At least twenty new vampire films are produced each year; many of them thrive big on the direct to DVD market these days and as I’ve always said their one half dozen of the other. Most of them have the same concept, with a similar story and it’s a sub genre that seems as if it’s not going away anytime soon. So why not document the best of the best of vampire films? That’s what Starz did with Bloodsucking Cinema.
Bloodsucking Cinema is a documentary on the vampire film and the myth behind vampires and the story of Dracula. There are interviews with some of horror’s greatest directors, actors and make-up effects artists such as John Carpenter, John Landis, Uwe Boll Joel Schumacher. Cory Haim, Stuart Townsend, Kristanna Loken, Stan Winston, Len Wiseman, Greg Nicotero, Cheech Marin and Marv Wolfman. The documentary focuses a lot on the older horror films such as Nosferatu (1922), Dracula (1931) and the many Hammer Dracula films; to modern day films such as Bran Stokers Dracula, Blade, The Lost Boys, From Dusk Till Dawn, Underworld and Bloodrayne.
This documentary really tries to cover almost every memorable vampire film ever made, and it does a very good job with the history element of not just the vampire film, but it also gives us a brief background on the history of the vampire and also asks the question to many of the people involved with the documentary if they themselves would like to live forever as a vampire. My only complaint is I think they overlooked one great vampire film that should of been mentioned. George Romero “Martin”. It would of worked as a great segue into the film, when Carpenter compares vampires to zombies and their origins. Martin is one of the best vampire films I believe has ever been made, and I was kind of surprised it was not mentioned in this documentary.
Overall however, I think Starz did a great job putting this piece together. The whole documentary was part of a series called Starz Inside which is hosted by film critic Richard Roeper. It’s a must see for all fans of vampire films, so I advise any fans of this sub genre to pick up a copy of the DVD. Besides the great interviews and film clips the DVD is pretty much bare bones. So don’t expect a lot of special features on this disc, because they aren’t any. But overall it’s well worth picking up if you didn’t manage to catch it on Starz last year or are a big fan of the vampire genre.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
