Customer Reviews

Vampire [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think I've seen just about every well-known [and several not-so-well-known ones, this one included] movie about the legendary bloodsucking Count Dracula or his cousins, but this one gives a slant to the old tired plot that doesn't get a lot of attention: vampire as Rotten S.O.B. Extraordinary. Even Bram Stoker in his novel gives the Count a moment of pity at the end of his tale-- a look of relief and peace as the stake is driven in into his heart at the very end. Ever since then we've seen tormented vampires who hate the evil that they must do to survive, their terrible lonliness and separation from the rest of humanity. Only the very old "Nosferatu", made in the 20's, created a real villian. And he was ugly to boot. The old Hammer films with Christopher Lee also created the vampire as a good-old-fashioned villian, but who had a dark attraction that he was able to make good use of. It was, all the same, the kind of attraction, the horrified fascination, for his victims like that of a deer caught in the headlights of a fast-moving train.

Here, in this treatment, we have a vampire who is so totally without any bit of good in him that he is truly Evil. He is a Fiend, blood dripping from his fangs [which we never see]. His vengeance is so horrible on the people who stand in his way that is it reminiscent of Jack the Ripper. It goes without saying that this vampire has enormous, even overpowering sex appeal, but it also is plain that his female tools or victims [usually both] are no important to him than lab rats. He is a serial killer more than the quasi-romantic image of the good man who happens to be a vampire; his killings are not the result of some awful childhood or catastrophic emotional event. He is a monster. Our sympathises are not with him, but with his victims.

Real monster movies are actually rather rare. This is one of them, and even though the posse of vampire killers are such flat and 2-D characters that it makes the vampire look complex by comparison, the film is worth watching for its different treatment of the vampire as villian. Richard Lynch, who is far from conventionally handsome, has a horrifying way of grabbing your attention and keeping it squarely on him. It's partly the fascination of the rabbit by the cobra, but also the unconscious fear of the power of sexual attraction. The novel "Dracula" fairly pants with sexual heat all through it, to an amzaing degree considering it's overwrought, even purplish Victorian prose. The Victorian age was famous for it's amnesiac denial of sexual drives, while the studied avoidance even vague sexual terms in polite conversation ["limb" vs. "leg"] drew attention to it...the 12-foot aligator in the living room. In this case, it's the 6-ft naked sexual aggression of a man-like beast. You'd like to ignore it, but you can't. This is the jet engine that drives the immense popularity of the vampire myth. This movie, unlike many of it's kind, lets you feel the power.

I wish this movie was available for purchase. It hardly airs on TV anymore. No true vampire/Dracula afficianado should count his or her education complete without seeing it.

This has been a favorite of mine since I saw it as a kid when it first aired on TV. Actually a backdoor pilot for a proposed series, the story holds up quite well on its own. Richard Lynch plays what could've been a standard stereotypical vampire role (seduce and slay) and does a great job; making him a charismatic figure, but never letting the viewer forget that he is, first and foremost, a killer. The scene where he races from the police station across town as sun is about to rise, smoke starting to billow from his body, is quite striking. Certainly, it has the look and feel of its time, but that doesn't detract from its style.

I've always regretted that this never became a series (like Night Stalker did).

This movie was nearly impossible to find. While the quality was not great, I was so glad to find it at all.

I saw this movie a long time ago, I wish they had this on DVD, and had special features, that would be great.

A true TV gem. A terrific beginning propels the viewer into the evil world of a risen vampire. It is successful without all the modern special effects fan fare which marks today's films. There were obviously high production values and solid direction. This one you take seriously as lineage to the Lugosi era. The casting is a coup. Richard Lynch forces you to shudder as he ably depicts pure evil. I view this at least once a year and it has been on loan to many friends who all agree that it takes its place in any one's collection. E.G. Marshall and Jason Miller play well off one another's leads, and there are several scary encounters to keep you wide-eyed and awake. You will not be disappointed as "Vampire". keeps the classical interpretaion alive.

Excellent movie with the most delicious vampire ever created. From the totally evil villian to the visible downfall of his victims, Richard Lynch was made to play this part. Even though it was made for television, it really was ahead of it's time in that the "hokiness" one generally finds in 'made-for-tv', is absent for the most part.

We already know the plot: long lost vamp rises into a modern world and proceeds to make it his own. No surprises, just some shivers and appreciation of Lynch.