VAMP Vamps & Strippers

Vamps & Strippers

"You have to put umbrellas in the drinks. See? That's class!"

An obvious one I know but most of them will be. Vamp is a film from my childhood, its was one of those films that was shown in the middle of the night, usually at the weekend, along with Shocker, Basketcase, Nightbreed and the rest, I use to watch these films with the sound on low and they started my 2 o'clock morning hobby. So I think it right that Vamp should be my first, it is my Citizen Kane of "late night 80s low budget horror"

Take a look at the trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBHaW4ePu80&feature=related

Its best not to look to hard at the film as you will find holes, hence the reason I watch it late. The whole film has a nightmare quality about it which I think helps rise above the so bad its good tag. The film starts out as what seems to be a teen road trip movie, AJ (horndog) & Keith (sensible) promise a stripper for a frat party, the addition of Gedde Watanabe from sixteen candles as rich boy Duncan only adds to the light hearted teen fun. Taking along Duncan and his nice car they go in search of the After Dark Club, driving along sunny Hollywood Boulevard they spin the car after nearly having a crash and end up in a strange part of town with the sun going down -its all very Wizard of Oz. They find the club in a  somewhere in downtown L.A. and after fighting off a strangely dressed street gang (who I like to call David Bowie & his merry gang of New Romantics) they make their way to the club. Inside Duncan drinks alot, AJ eyes the sleezy strippers including one with a whip and Keith meets "Amaretto" - who he went to school with, Amaretto is not her real name and Keith cant remember what it was. The club is treated (and I use the term loosely) to a performance by Katrina (Grace Jones) - and its not your normal strip tease. After seeing her strip/dance/art installation/mad/no tits performance AJ goes in search of Katrina as he must have her for the frat party (frankly I'd have gone for the one with the whip), AJ is led to her lair by a cute BUT DOOMED asian girl & basically he becomes dinner for Katrina/Grace Jones in a rather scary scene. Meanwhile Keith cant find AJ and has cottoned on to the feeling something isn't quite right, Amaretto thinks she can help and they go back to her apartment she shares with another stripper - I think....I'm a bit unclear on her living situation. Meanwhile the Vampires realise AJ wasn't alone (a big rule for Katrina) the cute asian girl must pay for this is a shocking scene that is a little ruined by the Grace Jones' distracting head dress/TV aerial. Keith realises he's in the Vampire part of town, all hell breaks lose Keith must now fight for his life as he trys to escape, this has him running back & forth leading to confrontations with the David Bowie gang, being attacked by Vampires (all of a sudden they are EVERY WHERE) including a little child Vampire who I find very creepy, dealing with poor Duncan (BOOM) guessing what Amaretto's real name is (I'll tell you now, its Alison) dealing with AJ (guess what he's become) and a final fight in a pink highlighted sewer with Grace Jones. As its an 80s film needless to say the ending is upbeat with Keith having no interest with the consequences and is more interested in kissing Amaretto/Alison, "relax I'll take of everything" he remarks as he struts off into the sunrise with Alison- oh thank god for that Keith as there are still fucking shit loads of Vampires hanging around including that vicious little child one, plus you need to inform the police that you have torched the local strip club, blew up a car and the two guys you went on a road trip with are now both dead....kinda.

God I love this film.

Some people consider this film "so bad its good" but I don't agree. What saves it is its murky dream like quality, its bright colours make almost sickly and the surreal element reminds me a little of Lynch like Blue Velvet or Twin Peaks (which came later) the Hitchcock influence is obvious. The pink and green lighting is a stroke of genius and I for one think this film could contend as a Neo Noir, just take a look at Vertigo for the lighting influence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q8VhPT-VcM

From the moment the car spins the film completely changes into this nightmare world and that's where I find the film to be scary rather than the vampire part. What adds to this is the level of the actors emotions, Keith seems to be the only person to realise how dangerous the situation is, from Amaretto being unconcerned to AJ being only a little pissed about being a vampire, it just reminds me of a bad dream where no one else gets it.

Keith writing KICK ME on her back

Grace Jones is excellent as the head vampire, unlike other singer/models who act she really gives herself to the role. Making the character speechless was a masterstroke, it makes Grace and her co-stars act harder to understand what Katrina wants, it also adds more weight to her character making her to eye of the storm as the chaos happens around her. Katrina's "sexy" strip is also something to be seen, I remember at the time not getting it but as an adult I think its amazing, where else in a low budget comedy horror would you witness an art performance piece styled by Keith Haring using a cast of Dolph Lundgrens body as a chair for Grace to hump. Not having Grace do a sexy strip once again adds to the character when taking something away, I feel its almost as if Katrina has been around for so long she has transcended language and sexuality, these things are for mere mortals something she is not.

Amaretto

There really isn't a bad performance from any of the actors, Chris Makepeace really holds the film together and just glides through the madness, Dedee Pfeiffer (an endearing actress who never really got her moment) keeps Amaretto on the right side of dumb giving a performance that seems like a forerunner to what Cameron Diaz will do in the next era, I honestly think if another actress had played this role the character would have been so annoying it may have ruined the film, Rob Rustler nails his part and given his other roles (Weird Science included) keeps this film firmly in the 80s (not a bad thing) I love love love Sandy Baron as the Vegas loving, blood sucking club owner, he has a couple of good scenes which give him layers in fact he wouldn't be out of place in the Sopranos, he plays off well with Grace Jones and they have good chemistry, an odd pairing with their only common interest  being their need for blood, watching him feeding from her while muttering "its a dirty habit" is quite unsettling, it gives him depth which elevates the film some what, he also has (for me) the most memorable moment in the film where he eats bugs from a glass bowl. Gedde Watanabe is sadly wasted and his exit comes from nowhere which is a shame.

Stand out day player

This has to be the vampire bus driver, I find him really creepy I think it has to be his happy cartoon face with the vampire features, you can just imagine being the last person left onboard the bus only for him to turn round with that face *shiver* ....I know Im such a pussy








To sum up...........

So if you want to see a film that has vampire strippers, Grace Jones, a Dolph Lundgren chair, art influences by Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, Michelle Pfieffers sister, the jock from Weird Science, a bug eating old guy, Hitchock lighting, a gang that are inspired by David Bowie, all set in a VERY 80s downtown L.A. then this is the film for you. But only watch it at 2 in the morning

This film is available on DVD, I got it in a special presentation package by Arrow Film which sadly is not for sale in the USA, I love a good DVD presentation and this doesn't let me down so check them out http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk

image by RegTed

The word is Vamp is going to be remade but I cant see working for those who have seen the original, the film works because of the era its set in and the actors that are used anyway Vamp has already been remade........ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bBay_1dKK8