ferrell bludgeoned her to death, bashing her head with the crowbar. He claimed in his confession, however, that in his original plan, he was going to allow Naoma Ruth to live, but she first attacked him by lunging at him and throwing a very hot cup of coffee on him, which angered him and made him change his mind and kill her also. Richard was found bearing burn marks in the shape of a V. It was said that the V was Rod's symbol, which he accompanied with a dot for each person he considered to be in his vampire cult.

The murder's connection to White Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing game was made by Calloway County prosecutor David Harrington.

Harrington said the youths were involved in an ongoing role-playing game, but that Ferrell had begun to take the vampire game more seriously, scaring others into quitting. He referenced an incident in which Wendorf and his "vampire clan" mutilated puppies. "The animal shelter thing was the first visible sign he had gone beyond game-playing," Harrington said.

J. Gordon Olmstead-Dean, president of the Interactive Literature (IL) Foundation, disagreed. The IL seeks to educate the public on the existence of Interactive Literature, including role-playing games.

"Obviously, in the Wendorf case, the youths were at least familiar with the Vampire role-playing material. The question that emerges is whether or not the material is responsible for their behavior. Clearly, the idea is preposterous. When five people commit a heinous criminal act and attribute it to fictional work which is read by hundreds of thousands of others, we have to decide whether it is the work or the individual that is to blame. The youths in the Wendorf case exhibited extreme sociopathic behavior. Vampire constitutes neither a reason or an excuse. Whatever sad reasons may lie behind this crime, the youths identification with Vampire is incidental to the act, not contributory. If we are to condemn every work of literature or art in Western civilization which has ever been perused by, or cited by, a criminal, we would have to condemn a great deal of our culture."

Which brings us to Vampire Clan. As a vampire movie, Vampie Clan is grainy, disjointed, and the leads occasionally flat. But as a retelling of true events it transforms into a fascinating study of cult politics. Rod Ferrell (Drew Fuller) believes he is a 500 year-old vampire named Vesago. Raised by his mother, who espoused the same vampiric beliefs, he is alternately magnetic and tortured. Ferrell is a believable vampire in the modern sense, embracing the extreme goth culture and drinking his clan's blood. There's not a fang in sight.

Following Ferrell's whims are his coterie of babes, glammed up in the film to make them easier on the eyes. Charity Lynn Keesee (Alex Breckenridge) and Dana Lynn Cooper (Marina Black) are the core of the cult, with Howard Scott Anderson (Timothy Lee DePriest) the muscle. When one of the girls turns out to be pregnant, the film implies that Ferrell is looking to replace her with fresh blood (pun intended) in the form of Heather Wendorff (Kelly Kruger). Heather is an easy target -- she supposedly hates her family and is planning on running away with the clan.

Unfortunately, we're not entirely sure as to why Ferrell wants to kill Heather's parents. There's some hints that it might be as much a robbery as it is a thrill kill. When the Clan relays the news to Heather, none of the cult seems interested in implicating her in what was supposedly a spiritual triumph. Indeed, Heather's life before she joined the Clan is inscrutable because we learn so little. Vampire Clan makes it clear that Heather is innocent; reality is not so clear cut.

At times the film is disjointed, flashing back and forth between timelines. Part of the reason Vampire Clan isn't always engaging is because it attempts to reconstruct true events, which are often less exciting than typical Hollywood drama. But perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the film is there's nary a reference to role-playing games. For a movie attempting to recreate the facts of a horrible crime, that's exactly how it should be.

Me and My Boyfriend thought it was weird and cool (i love vampires) and Drew Fuller was Hot in this movie and we also like it because we are goth but it rocked and we would watch it agin

Rock On

Go See This Movie

I suggest little kids and people with weak stomicks not to watch this

The movie was pretty good and fairly accurate for that matter. The movie portayed Rod as this good looking guy who was smart and could easily manipulate others, but in all actuality, Rod was a skinny kid with long black hair with the learning comprehension of a child and couldn't hold an in depth conversation. Rod is played by Drew Fuller ("Chris" on charmed), a very good actor. I personally saw the movie, then read one of the books on it. There was definately lak of detail, so if someone just wants a quick idea of what happened, then see the movie. Otherwise, the books are better.

In 1996 the world was stunned as a group of teenagers embarked on a journey that would leave one an orphan, one on death row and the others in prison. Televised, sensationalized and novelized, it became the story of Roderick Ferrell, a sixteen year old self proclaimed vampire whom to this day sits on death row for the murders of Rick and Ruth Wendorf.

Now you had to know someone, somewhere, would just have to make a movie out of it. Vampire Clan (2002) is that movie. Entertaining? Maybe if you're 13, think Marilyn Manson is goth and Satan is cool. Accurate? I've never seen four delusional loser vampire wannabe kids look so good on film. But then again, that happens when you hire a pretty cast.

The murders weren't committed by some enigmatic tall dark and handsome figure. They were committed by an underweight greasy teenager from a dysfunctional family that spent far too much time playing role playing games and smoking weed. Nothing to idolize here folks.

I've seen far too many teenagers with an angst complex come out of this movie starry eyed and in love with the on screen Rod. This movie wasn't made to inform, it was made to entertain. Wake up, read the books and learn.

A recent trend in the direct to video world seems to be the criminals of the past who hit natonal news. There was Ed Gein which was a weird film and was a little boring at times. Then came Dahmer, and lets just say that the focus was not on his criminal life, but his sex life (literally). Now we have the Vampire Clan which focus on the vampire slayings that took place in the early 90's where the Teenager Rod murdered the parents of this girl he was picking up. Now the main reason this got so much attention (besides the blatetent brutality) was that they claimed to be vampires. Now this movie which is based on the story, was only alright as the story is explained by Rod (The LEader) and Heather (the victims Daughter). The movie sufferd from lack of focus. It tries to follow the explits but with the exception of the actual murder scene (and even then) the movie is done in weird moments that focus on the group but in lack of detail. In fact they try to make it seem like Rod actually has mistical and or hypnotic powers thus he controls the group as well as sweet talk some people he bumps into. However on more technical there were moments where the dialouge went a little to soft thus making it sound like the boom was off at moments and or poor editing (that or my player is in trouble).

Overall this is another example of a true tory taht was made into a so-so movie that results in a 90 minute rental. If one is truely interested in this story than it is best to either;
A: go to a library and find the story in a book,
or
B: Catch it on COurt TV or some crime documenteary show.
OTher wise it is best to just avoid this movie, it is definetly not the best thing out there.

This movie was great. Sure, it doesn't go into the full details of the story, but it's a MOVIE, made to ENTERTAIN, not to inform, necessarily. Drew Fuller did an excellent job as Rod, and actually made him alluring instead of what he was - "an underweight greasy teenager from a dysfunctional family that spent far too much time playing role playing games and smoking weed," as another reviewer said. Personally, I really enjoyed the movie - it reminded me of an indie film in a sense, and it's really very sensual and visually stimulating.

(Note: I'm not really twelve. I just put that so I wouldn't have to sign up with the site.)