Manhattan Undying

Good story and cast. It's not like other movies it's completely different story of a Vampire and an artist.

A bunch of missed opportunities with this picture kept it stuck in a slow motion loop more or less replaying the same scenes over and over, with lots of coughing. Grade: C-

Manhattan Undying: This story of a romance between a Vampire and a dying artist paints a lovely picture but doesn't totally please the palate. Luke Grimes is a jaded young artist who enjoys a hedonistic rock star life, not caring for his art, unable to find inspiration. He is brought back to reality by the discovery that he has terminal lung cancer, with weeks to live at most. He is determined to find the perfect model on which to base his masterpiece.

Sarah Roemer pays the equally jaded Vampire who is tiring of the continuous avocation of picking up men to drain them dry. She is perhaps getting a tad careless as the police start to link the deaths and suspect a serial killer is at work. This police subplot doesn't work too well as the cops veer between seeing Grimes (he attended the same depraved clubs as the victims) and Roemer as suspects.

Inevitably Sarah and Luke meet up, Sarah has never seen her likeness and wants Luke to paint it. Luke finally has a muse but will he live long enough to complete the portrait? A dark tale of doomed love reminiscent of Only Lovers Left Alive but not quite up to that standard. Directed by Babak Payami from a screenplay by Matt Deller this is an effective Vampire film. 7/10. On Netflix.

Excellent movie! Touching, moving, romantic...I could go on with adjective after adjective. If you like unique quality movies in the Vampire Genre, that is skewed to Romance rather than violence, but with a great story behind it, then you will love this movie. The lead lady, although her spoken word is unlearned, her facial acting was spot on, and that is what is needed for this movie. And the leading man, well, he is great at capturing a Tortured artist. Not every movie has to be full of sex and violence to be good. Even though some reviewers seem to think it's mandatory. Also, the musical score is fitting and beautiful. This will not be everyone's cup of tea but it will move others!

Maybe I saw too many vampire movies ? I found this one as cliché as possible. Nightclubs full of lost souls, drugs and alcohol, sex and nihilism... The lead is supposed to be a tortured artist yet behaves more like a moody teenager. The art worl depiction is superficial.

Still, some good points : although unoriginal, the aesthetics are perfect. I also appreciate the ending, that is the choice of both leads with regards to immortality. It suits the theme of the movie.

I give five stars : I would have loved it were I still a teenager. The pacing, the tone, the theme remind me of an Anne Rice - like novel.