Product Description

Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 08/12/2003

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49509 in DVD
• Brand: Lions Gate
• Released on: 1999-10-19
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com
The subversive, super-hip television show Buffy, the Vampire Slayer has changed the bloodsucking genre forever. Hilariously campy and self-aware, the show cleverly sends up every exhausted convention the vampire genre has to offer. It was only a matter of time before someone tried translating the same tone to the big screen (the Buffy film failed miserably before becoming a show). As written by Matthew Bright (Freeway) and directed by Richard Elfman (Forbidden Zone), the silly and seditious Modern Vampires tries a similar tongue-in-cheek approach, flipping the focus instead to the vampires. Sure, it's shameless, it's cheesy, but it's also much more entertaining than, say, the heavy-handed Blade. The filmmakers set the genre piece in Los Angeles, a city cynical and violent enough to allow vampires to roam without much notice. The Hollywood lifestyle has influenced these vampires, though, as they stage elaborate parties where nude humans are kept in cages and carted out for main courses ("Is he Italian? I was wanting Italian tonight!"), as well as feast on the likes of screenwriters, producers, and entertainment lawyers (talk about bloodsuckers). In terms of plot, not much is going on here. A very serious and driven Dr. Frederick Van Helsing (Rod Steiger) arrives in L.A., from Germany, in search of Dallas (Casper Van Dien of Starship Troopers), a vampire who turned his son 20 years ago. Needing a partner, Van Helsing puts out an ad and picks up a Crips gangster member named Time Bomb (Gabriel Casseus), creating perhaps the goofiest vampire-hunting tag team in film history. "Do you believe in vampires?" Van Helsing first asks his young partner. "As long as you're writing the checks, I'll take out anyone," he replies. Steiger is wonderfully over the top (think Donald Pleasance in any of the Halloween sequels), and Elfman fills his vampire cast with other notable charismatic character actors, including Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City), Natasha Gregson Wagner (humorous as a trailer-trash vamp), and Udo Kier. Straight to video doesn't get much better than this. --Dave McCoy

Customer Reviews

Sophisticated fun! Not for Beavis and Butthead.
Modern Vampires brought standing ovations at the Fantasia Film Festival this summer and was voted the "audience favorite" award out of ninety selections. It also had the largest number of walkouts. It isn't every day that a film grabs people so viscerally (and I just purchased my DVD, which has great behind-the-scenes commentary, etc.). Modern Vampires is definitely not for right-wing Puritans, left-wing Political Correct Police, or drooling Beavis and Butthead types who just want to see bosoms and gore - although this film has it's share of that. This movie is a marvelous satire on society, with something to offend almost everybody. It also has a touching love story between Casper Van Dien and Natasha Gregson Wagner with a Pygmalion twist, kind of a "My Fair Vampire" tale. The self rightous Van Helsing (mighty Rod Stieger) and his crew of streetwise gangbangers (lead by the amazing Gabriel Casseus) sends this well crafted plot into high gear. This has to be the most original vampire movie ever. My friends and I loved every second and will watch it many times.

How overlooked can a film get?
Well, well. I picked up this DVD and have not been more surprised in a long time. Now, I am a huge movie fan (as most of you are) and see A LOT of movies. Now, given the dreck that is mainstreamed these days, it's a damn shame Modern Vampires was direct to video. But for this who catch it, it is a great find. Not only a nice take on the vampire genre, liberally campy of course, it is just down right hilarious. I have not proceeded to laugh out loud at a film in quite some time. Supplied with the fact that I couldn't believe the number of "known" actors in the film. From the likes of legends like Rod Steiger and Udo Kier, to young upstarts Natasha Watson and Casper Van Dien (forget Starship Troopers, he is even better here, and gets to show some range). Toss in perennial supporters like Rob Passtorelli and Kim Catrall and a host of others. Bottom line: this movie is a hidden gem. And forget the ridiculous packaging. It is completely misleading. Oh, and if you have a DVD player, get that version. The commentary track with Van Dien and Director Elfman is one of the most entertaining anf funny AND informative I have run across. Get bit by Modern Vampires and I promise, you too will believe....

Cheerfully awful!
This movie is deliberately, carefully, precicely made to be absolutely awful. And because it's supposed to be so bad, because no effort is made to make it a dramatic great, it's perfect. It's got some great ideas - I LOVE the vampire hunters and the take on Van Helsing.

This movie is, in it's way, seamless. I put off getting it for so long, despite Amazon popping it into my recommendations every other day for a year; and now that I have it I'm glad.

It's evenly paced, cheerful, full of action, a little love story, some bloody murder, utterly horrible special effects and some synthisyzer-dubbed wildcat screams. You can't take it seriously, and you're not supposed to. But for all that, it's very well made.