Vampires: how do we like them?

[Beorning]

I like the "Elizabeth Bathory was a vampire" idea, as she was a niece of one of our kings. Which means, we had a king with a vampire connection :)

[Beorning]

And coming back to Van Helsing... compare, please. The movie's CGI Brides of Dracula:

Van Helsing (3/10) Movie CLIP - Here She Comes! (2004) HD

versus Coppola's take:

Bram Stoker's Dracula (8/8) Movie CLIP - Dracula's Brides (1992) HD

I mean, no contest, right? These harpies with expandable jaws were supposed to be the Brides..?

[Lilias]

Not to mention one of Coppola's Brides was a rookie Monica Bellucci. ;)

[Beorning]

Indeed! Although it took me years to realize that :)

And I do love this scene. This is how you make creepy vampires... That over-the-top stuff from Van Helsing is just distasteful.

BTW. Did anyone here read G.R.R. Martin's vampire book, Fevre Dream? It was interesting...

[Lilias]

I haven't, but I will, once I run out of ASoIaF. ;)

As for the creepiest vampire I've seen on screen, that has to be Elina Löwensohn in Nadja. Massively understated, as well. Fer realz.

[Chris Brady]

Not to mention one of Coppola's Brides was a rookie Monica Bellucci. ;)

Totally off tangent, but...  Why does it matter who it had as an actress?  Why can't we judge the movie on it's own merits, rather than who was/is in it?

[Beorning]

As for the creepiest vampire I've seen on screen, that has to be Elina Löwensohn in Nadja. Massively understated, as well. Fer realz.

Nadja! I remember that this movie was in some cinemas a looong time ago. Never got to see it, though...

How about the Australian Thirst? I may need to watch it some day...

Thirst (1979) Australian vampire trailer

Totally off tangent, but...  Why does it matter who it had as an actress?  Why can't we judge the movie on it's own merits, rather than who was/is in it?

Hm. Good point, actually...

But I do judge the movie on its own merits. Hey, it had Keanu Reeves and I'm not bashing it in spite of it  ;)

[Lilias]

Totally off tangent, but...  Why does it matter who it had as an actress?  Why can't we judge the movie on it's own merits, rather than who was/is in it?

We're not judging the whole film, only the portrayal of vampires in it. :-) Stoker's novel wants the Brides to be seductive of Toreador class; they are monsters and Harker feels it, but they never show their monstrous side physically. Hence the drop-dead gorgeous Monica &co.

On the other hand, Oldman's Dracula was very far from what Stoker wrote, but you won't catch me complaining. He was absolutely riveting.

[Starlequin]

Totally off tangent, but...  Why does it matter who it had as an actress?  Why can't we judge the movie on it's own merits, rather than who was/is in it?

Because a film's cast is one of its merits (or liabilities, in some cases), and is as integral to the film's success or failure as the writing or the set design. To argue otherwise would be akin to saying 'Oh, what a beautiful painting, let's discuss it...but let's not bother talking about the colors used, they don't really matter.' Sure, you can still have the discussion, but you're going to be  ignoring a fundamental aspect of the work.

[Chris Brady]

Because a film's cast is one of its merits (or liabilities, in some cases), and is as integral to the film's success or failure as the writing or the set design. To argue otherwise would be akin to saying 'Oh, what a beautiful painting, let's discuss it...but let's not bother talking about the colors used, they don't really matter.' Sure, you can still have the discussion, but you're going to be  ignoring a fundamental aspect of the work.

Usually when someone mentions an actor by name, in a particular movie, it's usually to excuse it for being bad (it's got Ben Affleck or Keanu Reeves in it, of course it'll suck!) or to raise it above what it is (Can't be that bad, Megan Fox is in it!) or as an excuse to see the movie sight unseen, or immediately avoid and bash it without having to watch it.

I don't get that.  No matter who is in the movie, the writing and direction of it matters as much as those on screen, and there have been bombs made by the 'good' actors, and some pretty decent films made by the 'bad' ones.  But no one seems to care about that, all they care is if Hugh Jackman or Megan Fox will be undressing in it...

[Lilias]

With trailers, teasers and reviews left, right and centre, movies today are hardly sight unseen. Most cinema-goers have a pretty good idea of what they're going to see beforehand, although that doesn't preclude pleasant or unpleasant surprises.

I find ogling the lead actors a perfectly legitimate reason to watch a movie (and so do movie business executives). At the very least, it provides a point of satisfaction, even if the rest of the package sucks.

[Torch]

Like this:



The way they should be. Non-sparkly.

[Silverfyre]

Those are my kind of vampires. Where are those ones from, Torch?

Also, I like how V:tM handled the different "clans" of vampires.  It was a nice mythos. 

[Jag]

Those are my kind of vampires. Where are those ones from, Torch?

I think those are from 30 Days of Night.

[Torch]

Those are my kind of vampires. Where are those ones from, Torch?

30 Days of Night

One of my favorite vampire movies, because there is no sparkly romance. The creatures are pure bloodthirsty evil.  ;D

[Jag]

I liked the vampires in that one too. Mostly their fangs. It makes more sense for them to have a mouth full of fangs, rather than two little fangs. *nods*

[Silverfyre]

/adds it to the movie que.  Thanks!

[Torch]

I liked the vampires in that one too. Mostly their fangs. It makes more sense for them to have a mouth full of fangs, rather than two little fangs. *nods*

Agreed.

My favorite scene? When the crying female victim tries to elicit pity by whining "Oh God....!!!", and the head of the clan (played by Danny Huston) just looks at her, shakes his head and says..."No God." right before the clan begins to devour her.

It's awesome!  XD

Edit: OOOPS, prolly should have spoilered that. My bad!  :-[

[Deamonbane]

*Looks at the title, and looks down* Uh... dead... *grins*

[Cyrano Johnson]

The Standard Western Grimoire of Horror Monsters is getting pretty played-out. I like vampires on the classic Bela Lugosi / Count Dracula model, but that can really only be done so many times before it deteriorates into campy schlock (as in fact happened to Dracula for most of the 20th century, except his brief revival / reinvention in Coppola's hands). I didn't mind the Anne Rice / Vampire Lestat approach to vampires for a while, but Rice has a lot to answer for in that she really started vampires on the road to sentimental, pretentious pseudo-eroticism that gave us World of Darkness, Blade and Underworld along the way before arriving at the awful nadir that is Twilight. 30 Days of Night is a game attempt at resurrecting the vampire as a primal threat, but its feral approach would make just as much sense (perhaps more) for werewolves. I think the next reinvention of the vampire will need to be something completely different from the Eastern European legends (there are plenty of candidates in other parts of the world).

(For that matter, zombies have pretty much jumped the shark, too. Too much of Standard-Issue Zombie Mythology makes no sense, and you know a Horror Monster is descending into the hell-realms of CampSchlock when it starts turning up in rom-coms.)

[Avis habilis]

I think the next reinvention of the vampire will need to be something completely different from the Eastern European legends (there are plenty of candidates in other parts of the world).

Next up - penanggalan!

[Beorning]

I seem to recall that there is a movie featuring this creature...

In any case, I challenge SMeyer to sex *that* up!  ;)

[Chris Brady]

So...  Tentacle porn then?

[Avis habilis]

In any case, I challenge SMeyer to sex *that* up!  ;)

Or whatsherface from Fifty Shades.

"I met my Inner Goddess ..." *shlorp* "She's nothing but intestines!"

[Cyrano Johnson]

Next up - penanggalan!

Thaaat's the stuff...