Vampire

This slow, bizarre film tells the story of a semi-benevolent Vampire who trolls suicide pact websites looking for vulnerable souls who he can convince to consensually bleed themselves to death- so that he can feed on their blood. He's not one of those typical mythological vampire types- the ones we are all familiar with. Rather, a daywalking human Vampire that seems to possess an inescapable and insatiable desire to drink human blood.

By day, he's a highschool biology teacher that watches over his Alzheimers ridden mother. By night, he associates with an online community of suicidal wannabes, and the other twisted f*cks that are attracted to such people- like moths to a light.

He normally operates by forming a relationship with one of the "Side by Cide" members, who he then meets in an isolated location- with their computer (to prevent the police from obtaining evidence of their correspondence)- before using his cunning to convince them to bleed themselves dry- while assuring them that he'll take himself out when it's all over. Though, actually collecting and consuming their blood, instead.

Things take a turn, when he goes to meet a potential suicidee...only to find out that she had arranged a group suicide with a bunch of other members from the site. All but he and one other girl are killed when one of the suicidees releases a cloud of carbon monoxide inside their van.

The two survivors make their way back to civilization. But on the way...the girl figures out that he is the infamous "Vampire", who has been seducing, killing and consuming the blood of the site's disappearing members. He's kind of famous in their realm.

When confronted with his real identity, he admits everything to her. Only to discover that she is willing to offer her blood- her life- to him.

While working on the girl he met at the group suicide, his psycho stalker wannabe-girlfriend breaks into his apartment and onto his computer- looking for some sort of evidence that he's found someone else. While rummaging through his apartment, she jimmies open a locked closet, where she (apparently) discovers his hidden secret.

He doesn't even kill the girl from the group either, having fallen seemingly in love with her- rendering him unable to go through with it. The two form a new pact with each other: he is to cease killing if she let's him drink from her neck- being his "only one".

In an ironic twist of fate, though, one of his student's with suicidal tendencies- whom he had previously talked out of killing herself- slits her wrists and winds up in the hospital, needing blood. When he is contacted as next of kin, the nurse asks him if he is willing to donate his own blood in order to save her life.

You'd think that this altruistic act would have garnered him some good karma, but when he returns to his flat, the police are waiting for him... I do, however, suppose that you might wonder whether it was this act of benevolence that actually sealed his fate.

With this film Iwai has created a monster that is not merely a heartless and manipulative, psychopathic killer, rather a burdened and tormented soul who is forced to cope with the fate he's been dealt. It's not your typical horror scenario, by any means. It's less a film that exploits the romantic gore on which most cliché vampire films are based. Instead opting for more of an emotionally disturbing approach. The ending is kind of a cop-out, but the film is oddly intriguing enough to hold your attention throughout it's almost two-hour runtime. It's certainly not the best vampire flick I've ever seen, but it's most definitely a different and original take on the genre. And for that reason it's worth a watch.

6 out 10.

Iwai steps out of his Japanese comfort zone to produce an all-English film that never sparks to life. A young teacher with a thirst for blood helps wannabe suicides to die, at the same time taking payment in blood to satisfy his craving.

Iwai goes after lyricism and visual poetry but forgets plot and character. These dull, droll people - they are all too sharp, witty, beautiful, young and clear-eyed to in any way convince that they are clinically depressed - wander through the frame, spouting little clunky monologues that are forgotten as soon as heard. There are some nice images here, you'd expect no less from Iwai, but the master storyteller who gave us Swallowtail and Love Letter does not inhabit this film. The subtlety and youthful longings that permeated Hana and Alice are also conspicuous by their absence. There is no dramatic tension, no empathy, no persuasive on-screen relationships - Martin and his mother never really convey a sense of shared history. A relationship with a cop seems forced in order to introduce an equally wooden stalker character. The script is badly under-realised, and everything after that can't move beyond that initial failure.

Iwai on top of his game is one of the world's best filmmakers, so it is deeply disappointing to see this flat, facile film in his oeuvre. Brief glimpses of his visual prowess remain, and allied to a stronger narrative, give hope that the old Iwai will show up in his next film. It's small consolation for having to sit through this.

To those that enjoy the Dracula vampire movies, don't bother with this one. This is not a fantasy. This is a true modern day sanguinarian vampire drama that is very enjoyable and very believable. While some may consider if bordering on horror, only due to a second vampire within the story, it is a well written and portrayed drama of true vampirism, where people truly are addicted to drinking human blood of others. Most will enjoy this as it fails to be as predictable as it first appears, and everyday life drama is well portrayed. It is disappointing that that many gave this a low rating, most likely as they simply wanted to see the typical fantasy vampire horror movie. This isn't it - this movie is real life, and truly could be based on a true story.

From the director of two of the best films about teenagers ever made, All About Lily Chou Chou and Hana and Alice, Vampire is an idiosyncratic art film. It was Iwai's English language debut, premiering at Sundance in January of 2011. It was so poorly reviewed that it barely even got released theatrically anywhere (only in Japan, as far as I can tell), and only recently became available in America via Amazon download. The truth is, it is a disaster. Thankfully, though, it's a very interesting disaster. With expectations adjusted accordingly, I liked it, at least a bit. Kevin Zegers plays a high school biology teacher who has a secret life as a serial killer called the Vampire because he drains his victims' blood. His victims, though, are consenting, wishing him to help them commit suicide. His pretenses are generally false - they believe he's going to commit suicide alongside them (or, alternately, that he's going to use the blood for scientific research on suicidals), but he is a gentle man. He actually believes himself to be a vampire, or maybe he wishes he were one, and he drinks the blood afterward. The film is often lovely - aided by a gorgeous, ethereal musical score by Iwai himself. There are a couple of killer sequences, particularly the film's only real horror sequence, where Zegers is forced to accompany another serial killer (Trevor Morgan) as he hunts and murders a woman by suffocating her with a plastic bag. Of all the deaths I've encountered in movies this past month (I only watch horror films in October), this was by far the most terrifying to me, with the woman just left to stumble around trying to escape her plight. The real failure of the film comes with the subplot involving Zegers' Alzheimers-ridden mother (Amanda Plummer), whom he keeps from wandering out of his apartment by attaching giant, white balloons to her. This feels like something out of a terrible indie comedy (well, it did premier at Sundance!) and it just never works. There are a lot of other instances of people just not acting like real people ever would.

about solitude, death and relationship. a parody, a social analyze or only new image of serial killer. in fact, only a mirror for the importance of life, for the new forms of dialog, emo generation, internet importance and a poetic form of happiness.a Japanese air and almost unrealistic/confuse story. only an exercise to define a world. interesting, amusing, cold, realistic. a film who can be really bad for the expectation of young viewers or only metaphor for another. a story who not seduce but can be an inspired picture for many usual situations. and this is important. a Kevin Zegers who does a not bad role, exploring many of his character nuances, dialogs as smoke circles, crumbs of a kind of documentary and bizarre end. a film about a vampire. the only victim, different by usual definition/ expectations.