The Vampire and the Vamp

Today's guest blog is from author Susanne Saville - who has an absolutely charming website (who doesn't love hats on cats?), thanks Susanne!

The Vampire and the Vamp

While this year's Halloween feature in Salem, Massachusetts is Zombies,

vampires always have a place at the festivities. Not only is there a horror exhibit named Dracula's Castle, there is The Vampires' Masquerade Ball.

Why are vampires so popular? One reason is their image. Their modern image. Male vampires were originally portrayed as horrific and frightening. Have you seen F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu?
That vampire is the antithesis of sexy.

Yet at basically the same time, the word "vamp" - yes, from the word vampire - was being used to describe a highly eroticized, sexy woman.

This is the original vamp, Theda Bara.

In fact, female vampires have been portrayed as sexy right from the very beginning.

This probably has more to do with fear of female sexuality than anything else. You might think this fear was limited to the Victorian period. You would be wrong.

I just came across an interesting example in Landis MacKellar's book The Double Indemnity Murder. Judd Gray used this as a defense against a murder charge: he accused Ruth Snyder of being an "erotomaniac" who exhausted him through sex until he agreed to participate in her plan to murder her husband.

His lawyer said she "was abnormal, possessed of an all-consuming, all absorbing sexual passion, animal lust, which seemingly was never satisfied." And that, "...she sapped his strength" resulting in his "exhausted vitality" which made him her love-slave and gave him no choice but to do her bidding and commit murder. (p. 221)

Sounds like a vampire to me. :)

Male vampires didn't create love-slaves. Bela Lugosi's Dracula was powerful and mesmerizing, but not particularly sexy. Hammer Horror's Dracula, Christopher Lee, certainly could have been sexy, but the scripts did not help him with that. In one of his movies, as I remember, Dracula never even speaks!

The male vampire was a threat to men - The Other who is out to Have Our Women and must be stopped - and a source of pain and death to women.

This portrayal changed after Frank Langella took the role in 1979.

His Dracula was charming and suave; his bite was enjoyable rather than painful - something erotic rather than something dreadful. He was a source of excitement and pleasure to his female "victim" - who did not class herself a victim at all and had no wish to be "rescued."

This is generally the male vampire we read about in vampire romance today.

Thank goodness! ;)

Susanne Saville is the author of Vampire Close, a vampire romance set in contemporary Edinburgh, and for Kindle users, Dance Macabre, a vampire romance set in 1897 London.

Saturday Halloween Costume Search - Lost Boys

Since so many people's vampire movie was Lost Boys, I thought it would be fun to do a Lost Boys costume search.

I thought David would be the best choice:

Here's his vampire face:

Lost Boys Contacts

Lost Boys Wig? Make sure the sides are slicked back...

Lost Boys Fangs

You can also get the facial prosthetics - two different types to chose from:

This one, and this one

Instructions for make up and tips. - don't forget the stubble too.

To top off the Lost Boys face look don't forget the gold dangly earring in the left ear. I have a hard time finding a detail, but I found this picture:

if you have your ear's pierced I would just find a cheap pair at Forever21, Walmart, or anywhere.

I found these for a few bucks at Forever21

Finish the look with your clothes: Black shirt, brown or dingy denim coat or shirt under the coat, and black overcoat, black pants and boots!

Let the Right One in Review

I finally got around to getting a hold of Let the Right One In. It was actually available to stream from Netflix which was great and convenient but unfortunately a lot of it ended up being completely silent and the only reason I know what was said in certain parts was because of the subtitles.

I found LROI fairly disturbing. This is not a gory action vampire film; it is a coming-to-age film about two twelve year olds, each with their own set of problems. Oskar is a boy with no friends, is bullied constantly and although fantasizes about his revenge, he is too cowardly to stand up for himself. His mother is hardly home and while he greatly enjoys himself when he visits his father, his father quickly abandons him when more appealing company shows up. After meeting Eli, an odd 12 year old girl he later finds out is a vampire, he quickly becomes interested in her and impressed by her puzzle solving skills. They begin to befriend each other and live out their lives the way they choose to.

I found this film to be unique in the way Eli the vampire was portrayed. It seemed as if she was forever stuck as a young girl in not just body, but in mind somewhat as well. The film also puts a different spin on the popular belief that vampires can’t be invited into your home unless invited.

The film doesn’t exactly make you scared; you don’t jump in out of your seat, you simply feel a bit horrified at the behavior and feelings of Eli and Oskar. After the last scene we wondered if it would be categorized as a happy ending, a sad ending, or something else all together.

Rumor has it that there is going to be an American remake of this film which will probably be quite tragic.

Great Vampire Event in LA!

The band Crush is coming out with a vampire film called "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell" based on the novel of the same name. The event is to promote the band & the movie/novel and will feature a performance by Crush, a burlesque dancer (Shelby"Belfast" Jones) and DJ Satoki. They are also having a best dressed vampire contest where the winner will win a cameo in the film.

