To Die For

This is a very underrated vampire movie. I think it was one of the best vampire films ever made. It has a great cast (Brendan Hughes is just so sexy), good acting, a traditional, but different story, it has everything. The only thing I did not like about this movie was that SOME, not all, of the death scenes are cheesy. This movie was very romantic and when you watch it, you feel hypnotized. I strongly recommend this movie to everyone!

Real estate broker Kate Wooten (Sydney Walsh) is having trouble finding love while her roommate Ceila (Amanda Wyss) is now engaged to her fiancé Mike (Micah Grant). While attending a business party with her friend Martin (Scott Jacoby), Kate meets the enigmatic and charming Vlad Tepes (Brendan Hughes) who cultivates a romantic relationship with her unaware he is in fact the infamous Vlad the Impaler inspiration for the legend of Dracula.

To Die For is a 1989 low budget horror film produced by Greg H. Sims who was a fan of horror films including Dracula films and sought to approach the material more in the vein of a love story than a standard horror film. While only a modest performer in its initial release (though successful enough to spawn a direct-to-video/cable sequel) and mostly forgotten today, To Die For is actually a reasonably enjoyable film.

While To Die For doesn't stray too far from the established formula of vampire films trading in 19th century Wallachia for contemporary West Coast United States, the movie still tries to play itself as a straight gothic romance only within a modern day setting. With movies such as The Lost Boys and Fright Night became commercial successes by incorporating both horror and camp (as per the style of the time) while more serious such as The Hunger tended to be ignored by the public, you have to admire Sims for his commitment to making a vampire movie without a single twinge of irony to it despite the pethora of comparatively lighter teen skewing fare that had dominated the decade's depiction (for better or worse). Brendan Hughes and Sydney Walsh have solid chemistry as Vlad and Kate respectively and you do find yourself invested in the outcome of this story. I will say the writing is maybe a touch sloppy with a few too many characters and tangents for an 84 minute runtime with Scott Jacoby feeling somewhat edged out of the movie along with Micah Grant who probably could've been merged into the same character, and parts involving Celia or Steve Bond's Tom feel like they could've used some more breathing room. But minor gripes aside, Sims and his crew set out to create a serious minded vampire love story and they delivered on that front. I'd also be remised in my duty if I didn't mention they impressive effects work of John Carl Buechler (which also earned the film an X rating before an appeal) and we get some solid if sparingly used vampire slaying sequences and transformation effects even if parts like the Vampire's telekinesis are a little eyebrow raising.

I'll be the first to admit I have a soft spot for vampire films and you could argue maybe I'm being a little too generous here, but I like what I like. For a scant $1 million To Die For delivers on what it promises.

Having read another review, I thought this movie would actually be good. I do enjoy the "B" movies, but this couldn't even be classed as such. The photography is probably the only half-way decent thing in the movie. But the editing left much to be desired. It was very choppy and staccato. Whoever chose the music and sound did a terrible job. The music was awful, specially anything atmospheric or scene setting. If the acting had been better, they could have pulled the movie off. Unfortunately, I've seen better acting in porn flicks. If you want to see a "B" vampire movie, check out 'Blood Ties'. You'll be much more entertained.

What a gem of a movie, so good that they made a sequel.

The film starts off really good with a nasty monster who eats a few people and a party where the 2 main characters first set eyes on each other.

Bendan Hughes plays the eccentric Vlad, a bit of an inkling there to who this character is, who has moved into town and uses the services of a particular real estate agent to find him a house.

Hell, we've all seen vampire movies, we know the format.

The movie is watchable, but the actors' performances are very wooden and they seem as they don't want to be in this film, but may be that's just all part of the decadent ambiance.

Didn't like the ending, but there is a sequel, must track it down.

When I watched the film I thought Brendan Hughes didn't really fit the part. Later on, I couldn't stop thinking about him, he sort of exudes an eerie sensuality, so maybe he was right for the part.

BRENDAN HUGHES Last seen in 'Hitler - the rise of evil' as Lt. Guffman.

Where is he now?

I watched movie few times since I was a teenager. I did like it , yes it could use some work and added some more in scenes that were lacking, but overall decent movie.