Vampire - Verstecken war gestern!

I absolutely love that I discovered this raw, bloody gem which details the lives of a French family full of vampires. Normally I hate mockumentary, documentary, and found footage films but this was definitely the immaculate exception. This is "What We Do in the Shadows" older, gutter punk cousin from Belgium here surprising you with an unwanted visit. They will kick your friends teeth into the curb and steal their wallet just because they can and laugh while doing it. The character and story line of Grace was by far my favorite. She brought the most laughter and absurdity, which I greedily "sucked" up.

This was not your typical played out blood sucker flick.This is so refreshing after a slew of films that rely on special effects or soft core to sell tickets,i caught this gem on Netflix instant .This explained the evolution of vampires from the impaler to modern day.In this tongue in cheek hilarious mock documentary take on things rarely addressed in this genre.A series of well thought out interviews explore the family dynamics of teen angst,sibling rivalry,etiquette,dating,police,education,immigration ,infedelity,first love," death day" celebrations,homelessness,and integration into human society as well as the job force and political Snafu's.As well as the hideousness of the color pink.

Enjoyed this quirky foreign film quite a bit. Kind of like What We Do in the Shadows but definitely darker.

A documentary film crew follows a vampire family and their much maligned neighbors who live in the basement after several previously disastrous attempts to film in the bloodsucking community.

Part comedy, part drama and definitely part horror we follow the family through the lens of the crew. Some of the vampire tropes will be familiar but some are decidedly different and quite entertaining. The family dynamics are pretty amusing as well ( like the teenage daughter who just wants to be a human again).

Recommend if you're looking for a fun film, with subtitles, that has a sense of humor about itself and some bloodsucking thrown in. Just don't expect a fast paced, vampire thriller because this isn't that tye of film.

I find myself, sometimes, strongly disagreeing with other viewer's opinions about a movie or another. I guess this is the case here too, since I was amazed with the subtle irony of the screenplay and the great acting in Vampires. It fulfills the promises HBO's True Blood made in the beginning (and after that fell into ridiculous). A 10/10 start and then some pretty shallow following seasons – nothing to make me watch it anymore, except for one episode here and there, in the nights when I really don't have anything better to do.

This movie, by comparison, brings something fresh and interesting (and holds it throughout, to the end) in the whole vampire films industry, with its dull mass production and only few products that really shine and stand out. I'm not sure - perhaps it's a bit hard to 'get it, because in order to thoroughly enjoy it, one must be familiar with the myths and taboos AND the reality regarding the two main locations in the movie – Belgium and Canada. The second requirement would be to watch it not expecting some wild action or romance fantasy movie, but a very reality-based review of the social and personal issues of the regular guy/family.

If I were to describe it by comparing to other movies that made an impression on me in the same way, this vampire movie is kind of what Last Night (1998, Canada) means for the 'end of days' genre, 2046 (2004, Hong Kong) for the 'hard to find your soul mate' genre, The Mirror (1975, Soviet Union) for 'my life as I remember it' genre, The Fountain (2006, USA) for 'how we cope with the loss' genre and so on. OK, I think I may have made up those genres, but you get the idea... I'm talking about an unexpected point of view, intelligent, deep, making a point with great sense of humour (in Vampires) – all things that set it apart from the crowd.

The greatest cult movie that my country ever brought forward is inarguably "Man Bites Dog", about a group of journalists following around a serial killer who openly talks about his occupation and proudly illustrates his modus operandi in front of the camera. Now, nearly twenty years later, Belgium has another false/pseudo documentary ready with "Vampires", although I doubt this one will become as big and successful. Too bad actually, because "Vampires" is a fresh, inventive and pleasantly deranged movie with an intelligent script and devoted acting performances by the ensemble cast. The members of a TV crew get the assignment of following around a family of vampires and shoot a documentary about their life, habits and characteristics. The crew receives a warm welcome from patriarch Georges, his wife Bertha and their two children Samson and Grace. The family lives in the French- speaking part of Belgium, where life is beautiful and easy-going thanks to the country's protective and all-covering social system. They feed on illegal immigrants and former prostitutes referred to as "Meat" and attend gatherings with other vampires in the same district. The vampires have their share of problems as well, like recurring arguments with the couple living in the basement (vampires without children haven't got the right to purchase a house), the teenage daughter Grace wishes to be human and commits suicide all the time even though she's immortal and the partying son Samson has been caught having sex with the wife of the district vampire leader. Because of this tremendous offense Georges and his family are exiled to Canada, where a vampire's life is a lot less cheerful. The film's biggest trump is the clever and witty screenplay, co-written director Vincent Lannoo, that is chock-full of funny little gags, subtle society criticism and honorable references towards film and literature classics. There's not a dull moment in the script and the pacing is fast and rhythmic enough to keep you entertained throughout. This isn't really a horror movie, but still there are a handful of bloody massacres and nasty rituals illustrated on screen, basically to emphasize that the main characters are and remain, in fact, monsters. The performances are terrific. Like with "Man Bites Dog", I presume Belgians feel very comfortable with talking straight into the camera and act completely natural about the most eccentric and dubious subject matter. "Vampires" is a creative and replenishing comedy that makes me proud to be Belgian – especially since we only make the international news because of our political crisis and mass murderers – and I hope Vincent Lannoo & C° will be able to expand the success beyond Belgian boundaries as well.