Vamp
Director: Richard Wenk
Cast: Grace Jones, Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler, Dedee Pfeiffer
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
Vamp is one of those classic 80s vampire flicks that seemed to have slipped through the cracks. While everyone remembers films like Fright Night, Near Dark and The Lost Boys, this movie has become one of the long lost and little remembered. Well Arrow Video remembers it and has decided to give it back to the masses in glorious high-def that looks amazing and is loaded with extras. But just in case you’re one of the many who have let this one slip under your radar, here’s the skinny behind Vamp.
Keith and AJ are two cool college guys looking to get into a fraternity, but in order to do so they must hire a stripper for an upcoming party. Unfortunately for them, the make the huge mistake of going to the “big city” with their nerdy sidekick, looking for the After Dark Club. After running afoul of an albino street gang, they find the club and are quickly mesmerized by the exotic (and exceptionally strange) Grace Jones, who is not only the queen of the strippers but also the queen of the vampires. After one of the buddies gets the juice box treatment, the rest team up with a spunky waitress with a mysterious past and make a run for their lives. Unfortunately they are stuck in a very weird, hostile, rundown city with vampires, albinos, and murderous garbage trucks all looking to do them in.
Vamp is one of their rare horror comedies (hor-medies?) that really pulls it off. It ping pongs back and forth between funny and frightening, but there is surprisingly a lot more to it than that. There’s a delightful sense of the weird running throughout, and the color scheme of purple and green gives it a nice visual style often missing in horror films. The direction is very good and all the actors do their jobs well. Chris Makepeace is the embodiment of the nice guy, Robert Rusler is the quintessential cool guy, Dedee Pfeiffer is great as the ditzy blond, and Gedde Watanabe (of Sixteen Candles fame) is perfect as the nerdy comic relief. Even Grace Jones, who I never really liked in earlier roles like Conan the Destroyer and the James Bond film A View to a Kill, is really good here as the titular vamp. Hmm, maybe that’s because she never once utters a single word? Whatever the case, it all works out well. Vamp has always been one of my favorite flicks that I could namedrop and enjoy the looks of confusion on the faces of my friends. Well now that it’s out on Blu-ray, that may change, but I’m okay with that.
To further make this Blu-ray a must buy for vampire lovers everywhere, Arrow Video has once again provided the goods. There is a 44 minute long making-of retrospective featurette that has behind-the-scenes bits and interviews with damn near all the big players both in front and behind the camera, with the noticeable exception of Grace Jones. There is about 7 minutes of vintage rehearsal footage, with a lot of it being Grace Jones writhing on, biting, and licking the director, that he seemed to enjoy a little too much. There is also a blooper reel, TV spots, two trailers and a photo gallery. Perhaps the coolest bit is a comedic short film by Richard Wenk called “Dracula Bites the Big Apple” that was a lot of fun. However I did find one thing missing that I thought was a big disappointment: no audio commentary. The old Vamp DVD from America’s Anchor Bay had a great one, and I really don’t know why Arrow couldn’t send them a few bucks to use it here. It’s a pretty big missed opportunity. Oh well, as far as off-the-disc goodies, there’s a double-sided Blu-ray case cover, and a 23 page collector’s booklet.
Vamp is a great, unique movie and if it’s missing from your home movie collection (and chances are it is), then this is a great way to get it. It’s never looked, sounded, or been better, and it is very highly recommended.