I like the Vampire Overture you can also download their album and find out more information. Unfortunately I can't make it because of work, but let me know if anyone else goes and how it went!

So I finally watched the Twilight movie

Yes, I finally watched the Twilight movie (I got a Blockbuster gift card for Easter). It wasn't too bad, although there were some parts I was too embarrassed to watch. I liked the way the end credits were done. Saying positive things first, there are several things that continually turn me off:

The announcement of true love when you are in high school and when you have only met your "true love." There is no such thing as love at first sight: just lust.

I'm in my early 20's, I'm not that old. I remember high school quite well, my stance was pretty similar when I was a sophomore too.

Really, if Bella hadn't announced her complete and irrevocable love for Edward 2 days after she had met him, it probably wouldn't have been too bad.

I also watched it with my husband and brother who said it wouldn't have been too bad if Edward hadn't been such a douchebag and if the movie wasn't so emo.

#1 On My Wishlist Right Now...

If you haven't heard already from Suburban Vampire or somewhere else, there is going to be an awesome vampire film festival in New Orleans on Halloween. Visit the site - they have links to the films, vampire interviews, store, and more.

From where I live in sunny California I am only a 31 hour drive away... too bad the entertainment company didn't stay where they are located! Bah! I want to go.

Anyone else out there who wants to, or plans on going?

Review - Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and Van Helsing

Friday we went to the opening of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Our tickets were bought hours before the show in fear that it would be sold out. I guess there are less Underworld fans than I thought because the theater wasn't packed when we sat down 15 minutes before it started (we were busy eating ice cream). The theater wasn't empty, but certainly less people than I would have thought.

I'm sure everyone knows the basic plot of this prequel, so I will skip the summary.

Overall I quite enjoyed the movie; I only have a couple complaints:
1. Who created some of the vampire's outfits and what were they thinking? I didn't realize that painted on paints and bra tops were fashionable back then.
2. The vampires were a sorry bunch. Their fighting skills were pretty much non-existent.
3. To try not and spoil it, I will just say - why couldn't she go out the window?

I enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would. If I remembered the second Underworld I probably would say I enjoyed the prequel more. I think one of my favorite characters was Raze, writer, producer, and actor of Underworld; Kevin Grevioux. Lucian (Michael Sheen) was quite charming as well.




I also watched Van Helsing this weekend.

For old time sake, (and nothing was on TV) I watched Van Helsing. The last time I had seen this movie was when it was in the theaters. It was hard to watch again.

While I love Hugh Jackman and vampires and all that good stuff, sleep seemed more appealing than to finish the movie. The special effects are pretty bad and the acting (even if they are acting satirical) was kind of atrocious.

Movie Reviews: The Fearless Vampire Killers and Club Vampire - The good and the bad

I just got back from my honeymoon -it was nice to be away for a week with beautiful weather and lovely company, but it did lack some vampire action, haha. I managed to finish watching The Fearless Vampire Killers last night. You can view lots of screen shots here.

Summary from Amazon:

One of Roman Polanski's more overt comedies, this 1966 monster spectacle stars Jack MacGowran and Polanski as a clunky but heroic pair of vampire killers. Called upon to rescue the beautiful and buxom daughter (Sharon Tate) of an innkeeper from a Draculalike bloodsucker, the duo muddle through all sorts of scrapes, the most intense being a scene in which a room full of dancing vampires realize the human interlopers are the only ones in the room who are reflected in a mirror. Scary and funny, the film has some unforgettable set pieces, a terrific score, one of the few records of Tate's extraordinary beauty, and vibrant performances. Not exactly Polanski in a relaxed mode, but clear evidence of his estimable skills as a director of both brilliance and polish. --Tom Keogh

I thought this classic 1967 film was quite funny. I did have to turn the English subtitles because the sound wasn't too good. The movie is quirky and odd and once I could at least read what the characters were saying, I enjoyed it. Sharon Tate is beautiful in the movie and the Vampire son and the proffesor's sidekick added plenty of hilarity.

The musical Dance of the Vampires was adapted from this movie. I would love to see the musical - some of it is on youtube, but I would love to watch it at least on DVD if not in person.

I also attempted to watch Club Vampire... and I say "attempted" because I only got through about 6 minutes (if that) of it. The DVD cover doesn't look to bad, but it was truly awful. I have a knack for renting horrible movies, just ask my brother or husband or mother.

This is what happened during the part I watched: Main guy with lame lip ring (I like lip rings, but this one looked horrible) is sitting on the beach watching the sunset - he has been practicing to try and see as much of the sun as he can, then maybe he "will feel human." He has been watching a human who sleeps during the day and watches the sunset as well, his incredible insight is "maybe she is lonely too." She works at a strip club.

