Vampires

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.

I was going through the Sundance on Demand list and came across a title that just sang to me. It was "Vampires" so how could I not want to see it. It is a Belgian Film done in a serious documentary style that is reminiscent of the stuff you see on CurrentTV.

A film crew gets the green light to follow a family of vampires in Belgian's uber-exclusive Vamp community. After several attempts that ended with the crew being eaten a third crew manages to find a family with enough self control to allow the film to get made. The family is dysfunctional as hell, the politics of vampire society are complex and sensitive, and we are nothing but meat.

This film is subtitled and moves pretty fast so you have to really pay attention unless your fluent in Belgian and French. The documentary still was subdued but kept a very intense feeling of unease as you followed this family along during the night shot only premise. These vampires do not go in the daylight. They don't even get up till the sun goes down. Anyway from the beginning you can almost feel the nervousness of the film crew that have to be there watching this family eat their meat (us).

There are so many dynamics to this film that it keeps you interested the entire time as you deal with the father's cold restrictive beliefs, the mother's complete disregard for her families volatile state as she comes off as a lunatic barely coherent only able to express disgust for her daughter and contempt for her husband. The son is unruly, disruptive and pretty much disrespectful of vampire code. The daughter hates everything about being a vampire and wants to be human. She even goes so far as to sleep in a girly pink coffin with her human boyfriend.

This documentary is one of the best displays of vampire lore I have seen in a long time. The culture and relationships the vampires have with each other are extreme to say the least and they completely mirror the behavior of any suburban or contemporary social structure. The film is really good at paralleling the emotional numbness of a old world set of values where everything is enforced based on codes and clan law which resemble the more strict religious groups around the world that stay closed off from mainstream society. Later the polar system to this way of life is visible when the family is exiled to Canada for a violation to live among the vampire community. There everything is modern and the vampire community is assimilated into the human world.

I really enjoyed watching this film and after about 30 minutes you become really invested in the family emotionally. You forget it is fictional and start believing that it is a real documentary following real people.

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.

Belgium has a long tradition of faut documentary, film noir and sarcasm and this movie does not disappoint. If you are looking for a bloody and gory Hollywood movie stay far away from it, if you're looking for great dialogues in French, Flemish and German (I must admit the movie is better if you can understand those three languages Nd get the clever jokes and sarcastic comments), excellent cinematography, a good storyline and no special effects than this is it. Movies just like movies should be made. Focusing on the acting and not on the special effects. If you like Hollywood horror ignore it, if you are a fan of Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff you'll love it.