vampires Tagged Articles at Cinematical
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Filed under: Fandom »
The Twilight Saga has whipped up a frantic fervor in fangirls, opening doors to female fandom while sticking incessant and neverending thorns in the folks who want Bella and Edward to go far, far away. But it's also brought up a pretty interesting argument: What makes a vampire? I teased about the notion yesterday when I wrote about the Daybreakers PSA; however, can we really define what makes a vampire beyond sharp teeth and a thirst for blood? And if we can, what is necessary and what can be finagled?
Vampires have been around forever in some shape or form, flying through the worlds of folklore and darkness before shuffling into their modern guise of pale, 19th century blood drinkers. In 1819, John William Polidori presented The Vampyre ushering in this idea of the mysterious man entering high society, seducing young women with vampiric charm. "In spite of the deadly hue of his face, which never gained a wanner tint, either from the blush of modesty, or from the strong emotion of passion, though its form and outline were beautiful, many of the female hunters after notoriety attempted to win his attentions, and gain, at least, some marks of what they might term affection." From then on, no lady was ever safe.
Will 'Cirque du Freak' Suffer From 'Twilight' Comparisons?
Filed under: Fandom », Movie Marketing »
Leaving an early screening of Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant this week, I heard an amazed teenage girl say to her companions, "It's, like, a vampire movie, but it's funny!" As if such a thing weren't possible. But then, the average teen was in kindergarten when Buffy was in its prime, and 80's movies like Fright Night and Once Bitten are ancient history. Funny vampires?! Who knew?As Peter Hall says in his excellent Cinematical review of Cirque, it's a shame that this particular movie feels as if it were rushed out to take advantage of the current Twilight and True Blood fueled vamp renaissance. Based on the first three volumes of the popular kid-lit series by Darren Shan, the film bumps the twelve-year-old hero's age to 16 -- the better, one supposes, to promote the flick to the Twilight crowd, despite it being a piece with a completely different flavor, based on books for kids between the ages of 10 and 12.
If you think it's a stretch that Cirque's being marketed to the sparkly-vampire crowd, check out the design of one of the posters (above). Wow ... it's totally Robert Pattinson! Except that it's not. Take a look below, to see what actor Chris Massoglia really looks like in the movie.
The Post-Twilight Supernatural Romance: Mummies
Filed under: Fandom », Images »
Vampires are interesting. They're most often the baddies to become good guys. Maybe it's because they can still look pretty, or maybe it's because their method of killing can be so sexy. (A hot neck bite is a whole lot more preferable than, say, a wolfy mauling.) Whatever it is, we ascribe this whole hierarchy of acceptable and unacceptable vampiric behavior. For example, it's okay if they're killers -- whether it's human baddies they can mind read or killing sprees long ago -- but it's totally not kosher if they happen to watch you as you sleep. They have cornered this weird, batty scale of seduction and goodness, and the public loves them -- they're hot as all holy hell when it comes to media these days.
In response to the rampant sharp-toothed push, Penny Arcade has decided to figure out what's next. As you can see above, they're thinking tousley-haired mummies. It's certainly a step in the right direction. Wolves are too darned hairy for most, and zombies reek while having a tendency to mumble and grotesquely fall apart. But mummies -- they've got the mystery factor as well. Who knows what's under the wrapping? They're still human-sized; they can still wear clothing; and hey, that whole two-arms out-stretched thing is just asking for a dark embrace.
Could mummies be the next wave of horrific romance?
Scenes We Love: The Monster Club
Filed under: Comedy », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom », Trailers and Clips », Scenes We Love »
Now that it's October, my mind has turned to all things Halloween-y, and I've been digging back through the vaults to find all the spooky movies that I've loved over the years, which brings me to The Monster Club. Despite having pretty permissive parental units when it came to my movie viewing habits (boobs and swearing, A-OK) horror movies were a different matter altogether. Whether that was to protect my sensitive little developing mind or just so they didn't have to be awakened by claims of monsters under the bed, I'll never know. But as a little one, The Monster Club was the perfect Halloween viewing: a little funny, a little scary, but overall pretty kid friendly -- at least to this kid anyway.