The strip club scene is interesting - about 10 people on stage, most of them clothed, one riding a fat guy in bondage gear. The gal I just mentioned is wearing some sort of glittery skirt and mesh shirt - she dances odd, doesn't take anything off, and the vampire guy watches her from the rafters. A female vampire is interested in her and pays her maybe 200 dollars for some alone time. They make out and mess around a bit, she mixes their blood without the human knowing and then kills her by doing something with a knife when she goes down on her.... um yeah.

The main vampire guy comes in now, and yells at the vampire girl, some horrible writing and acting occurs and my husband turns it off; which I am grateful.

I wouldn't suggest attempting to watch it - unless you have to bring a bad movie to a party, then this may be a good choice.

Lost Boys: The Tribe

I finally had the opportunity to watch Lost Boys: The Tribe. Suprisingly, it has been out of stock at Blockbuster everytime I go in. Last night I visited my brother and we watched in "On Demand).

I loved the orignal Lost Boys. It's a movie I think everyone should see at least once (also Cry Baby, Amelie, Mirror Mask, and Pi). I wasn't expecting the straight to DVD sequal to even compare with the original.

Chris and Nichole are brother and sister; their parents have been dead for a couple of years and they move to Luna Bay where their aunt lives, hoping they would catch a break. Chris used to be a professional surfer until he had some sort of break down and was banned. After they move into a crappy apartment Chris meets one of his idols, Shane Powers (Angus Sutherland). Shane used to be a surfer too, and throws a huge party at his house.

Shane and another surfer. and a couple other guys, are vampires. Nichole becomes Shane's love interest and he convinces her to have a drink.... which is vampire blood, which turns her into a "half-vampire" until she takes the life of another human. Chris enlists Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman) as vampire hunter to help him get his sister back.

The movie was actually better than I expected it to be. I was a little worried at the start of it, but I wasn't too disappointed when it ended. There is some unnecessary gore and sex, which contributes to the feel of the B-Movie vibe. The movie could have sustained itself without the gore and the boobs, which made the film look a little cheaper.

I was a little disappointed that there wasn't much humor. The first Lost Boys was much more funny. The vampire faces also changed towards the end of the movie. Also, one really annoying thing was that Corey Feldman was trying on his "batman" voice - where he talks deeper than he actually does in real life. I wanted to slap Christian Bale, and I want to slap Corey Feldman too. I also felt that maybe Chris should join "the tribe." SPOILER: the movie really doesn't show the evilness of becoming a vampire. The kids have nothing left but each other and becoming a vampire actually looks like a better alternative... I was kind of hoping I would be thrown for a loop and the siblings would join the band of vamps. There was no suprise in the film whatsoever. Well there's a little suprise at the end.

I thought the guy who crushes on Nichole was quite adorable though. I don't remember his name and I can't find his credits anywhere. Overall, I thought it was a decent sequal. It wasn't fantastic, but it was probably one of the best straight-to-DVD movies out there. Here are some trailors for the original and the sequal:

My Monday is in Need of Some Hunky Men...

Soooo I present to you some of the favorite vampires of movies and tv...


How could you not love Lost Boys? The 80's hair might bring the sex appeal down a bit, but I still love the movie and especially Keiffer Southerland. There is a sequal coming out at the end of this month - straight to DVD... I think I will still check it out, even if the trailor looks like a modern version of the original.

My favorite vampire of all time might go to Buffy's Angel star David Boreanaz though: my first big celeb crush. In middle school my room was literally plastered with pictures of this guy:


Deacon Frost (Stephan Dorf) is a pretty hunky vamp in Blade


I found that Lestat played by Stewart Townsend was a lot sexier than Tom Cruise




Brad Pitt was pretty sexy as Louis: (I thought he was sexier in Troy though)


Let's not forget my favorite vamps from books (I definitely prefer hunky book guys to tv/film guys, even if I do try and stay away from those bodice ripping, throbbing member romances).

Top guy: Eric Northman of the Sookie Stackhouse series - Hunky Viking Vamp
Kisten of the Rachel Morgan Series
I'm finding Christian of the Dark Ones Series quite hilarious
I prefer tall dark and handsome vamp cousin to Oswald From Happy Hour at Casa Dracula
I also was a fan of Asher and Jean Claud from the Anita Blake series until the books became bad porn.

FYI - Don't waste your time

This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen/tried to watch.

Yes... I am sure everyone could tell my just looking at the box, but I was in the mood for a vampire movie and everthing was out, so I risked it.

I couldn't even sit through half of it. I watched about 10 minutes of it... then watched it on fast forward for about 5 minutes and just had to turn it off. Don't pay money or waste your time to see someone's bad home movie.

If you are trying to watch the worst movies ever made then here is the link to buy. If you are on this kick may I suggest Jesus Christ the Vampire Hunter. I haven't seen it myself, but I am sure it belongs on the list of horrible movies; the title says a lot, but I hear the only person who can help Jesus defeat the creatures of the night is a Mexican wrestler... there you go.