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Lots of crap for you to contemplate.
A FOOL THERE WAS | ADDICTION, THE | 'Ancient Mysteries' TV | ANDY WARHOL'S DRACULA | ANGEL OF THE NIGHT | ANKLE BITERS | ASSIGNMENT TERROR
A FOOL THERE WAS
- NYR -
1915 / B&W / 66m.
D: Frank Powell
Theda Bara, Edward José
Lauded silent actress Theda Bara had her first role at age 30 as an emotional vampire (actress Theodosia Goodman chose the name Theda Bara as it was an anagram of "Arab Death"). Some film historians consider this film the source of our word "vamp".
ADDICTION, THE
- **** -
1995 / B&W / 82m.
D: Abel Ferarra DP: Ken Kelsch
Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, Paul Calderon, Kathryn Erbe, Michael Imperioli, Fredo Starr
Magnificent look at addiction in several forms. The lovely and underrated Lili Taylor perfectly conveys the subtleties of change in this black-and-white art house study. Her chameleon qualities are neither too delicate nor overbearing.
During a walk home from college in Manhattan, a woman throws Taylor into an underground passage and bites her neck. Slowly, she is transformed into a denizen of darkness while working toward her PhD in philosophy. Intelligent, dark, and philosophically guided, Taylor’s matriculation becomes believable and surreal. Walken’s short walk-on (pun intended) - but important - performance breathes life into the story at a perfect point.
Not for the faint of heart or the impatient. Ferarra’s B&W style is slow, evenly-paced and ultimately convincing, saying more with a shadow and a movement than many less talented directors say with an entire film. The bathroom mirror scene (where Taylor fails to see her reflection) is bloodcurdling.
The "v" word is never used.
Cinematic heroin.
Get addicted.
Tag: "The dark is their sunlight. What makes them different is what keeps them alive."
Ancient Mysteries
television series episode:
Vampires
- *1/2 -
1994 / MFTVM / 50m.
D: J. Charles Sterin
Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, Paul Calderon, Kathryn Erbe, Michael Imperioli, Fredo Starr
A&E Network’s Ancient Mysteries series offers this beginner’s guide to vamp lore. Rational explanations are given to account for the creation and continuance of vampire (and other) superstitions in ages past, but are then given inadequate follow-through with the poorly-written narration. The credulous won’t be convinced of their simple-mindedness, the skeptical aren’t given enough arsenals.
Great images bring this one out of the toilet bowl.
For enthusiasts only.
ANDY WARHOL'S DRACULA
See BLOOD FOR DRACULAANGEL OF THE NIGHT
a.k.a. NATTENS ENGEL
- **** -
1989 / 90m.
D: Shaky González
Maria Karlsen, Tomas Villum Jensen, Mette Louise Holland, Svend Johansen, Claus Flygare, Hans Henrik Voetmann, Ole Hvidman, Karin Rǿrbeck
Large, sumptuous and very twisted take on vampires and their lore. The beautiful Rebecca (Karlsen) visits a castle with her boyfriend and another woman. Rebecca has inherited the castle, and our story unfolds through flashbacks tied to the reading of a family almanac. We begin with a grisly 1850-set story. Here the vampire is a large, almost comical 5-meter version of the voodoo doll that haunted Karen Black in Trilogy of Terror. This Mid-19th Century re-creation sequence is lavish and delicately detailed in costuming and set usage. The alley confrontation is claustrophobic and very effective.
Several great vampire sequences through the generations are given. The late 1970s flashback is both truly funny and particularly action-packed. Here, the surprising finger-munching scene is a standout.
We also visit remarkably luscious Marie (sexy Rǿrbeck), pregnant from a mostly-forgotten encounter with a vampire seducer. She drinks holy water to kill the spawn, spitting some on the vamp to delay his powers. Some cool-ass shit.
Filled with crisp humor, gratuitous action/violence and fine music, the seemingly loose-ended plots tie together neatly. Every cliché is used, but each fit hand-in-glove.
Filmed in Northern Europe (I believe Denmark).
A gruesome and fantastically fun winner.
ANKLE BITERS
- 1/2 -
2002 / ?m.
D: Adam Minarovich
Adam Minarovich, Michael Moore, Timothy Faye, Catherine Brissey, Jeremy Busby, Jaime Burch
You know you’re in trouble when the opening credits don’t tell you the director’s name! 3-feet tall with 2-inch fangs, midget vampires invade a small Alabama or South Carolina town (it seems to have been filmed in both).
Never heard of this one before? I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you about it. Please send sympathy money. I had to sit through this one so you wouldn’t have to. (I had to have my computer working on a large print job -- and lift weights -- while watching this one so it wouldn’t be a total waste of my time.)
With comedic value for serious cannabis users only.
ASSIGNMENT TERROR
- nyr -
2002 / ?m.
D: Adam Minarovich
Adam Minarovich, Michael Moore, Timothy Faye, Catherine Brissey, Jeremy Busby, Jaime Burch
You know you’re in trouble when the opening credits don’t tell you the director’s name! 3-feet tall with 2-inch fangs, midget vampires invade a small Alabama or South Carolina town (it seems to have been filmed in both).
Never heard of this one before? I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you about it. Please send sympathy money. I had to sit through this one so you wouldn’t have to. (I had to have my computer working on a large print job -- and lift weights -- while watching this one so it wouldn’t be a total waste of my time.)
With comedic value for serious cannabis users only.