Distributed by Midnight Factory for Koch Media, Vampire (USA, Japan - 2011) is a drama/thriller genre film with hints of horror directed by Japanese director Shunji Iwai. The film is pitched as a vampire movie, a modern take on the famous bloodsucker figure.
Vampire might - spoiler alert - disappoint those expecting to follow the events of the classic vampire. In fact, space is given in the film to modern vampirism understood as psychological turmoil - end spoiler.
Plot: Simon (Kevin Zegers) is a biology professor and caring son who actually harbors a terrible secret. In fact, the young man is a vampire who, to satisfy his bloodlust, lures his prey on the Internet, preferring depressed and suicidal young women.
The duration of Vampire reaches almost two (interminable) hours. This is an excessive amount of time for a film that shows its flaws and limitations from the very beginning and then deteriorates to the point of unbearable viewing. The story opens with a dismal rip-off of the dark and laudable Cannibal By Marian Dora. Indeed, we witness the vampire's encounter with his prey met on the Internet, who wishes to interrupt his life with a gentle death.
The puerile and chaotic screenplay only emphasizes a protagonist with an unstable and confused psychological profile: from being an advocate of death (for his own gain) he turns into a champion of life; from being a killer he then shifts to being a helpless voyeur or helpless subject and vice versa. Awkward dialogue, poor dubbing, and a shoddy acting rehearsal add to a film already riddled with flaws and awkward situations (fake vampire teeth and necrophilic skit way out of place; leeches appearing out of nowhere...).
In Vampire then lacks the sense of oppression and death (the would-be suicides) that a film with these assumptions should have. Bad in almost every way, it enjoys a good initial idea (the solicitation of depressed subjects to bleed out), here unfortunately developed in an unseemly manner. Vampire is tinged with art, actually hiding the work's paucity behind sophisticated direction, accompanied by ubiquitous dramatic music (by the director himself) that tends to unnerv the viewer.
The film was selected at the Strasbourg Film Festival, Fantasia and Sundance Film Festival but it is also true that since its release (2011) it has failed to emerge positively.
The cast includes Kevin Zegers, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Trevor Morgan, Amanda Plummer, Adelaide Clemens, Yû Aoi, Rachael Leigh Cook, Kristin Kreuk, Jodi Balfour, and Ian Brown.
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Impeccable Blu-Ray limited edition (including booklet) from Midnight Factory/Koch Media. This well-edited edition enjoys excellent video and audio quality and a small special content section. The booklet includes a review and some of the director's thoughts and revelations about the film.
Blu-Ray technical data Vampire:
Video: 1.78; 1080p
Duration: 118 min
Audio: Italian 5.1 DTS HD master audio; English 5.1 DTS HD master audio
Subtitles: English
Extras: Making of; Trailer; Credits
BD 50
