Vampire at Midnight (1988)

I know. This is not a great movie. But within its purposes (making a cheap action film) and within its historical context (80's) it is a very cool film. Demonic villain, inelegant protagonist and a beautiful girl. All this in a climate of mystery that the serial killer, dubbed by the newspapers of "Vampire Killer", causes in the city where the feature film is spent. My grade 9 seems like an exaggeration, but I really enjoyed the sympathy of the film and its ambient thriller. And the final scene shows why less famous films are so cool. I can not forget to quote the soundtrack, which is very good. A great independent movie from the 80 years.

I went into "Vampire At Midnight" hoping it would be a nice little treat, but I came away thinking that this late-night b-horror, didn't come together. I can see why it's not particularly well known, or even a cult-film. After a promising beginning, it stalls and like others have mentioned, becomes quite bland, a little slow and dull. It was just a little too chilled and relaxed. Still in parts, it does work because of some unorthodox touches and script's witty style. Like the story playing up the idea; is the killer a vampire or not? (He uses a hidden switchblade, not his teeth, but still drinks from their bloody throats). Jason Williams in the lead role as the homicide detective on the case gives a likable performance for a mundane character. On the other side of the coin, Gustav Vintas' seductively dry performance as the killer is quite exemplary. Going for that European touch, which worked for me, but the vampire traits were rather different then the norm. Old school sensibilities within changing times and surroundings. I think where it does lose somewhat its momentum, is when the killer takes a liking to the detective's beautiful neighbour (played vibrantly by Lesley Milne) who's an aspiring pianist. It's a bit of a stretch on how the paths cross, but it's obviously there to move the story along and add some suspense, which I don't think is all that effective or interesting. I just think there is something more there, but it only scrapes the surface. Making our killer quite a shallow shell despite Vintas' best. While I'm not much of a fan of where the story headed towards the back-end, I still got to hand it to them about the closing which does pack a killer punch. For its low-budget, its visuals and lighting are particularly well-made. The L.A backdrop is hypnotic and added to the smokey and seedy atmospherics. Too bad I find some of the scenes repetitive and plodding, which took away its attempts of building tension, leaving the attacks as mean-spirited. The support cast were capable with the likes of Jeanie Moore, Esther Alise and Robert Rando."Leave this vampire thing alone".

Paul Andrews, who already submitted a review for this film, hits the nail on the head. When I saw the VHS cover for this film many years ago, I really wanted to watch it. It had very alluring cover art and some interesting screen-caps on the back, the whole premise of a deranged doctor acting out his vampire fantasies sounded promising. Plus it had a restriction of 2-18! Being a bit under age at the time and in an obscure video store near my dads office, it was no go. But the memory stuck.I got the film for next to nothing and watched it last night. Two things struck me immediately, the first being the quality of the DVD. Or rather lack of. The film looks like it was recorded straight off of a VHS tape in somebodies squalid basement. It's very grainy, but I did not expect a digitally remastered classic, so no big deal.Secondly, they screwed up the title on the DVD menu screen. Renaming it VAMPIRES at Midnight, in the most cheesy horror font you could cut off of a packet of Monster Munch.Now I love B-grade, but this was really bottom of the barrel stuff. A god-awful script combined with bargain basement extras and tacky sets does not a stylish inner city vampire flick make. Nudity and gore are severely lacking as well. Some boring malformed breasts and the occasional blood splatter. I don't know if its a reflection of todays society, but this would have a 13 age rating if released today.The plot and pacing are beyond redemption. Attempts to come across as arty seem more like efforts to patch up areas where the writer just gave up on his own film (and future Hollywood aspirations too I hope.) The detective is unintentionally hilarious too. His infatuation for his dull neighbor comes across as obsessive and creepy. (Climbing out of bed and watching her through his window with binoculars, constantly harassing her and other such romantic gestures.) The vampire had potential, but he soon degenerates into something quite pathetic and gets frustrated and panicky a lot of the time. He also seems to own only one suit. (Which he also sleeps in.) He wears this same suit to public appearances and high brow parties. (Keeping in mind he is not a real vampire, so any supernatural connotations to him being constantly immaculate go right out the window.) Despite being clearly wealthy he lives in a sparsely furnished house and sleeps on what looks like a table, with no cushions. He is also addicted to cigarettes, which kind of lessens the fear factor.As Paul mentioned, the most frightening parts of this film manifest in visual/audio results of a couple doing some funky "dance moves". If the movie was attempting to build any kind of creepy atmosphere, these scenes tear it down and defecate on the violated remains.Frank the Fish indeed steals the show and I enjoyed his screen time. After a while I just wanted all the other characters to choke on their own rubbish dialogue and rot for all eternity.Stay away.

Really more a crime drama than an out and out horror film,played very much like an episode of 'Kolcak - the Night Stalker.' Starts well, with the old cliché of 'it can't really be vampire at large, can It?' Then dips in the middle while the story brings all the plot elements together before a rousing finale.Jason Williams as the hero detective is efficient if somewhat dull but the star turn is Gustav Vintas as the creepy and sinister villain of the piece. An okay film but not quite what I was expecting from the packaging from 'Palace Horror' video company. Still, it kept the interest and wasn't too bad, just think it stretches the criteria of what a horror film should be.