The film was a tribute to the work of British horror author R. Chetwynd-Hayes and starred Vincent Price (as a chatty vampire) and John Carradine (as Hayes). The film was comprised of three tales of a vampire family, a movie director who stumbles across a ghoul while scouting locations, and something called a 'shadmock' -- trust me, it's complicated. Sure, the stories were great and all, but my favorite thing about this whole film were the musical numbers that acted as framing devices for each story, and today for Scenes We Love, I have to go with The Stripper, performed by Night -- like I said, my parents were pretty easygoing when it came to 'sexy time'. What I love about this scene is that what could have just been an excuse to throw some nudity into the film goes for something that every horror fan could enjoy -- and I know I'm not the only one (although if you have a weak stomach, you might not want to click on that link) who thought this scene was a great visual gag.
After the jump; a stripper who truly takes it all off, and New Wave bloodsuckers...
Why Zombies Make Better Horror Movies Than Vampires
Filed under: Horror », Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom »
The battle of the undead on the big screen has been under way for some time now, and after months of hearing that vampires are taking over pop culture, it seems like we shouldn't quite put our friends the zombies (no, not those ones) down for the count. Over at Newsweek, Sarah Ball put together a few reasons as to why zombies will never beat vampires in a pop-culture zeitgeist-off thanks to our long-standing love-affair with the pale tortured types. But just this weekend, audiences proved that when it comes to the walking dead, the zombies still have what it takes to bring in the crowds.
Everybody has their personal preferences (and man I love those bloodsuckers), so even though I've watched more vampire content than I care to remember (I even sat through the pilot of The Vampire Diaries), and I'll always be a dedicated 'fan of the fang', I think that sometimes those drooling bumbling walking corpses might be better suited (at least these days) to the world of horror. Here's why:
After the jump: my top 3 reasons Zombies (might) make better horror movies.
Research Shows Vampires Never Die
Filed under: Horror », Fandom », Newsstand »
You've seen it pointed out by every writer from here to the New York Times: We're in the middle of a vampire craze! Why? Why now? What does it mean? When will it end? Mix in the cries of love and hate for the Edward Cullens, Eric Northmans, and Bill Comptons and you have a deafening discussion centered on the creatures of the night.But Christopher Beam and Chris Wilson over at Slate have done some historical digging, and come to a surprising discovery: We've never not been in the middle of a vampire craze. Christopher Lee created one, and when the popularity of the vampire began to wane, Anne Rice stepped in. When readers tired of Lestat, in walked Joss Whedon with Buffy, and so on. There's only been a few gaps that Slate terms "The Garlic Years" when vampires were "back in the coffin," perhaps most notably between 1960-1965, and 1975-76. If you think about the entertainment trends of those years, it actually makes sense why no one was sniffing out the artery. That period of the 1960s was when Hitchcock flourished, as did Steve McQueen and James Bond. 1976 was the year of Rocky, Taxi Driver, Network, and so much more. The vogue was for sleek mortal cool and for gritty realism, neither of which are embodied by vampires.
Fox Pits 'Gladiator' Writer Against Their Vampiric 'Passage'
Filed under: Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Scripts », 20th Century Fox »
I wish vampires were real. Not because I have any interest in seeing the world devolve into "True Blood" coming-out-of-the-coffin antics, but because I'm curious if their still blood boils at the thought of how Hollywood has been capitalizing on their image of late. Just when you thought the newly rekindled global studio lust for all things fanged could not possibly become any more saturated, along comes Fox to drop another title in the seemingly bottomless bucket of bloodsuckers: The Passage, an unpublished novel written by Justin Cronin under the pseudonym Jordan Ainsley.Considering the seven-figures Variety reports Fox 2000 has already poured into the rights to turn the work into a film (news you should recall from Weinberg's article here), it's no surprise they're now breaking out an Oscar nominated screenwriting gun to help differentiate their vampire world from the rising cacophony of films it will be joining in the next year or two. In a secondary seven-figure deal, Fox 2000 has entrusted scripting duties to The Aviator, The Last Samurai, Sweeney Todd, and Gladiator screenwriter John Logan, with the ultimate intention of handing directorial duties to Gladiator helmer Ridley Scott. Though considering the log-jam of films Scott has in his 'maybe pile' at this point, I wouldn't hold your breath for that last part to see fruition.
I Like Vampires, But I Wouldn't Want to Date One
Filed under: Fandom »
So Twilight kicked ass at the Teen Choice Awards this week, picking up 11 highly prestigious trophies for groundbreaking stuff like "Choice Movie Rumble" and "Choice Movie Liplock." And the news just made me sigh, and feel very old, and very tired.
