Vamp

This is a decent vampire flick that, unlike some of its 80's counterparts (Fright Night, Near Dark, The Lost Boys) has been long forgotten. It features the exceptional concept of a group of ancient, once-powerful vampires now reduced to a bunch of losers who get their victims by operating a strip club in a desolate part of town (and believe they're performing a public service by getting rid of the bottom-rung members of society). Much more could have been done with this idea, but the focus is on the teenage leads as they stumble into the club and can't seem to stumble out. Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler are okay, not too memorable, but Deedee Pfeiffer stands out for her incredible cuteness. Gedde Watanabe seems annoying at first but turns out to be a funny sidekick--his dying word is hilarious (seriously, watch the movie just for that). Sandy Baron also has a standout role as the pathetic club owner, and Grace Jones is, uh, quite freaky. For some reason the director has gone completely overboard with a neon pink and green color scheme, but it gives the movie a distinctive universe. The only irritating thing, if you like tradition with your vampire movies, is that the vampires turn into distinctly non-vampiric monsters when they attack, but this can be tolerated. 7/10.

Want to know where Quentin Tarantino got his idea for the script for Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn? Well, replace that film's bank robbers with a group of hormonal teens, swop gorgeous Salma Hayek for scary disco-diva Grace Jones, and turn Mexican biker-bar The Titty Twister into a skid-row strip club, and what you've got is Vamp, an under-rated teen horror from the 80s that was undoubtedly the inspiration for Rodriguez's horror hit.

Vamp follows three frat boys, Keith, AJ, and Duncan (Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler and Gedde Watanabe), as they venture to the wrong side of town in the hope of hiring a stripper for a college party. After a run in with a nasty street gang, led by albino thug Snow (Billy Drago), the lads pay a visit to The After Dark Club, a sleazy joint that, unbeknownst to them, is home to a nest of vampires that feed on the lonely patrons.

When AJ is fed to Katrina (Jones), the queen of the bloodsuckers, Keith and Duncan attempt to flee the city, along with cute waitress Amaretto (Dedee Pfeiffer), but find their escape hampered not only by countless members of the undead, but also by Snow and his fellow gang members.

Featuring a witty script, excellent art direction, great make-up effects from Greg Cannom, and lively, fun performances from all involved, Vamp proves to be one of the better 'cheesy' horrors of the 80s, and is my third favourite teen vampire film of the decade (after The Lost Boys and Fright Night). The film makes stunning use of garish, coloured lighting (perhaps inspired by Dario Argento's Suspiria, which uses similar strong colours), giving the whole affair a freakish and rather unsettling look; this disturbing atmosphere is further compounded by a feeling of complete helplessness that is reminiscent of Scorsese's similarly surreal After Hours.

Admittedly, Vamp does occasionally veer a little too close to dumb teen comedy territory, and one or two scenes are rather convoluted or silly (what kind of vampire keeps metal drums full of flammable liquid in their crypt? And that Formica quip.... weak!), but on the whole, this is a refreshingly offbeat and stylish effort that deserves more recognition.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

Vamp is a great movie! The comedy mixes with the horror to form an entertaining time! Grace Jones gives a great performance of Katrina! Very recommended. The rest of the cast is funny, and it's really worth it

Vamp (1986) was another one of those teenage sex/horror film that was widely popular during the eighties. This is one of the better ones. Not a great movie mind you but it's entertaining and it does the job. Vamp stars Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler (whats an 80's movie without him?) Gedee Wantanabe, Dee Dee Phiffer , Billy Drago and Grace Jones.

A group of late teens decide to go to the big city and look for some kicks. They find a seedy strip club, inside are a bunch of wigged out patrons, sleazy strippers and a Reinfried like bartender. Robert is fascinated with one of the strippers whilst Chris falls fro one of the waitresses. Grace Jones co-stars as the main attraction. Billy Drago makes a guest spot as a crazy vampire who likes to slum it up in a kiddie corner. It doesn't take Chris too long to find out that the club has a dark secret and he tries to find a way out without drawing the attention of the owners. Can Chris and his buddies make it to safety or will they become part of the staff?

An entertaining film that was heavily borrowed in the nineties cult favorite From Dusk 'til Dawn. The similarities are too obvious. Q.T. must have had this movie in mind (along with about six others) when he wrote the script. I would have to recommend this movie for horror fans and lovers of eighties movies. Fun stuff with a lot of tongue in cheek humor!

In Kansas, the friends Keith (Chris Makepeace) and AJ (Robert Rusler) are trying to join the best fraternity in the university. Their pledge is conditioned to the presence of a stripper to entertain the veteran's members of the fraternity. They need transportation to go to the city to hire a stripper, so they invite the boring Duncan (Gedde Watanabe) to go with them in his car. They arrive in a bar called "After Dark Club" and soon they realize that the place is a nest of vampires, leaded by the evil Katrina (Grace Jones).

"Vamp" is a delightful, funny and very underrated vampire cult-movie. I do not know how many times I have watched this movie, but I loved it and it is one of my favorite vampire movies ever. It is funny to see in 2005, a common pre-AIDS gesture of affection between boy-friends and girl-friends: when Keith cuts his finger, Allison (Dedee Pfeiffer) sucks his blood. I found the IMDb User Rating extremely unfair and I really do not agree with such low rating. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Vamp: A Noite dos Vampiros" ("Vamp: The Night of the Vampires")

Note: On 11 November 2013, I saw this movie again.