Vampire at Midnight

Didn't start out very well, with the introduction of the cliched, macho cop character (who single-handedly defused a hostage situation)... but grew to be a rather well-made film for the genre. I don't know if it was the xenophobe in me, but hurray for the return of the vampire with the Eastern European accent. (Is it any wonder Bela Lugosi is generally still remembered as the most popular Dracula?) This vampire's hiding behind the profession of hypnotherapy was an excellent idea, hypnotism being one of the powers of vampirism. The villain, however, seemed to be breaking the other rules of vampirism, keeping the viewer on his/her toes... could he have been George Romero's "MARTIN," all grown up? I also enjoyed the presence of the vampire's pretty boy "assistant" ("Raoul"), a novelty characterization we haven't seen until Brad Pitt in "INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE"!

I don't know what our macho cop hero saw in the blond piano-playing heroine, since she was always so depressed and lifeless. Maybe it was the fact that she had a nice body? (One that we later got to see, fortunately, undraped?) The annoying macho cop kind of grew on me as the film wore on, and when I read his other credits on the IMDB, I was totally won over when I noticed he was the actor who played "FLESH GORDON"! (I still have a soft spot, whenever I see him in B-movie potboilers, for Sam "FLASH GORDON" Jones, as well...)

Now, if the prospective viewer is anything like me and an addict of B movies, they may derive some entertainment from this thing, but it's not likely to be much. There was some potential here, but the movie is unfortunately a little dull. After a while, it becomes hard to care that much about it, as it spends a little too much time with our villain's seduction of the heroine. Jason Williams of "Flesh Gordon" fame, who was also a story author and producer (with Tom Friedman), stars as a mildly quirky loner detective, Roger Sutter, who picks up the trail of a "vampire killer" at large in L.A. This character, whose actual name is Victor Radikoff, has a cover as a hypnotherapist, and is by far the most intriguing person in this story; he's played by a character actor named Gustav Vintas, whose credits also include "Lethal Weapon", "Silent Assassins", and a 1989 movie titled "Midnight". His performance is a highlight as he does look pleased to be playing this part, and does have a soft spoken charisma about him. And Victor is not your typical "vampire": no coffins for this guy. One commendable aspect to this movie is that it keeps it ambiguous as to whether he really is a vampire, although he does indeed drink blood right from his victims' throats. Among his victims are a stand-up comedian and a pair of dancers; the leading lady, Jenny (sexy blonde Lesley Milne) is an aspiring concert pianist. For the most part, the cast is as underwhelming as the film; Williams is a handsome guy but doesn't fare too well in a pretty standard role. (It's apparently supposed to be an endearing character trait that he drops his own food into his fish tank.) He's been more engaging elsewhere. Milne does entice us by baring almost all in one delectable scene near the end. Robert Random, who'd also worked with Williams on the goofy sci-fi clunker "Time Walker", appears as the ill-fated detective Al Childress; other than Radikoff, the most amusing people here are his young associates, Amalia (Jeanie Moore) and Raoul (Christopher Nee), the latter sporting one of the most ridiculous mullets you'll ever see. Directed by Gregory McClatchy, who'd co-edited the movie "The Great American Girl Robbery" in which Williams had acted, and featuring some catchy music. This isn't terribly satisfying; it's watchable enough but should have been more fun. Six out of 10.

I know. This is not a great movie. But within its purposes (making a cheap action film) and within its historical context (80's) it is a very cool film. Demonic villain, inelegant protagonist and a beautiful girl. All this in a climate of mystery that the serial killer, dubbed by the newspapers of "Vampire Killer", causes in the city where the feature film is happens. My grade 9 seems like an exaggeration, but I really enjoyed the sympathy of the film and its ambient thriller. And the final scene shows why less famous films are so cool. I can not forget to quote the soundtrack, very good. A great movie from the 80 years.

L. A. police detective Roger Sutter (Jason 'Flesh Gordon' Williams) is on the case of the Vampire Killer, who drains his victims of blood; when not sleuthing, Sutter is trying to woo his aspiring concert pianist neighbour Jenny Carleton (Lesley Milne). Business and pleasure collide for Roger when Jenny visits balding psychoanalyst/hypnotherapist Victor Radikoff (Gustav Vintas), who claims that he can use his powers to help struggling artists to achieve amazing results: the mysterious doctor is, of course, the vampire killer, and he plans to make Jenny his 'bride'.

The plot for this one is fairly unremarkable, and the execution is routine; matters play out in a predictable manner, but the film is reasonably entertaining nonetheless thanks to some wonderfully dated elements and a degree of '80s cheeze. Clearly aware that the story and acting alone will not sell his film, director Gregory McClatchy sees fit to include a healthy dose of nudity, with almost every female character getting their kit off (the sex scene between Sutter and his horny colleague Lt. Lucia Giannini being one of the most gratuitous I can think of). We also get some effective moments of violence, including a shoot out with some street thugs, the brutal murder of a cop, and assorted slashing with the big blade that Victor keeps up his sleeve.

Adding to the fun are Victor's acolyte Raoul (Shendt), who sports a world-class mullet that reaches down to his ass, a couple of hilariously awful dance routines, Jonny Solomon as desperately unfunny stand up comic Lee Keller, and the entertaining ending in which Victor uses his hypnotism to make two cops turn their guns on each other.

A vampire is terrorizing the city, victims found drained of blood, and so it's up to a close-to-the-wind detective to find the killer. The wonderfully enigmatic and sinister villain, posing as a hypnotherapist, is the most effective vampires of recent years, the film is well-paced and chilling and has strong characters and an excellently surreal and brooding soundtrack (which ought to be released on CD/cassette). The sets are imaginatively-designed and there is a very thought-provoking ending.