Because vampires? Sorry, kids. I am so over vampires.
It's not that I begrudge today's teens, tweens and "Twilight moms" their love for vamps. It's just that I've got a couple of decades of vampire books, movies, and TV shows under my belt while for them, the honeymoon period with broody blood-suckers is still in full swing. If Robert Pattinson looks more to me like a pouty emo kid who should be serving up my triple sugar-free vanilla latte than a 104-year-old creature of the night, that says more about me than it says about Twilight fans. I've been reading about vampires, watching movies with vampires, and enjoying the occasional TV show about vampires longer than many of them have been alive -- and honestly, I've never understood why women find them so dreamy.
Of course, I never got the fascination with that particular breed of male hero at all, going all the way back to my early exposure to chick-lit and romance novels. I like my men funny, personable, and emotionally available. The vaguely dangerous bad boy with his gloomy demeanor, quick temper and withholding of affection, who only opens up when he finally finds True Love in the arms of the heroine ... that's not for me. I'd have kicked Heathcliff to the curb for being whiny and self-centered, and Mr. Darcy's rudeness would have placed him firmly on my uh-uh, not-in-a-million-years list. Vampires are merely a more cold-blooded take on the same hard-to-wrangle men that star in all those books with the ripped-shirt Fabios on the covers.
The Best and Worst Vampire Movies
Filed under: Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom », Lists »
Bloodsuckers are back, baby! If you happen to own a television, visited the fantasy section of your local bookstore, or clicked onto a certain high-quality film site (*ahem*), then you've probably noticed the pigment-challenged are everywhere. Before you get all worried, I'm not just talking about the Twilight saga, which has become the scourge of so-called 'serious' vamp fans everywhere. Nope, this trend goes way beyond the Cullens, and vampires are now everywhere.
Just yesterday we got our first look at the trailer for Cirque de Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, and now that Guillermo del Toro's Strain is also on its way to TV screens, I doubt our fanged friends are going to be disappearing anytime soon. Which is fine by me, because I always thought the best thing about vampire mythology was that everyone has their own take on which kind of monster they want to create -- I mean, how else could we have Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter? So whether you like your bloodsuckers funny, romantic, or just downright bloodthirsty, there's a little something for everyone these days.
I have to admit, though, I'm a little picky about my vampire movies, and there are just certain things I cannot abide. So, because there is nothing I love more than a list, I decided to compile the best and the worst when it comes to bloodsuckers on the big screen.
After the jump: my picks for the top five best, and worst vampire movies...
Matt Reeves Talks 'Let The Right One In' Remake
Filed under: Foreign Language », Horror », Casting », Deals », Scripts », Remakes and Sequels »
As much as I enjoyed the shaky-cam mayhem of Cloverfield, I'm pretty bummed about the idea of Matt Reeves helming a remake of the 2008 vampire film, Let the Right One In. Even before the original film had hit theaters stateside, there were deals in place for Reeves to remake the film for U.S. audiences -- and that's what has me worried. Whenever something is remade for North America, what it usually means is that a little 'sanitation' is in order. For better or for worse, audiences tend to react badly to seeing children in a decidedly non-childlike way, and that's what made The Right One so memorable. But I guess I better get used to the idea, because Reeves recently told the L.A. Times that he's been scouting locations and that a second draft of the script has already been completed and now has the new title, Let Me In. Let the Right One In was the story of Oskar, a young boy living in the suburbs of Sweden who begins a friendship with a vampire child named Eli who has moved in next door. For Reeves' remake, he's kept the time period in the 80's, but relocated the story to Regan-era Colorado. Most importantly, he's promised that he won't be making his Oskar and Eli any older in an attempt to appeal to the 'Twilight Crowd', and the success of his remake will all come down to who Reeves casts for his two leads. The director has already started working with Avy Kaufman to try and find the perfect cast, and luckily, Kaufman has experience when it comes to casting 'creepy kids', having been the casting director for The Sixth Sense and The Ice Storm.
After the jump: the original film's director and screenwriter give their two cents...
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Sex and Nudity Don't Draw You to the Movies?
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Retire?
Jaycee Dugard's Horrific Story to Get a Sleazy Adaptation
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