Diário de um Vampiro

You've got to give credit to Ted Nicolau for creating a somewhat separate vampire world from the Subspecies world he had previously mastered, and still manage to be original and engaging.

Here we have a movie that was actually filmed in Romania (as Subspecies were) and has that gothic renaissance quality about it. A beautiful low-budget film that puts to shame such mainstream atrocities as Interview With A Shampooer.

Jonathon Morris who plays Ash is such a great actor beyond description. He really should be in more films, but i guess he prefers the classical stage acting field of work. We did get to see him again in Subspecies 4 reprising his signature role of Ash, so that was a welcome addition to the franchise. David Gunn also does a marvelous job as Zachery, the vampire (and vampire slayer) torn between the two worlds.

It would have been nice if there would have been a sequel or two to Vampire Journals, i suppose that died in the monetary problems at Full Moon in recent years. Alas, we still have this excellent movie for posterity through the years....in blood.

A very slow movie in some respects, but the shadow work, that I so loved in his Subspecies series, were even heavier in this movie!:) The scenes and buildings were very gothic,complete with fog-enshrouded nights and cemetaries. The feel of this movie was also very 'dark' and satisfyingly gothic for the goth/vampire movie lover:) Also check out all the Subspecies movies...my faves being 1,2, and 3.

Underrated Director Ted Nicolau, a Full Moon entertainment veteran, made a step forward in his vampire universe with this movie that sadly has been overlooked as time goes by. "Vampire Journals" is probably the best movie produced by Full Moon, and easily ranks among the best vampire movies ever.

The movie tells the story of Zachary (played by David Gunn), a vampire who has vowed to exterminate as many of his specie as he can since his life as one of the undead has given him nothing but tragedies. In his hunting, he finds Ash (Jonathon Morris), a vampire master who controls a club and loves the music. Things get complicated when both of them fall in love with a beautiful pianist named Sofia (Kirsten Cerre).

The most remarkable feature of the movie, is the perfect combination of camera-work, edition and music to create a Gothic feeling that remains through the movie, making it look as a beautiful canvas despite its low budget. Every visual aspect of the movie is of a supernatural beauty, as if the locations were a character too.

Ted Nicolau creates a superb movie that improves in all aspects what he had already accomplished with his other vampire movies, the "Subspecies" series. The SFX are great for the budget and never seem out of place, the movie retains that Gothic surreal feeling without sacrificing anything.

The acting is really good, although nothing special. David Gunn carries the film with grace but is Jonathon Morris who steals the show as the vampire Ash. Worth to mention is the performance of the beautiful Ilinca Goia, who in her limited screen time captures the attention of the viewer not only with her looks, but her performance as well.

Of course, nothing is perfect, the movie keeps that "low-budget" feeling that most of the 90s Full Moon movies carried, but is admirable the effort of Nicolau to make the most of what he got. Also, the script feels too short, leaving the audience wanting to see more of this marvelous Gothic universe. Indeed, the movie demands a prequel and a sequel in order to have the story fully developed.

To summarize, this movie was a pleasant surprise, as it is a worthy addition to every fan of the vampire sub-genre. An outstanding effort by director Ted Nicolau. Best Full Moon picture ever. 8.5/10

the movie vampire journals is an awesome look into the dark life of a vampire, I thought it was great my favorite vampire was of course zachary I fell in love with him the very first time I saw the movie. david gunn plays a very tormented vampire you can,t help but feel pity for him also in my opinion you learn to have very powerful love for him. the movie was way better than blade I feel anyways

As a vampire movie fan, I recommend this movie to all of those goth and erotic vampire fans (the movie shows less flesh than "Embrace of the vampire" for example, see my comment about "Embrace of the vampire" and other vampire movies to judge better between this movies).

Quite, it's no vampire action flick and you will see not much nudity in the movie, but the movie has got some story to tell. You will watch a movie with lots of vampire mystery and magic with a good cast and a well chosen soundtrack which will take you on a brilliant 90 minute surreal ride to Prague.

Impressions:

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Overall: surreal, mysterios, erotic, fascinating, romantic

Gore/Splatter: no splatter, nice amount of "violence" and blood.

Nudity: some

Fangs: Jep, look nice (I write this because I hate those vampire movies which show no fangs), some nice blood sucking too

Cast: good actors, all unknown for what I know

Soundtrack: nice one, more the classic music type!

DVD: fullscreen, good picture, good sound, uncut

Who should not watch? I think it's not good for people that poke fun on the action vampire type (like "Blade"). There is no minor action in the movie. If you hate pianos and get the creeps by the words "classic music", "erotic horror" or "dialogue".

To judge better if you are not sure watching the film, I'll give you my favourite vampire flicks:

Action & gory vampire movies:

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Blade

John Carpenter's Vampires

Modern Vampires (tip!)



The more romantic movies:

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Bram Stoker's Dracula

Vampire Journals

Embrace of the vampire

The trash movies (I dig them a lot):

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From dusk til dawn2

From dusk til dawn1

From dusk til dawn3

Blood for Dracula (Andy Warhol movie with a young Udo Kier, very bloody and sarcastic, lots of gore and nudity)

Vampire Happening (my 60ies trash tip)

Don't forget the Hammer films!!!!

Please write me a line if you found my comment useful. Vampire movie fans are welcome =[