Vampire at Midnight

I went into "Vampire At Midnight" hoping it would be a nice little treat, but I came away thinking that this late-night b-horror, didn't come together. I can see why it's not particularly well known, or even a cult-film. After a promising beginning, it stalls and like others have mentioned, becomes quite bland, a little slow and dull. It was just a little too chilled and relaxed. Still in parts, it does work because of some unorthodox touches and script's witty style. Like the story playing up the idea; is the killer a vampire or not? (He uses a hidden switchblade, not his teeth, but still drinks from their bloody throats).

Jason Williams in the lead role as the homicide detective on the case gives a likable performance for a mundane character. On the other side of the coin, Gustav Vintas' seductively dry performance as the killer is quite exemplary. Going for that European touch, which worked for me, but the vampire traits were rather different then the norm. Old school sensibilities within changing times and surroundings.

I think where it does lose somewhat its momentum, is when the killer takes a liking to the detective's beautiful neighbour (played vibrantly by Lesley Milne) who's an aspiring pianist. It's a bit of a stretch on how the paths cross, but it's obviously there to move the story along and add some suspense, which I don't think is all that effective or interesting. I just think there is something more there, but it only scrapes the surface. Making our killer quite a shallow shell despite Vintas' best. While I'm not much of a fan of where the story headed towards the back-end, I still got to hand it to them about the closing which does pack a killer punch.

For its low-budget, its visuals and lighting are particularly well-made. The L.A backdrop is hypnotic and added to the smokey and seedy atmospherics. Too bad I find some of the scenes repetitive and plodding, which took away its attempts of building tension, leaving the attacks as mean-spirited. The support cast were capable with the likes of Jeanie Moore, Esther Alise and Robert Rando.

"Leave this vampire thing alone".

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.