Song of the Vampire

"Song of the Vampire" is one of those movies that took years to complete, not because it's a vast and elaborate undertaking, but because it was stitched together on a tiny budget, probably in the production team's spare time. Rest assured that there are bloopers and signs of amateurism aplenty. But if you're reading this, you're probably already a low budget horror fan, so no doubt you're used to production values that aren't exactly blockbuster-level.

What really matters is the story, and in this case, it holds together pretty well. The basic premise is older than the hills; a vampire returns from his grave to seek a lost love. But there's some unique elements in the mix, including a very sympathetic heroine who is stalked by a psycho ex-boyfriend. Other commentators have complained that the domestic drama drags the movie down to a "chick-flick, Lifetime special of the week" level, but hey, I think it works. It's cool to get a female director's perspective on horror, and I find it annoying that so many male viewers are quick to dismiss a story that isn't as drenched in testosterone as something they would produce.

The directing is solid, considering that Denise "Subspecies" Duff wasn't working with decent cameras or lighting equipment. On the DVD commentary, she cheerfully admits that many of the props were obtained from Wal-Mart! But she's a very good photographer, and she knows how to frame interesting shots and inject a bit of mood here and there. Her work certainly eclipses much of what Full Moon did - with a lot more money - during the early 1990s. The only really amateurish parts are the action scenes; the gore is pretty convincing, but the slow-mo and synthesized suspense music are silly.

No doubt the people who will work to track this movie down are the same people it was made for. So you'll probably like it, you wacked-horror buff. Just be prepared for a movie that's less violent and OTT than "Subspecies," and a bit more grounded in the real world. Well, the real world, plus one hammy vampire.

" Atmosphere,Real Romance,and a Likable/Familiar cast.Whatever Denice Duff,James Horan and Ron Ford do next-Count me in the audience.Please make a sequel,and Denise become a creature of the night IN IT !!!"

Ok, someone else pointed out the goofs. I did see the microphone dip in about 10 different times, but I didn't see the stage hand. Other than that, this movie held me for one original reason: I see as many vampire movies as possible, and this is the first one that I remember where the woman fell for the vampire BUT she wanted to remain mortal. They've been dating for several nights--him vampire and she human-- and that's how she wanted to keep it. Whenever a woman "gives" herself to a vampire and willingly becomes one herself, it never works out. Denice's character was smarter than that. I'm also not a fan of "good-guy" vampires, but Jonathon is a rare exception. No, he's not good when he killed cops and the innocent old gardener, but it was classy of him to spare Aunt Z 3 times for his lover's sake. Orville from Every Which Way but Loose throws in some comic relief, and makes the film good in my view. So laugh at Geoffrey and all the boom-mikes hanging down, but enjoy the rest !

Anyone who's read my Subspecies reviews knows I'm a big fan of those films and of the work of Denise Duff, so I was really looking forward to the arrival of this project. Well, I have to say it's not great, but I'm willing to cut Duff some slack; it shows a lot of style for a first project, she's clearly been a careful student during her projects with Full Moon, and I'll definitely be interested in any further directing work by her.

Though at FM she only worked on the Subspecies series, this movie seems more influenced by FM's other, more Gothic vampire epic "Vampire Journals", with James Horan as Jonathan almost a dead-ringer (sorry) for that film's Jonathan Morris as Ash (hmm, name coincidence?). Good-guy vampire Jonathan, whose lover Caroline died in his arms at the hand of a jealous husband, seeks her reincarnation and finds her as modern-day Victoria Thorn (Duff). No doubt Victoria is the one: she's not only been having nightmares of Caroline's death using the exact same footage we see in Jonathan's flashbacks, but she also has a jealous husband, this one a murderous psycho who's just gotten out of jail and serves gruesome notice that he has no plans to respect the judge's restraining order. --You can see exactly where this is going to go, but it's fun to watch it get there. Duff knows how to sell a vampire film: she wants to make a Gothic romance, but also knows you have to toss in some gore and nudity to keep the stake-and-slash crowd happy, and manages a fair (though not ideal) balance of the two elements. It's also a kick to spot the little Subspecies homages tossed in here and there, like the documentary on "Prince Vladislas of Romania" and the Nicolaou's Used & Antique Books shop. --The pacing's slow, some of the acting is dire (especially: Duff really should have reined in Mr. Thorn's teeth-gnashing psychotics), there are some awful lighting/scene matching glitches, and the token attempt at historical backstory is so lame it made me cringe (excuse me? crossbows and voodoo priestesses only 100 years ago? That's 1903!) But overall I enjoyed it; Horan and Duff are likeable and convincing in the leads, there are some nice visuals, and I'd call it well worth the time of any fan of Full Moon's vampire tales. I congratulate Duff on getting this project on the shelves and hope she will direct again in this vein (--sorry, couldn't resist).

(p.s.--I *loved* the careful note in the end-credits assuring the viewer that the role of "dead cat" was played by a slipper.)

Overall I thought this was pretty good movie. I'll admit, I like Denice Duff, but her contributions to the cinematography on this were outstanding.

As far as being a bit of a "Chick Flick", I agree that it had its moments, but it had some good violence and humor too. Enough of a mix that I was able to watch it with my wife. Usually when I watch indie horror she curls up with a book or just takes a nap.

The acting was solid and for the most part the production values are good. I suspect a larger budget would have allowed for dailies that would have caught that mic, but alas, catching it in post makes it near impossible to re-shoot on a low budget, especially once they realized how difficult cutting in the video footage would have been. (I think 24p HD would be a great choice for the sequel and solve a lot of problems) A movie worth a watch for vampire fans or fans of Denice Duff (she's easy on the eyes). Love the credit about the slipper as well.