An interesting start, but nowhere near as in-depth as the subject deserves.
The vampire has had a long and somewhat troubled history in the movies (need I mention Eddie Murphy’s Vampire in Brooklyn?), and a study of its history and various incarnations sounds like an interesting hour. That’s the premise behind the Starz! produced documentary Bloodsucking Cinema, and while it was cool to hear filmmakers like John Carpenter and Joel Schumacher and even comic-book writer Marv Wolfman talk about how they see the monster, Cinema ends up focusing less on the history of the vampire movie and more on modern interpretations of the fiend.
I imagine it’s pretty obvious that I was disappointed in the route the documentary took, but it wouldn’t have been so bad if it had taken a little more care in choosing which movies to talk about. Lost Boys should totally be on there, and the feature makes a good case for why it should include the awesomely ridiculous From Dusk Till Dawn, but why in the name of all that’s good and holy would they talk about Bloodrayne or Van Helsing? The latter could be argued as cheesy fun, but it doesn’t add anything to the genre; and the former is just simply an awful movie that everyone involved with—especially Ben Kingsley—should be forever ashamed. And yet a good ten minutes is spent on both of those movies.
Although some of the history of vampire cinema is talked about, such as F.W. Murnau’s unauthorized rendition of Dracula, Nosferatu, and the great Hammer films of the Sixties and Seventies typically starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, they were just touched on before going into the more in depth analyses of the modern vampire movies.
For me the most interesting part was Cheech Marin talking about vampire movies in Mexico—how they were deeply sexual and deeply violent in a way that American and European movies were not, but this was mentioned in passing as a setup for talking about From Dusk Till Dawn. I would have much more enjoyed hearing more about those Mexican vampire movies.
It could be that, as often happens, I expected too much from this. After it finished I felt rather unsatisfied, like I’d been given half a sandwich to eat when what I wanted was a steak.
The documentary is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen in 1.78:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Digital for the sound. There are no problems with either the video or audio.
Honestly, any documentary that seriously tries to analyze Bloodrayne pretty much shoots itself in the foot. I could see how people not familiar with vampire movies could find a lot of interesting tidbits here, but for those like me who grew up with the genre and ate up everything about it, there’s just not much here. Mildly recommended.
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Starz/Anchor Bay presents Bloodsucking Cinema. Directed by Barry Gray. Starring John Carpenter, Len Wiseman, Joel Schumacher, Kristanna Loken, Stuart Townsend, Stan Winston, Greg Nicotero, Marv Wolfman, David Goyer, Leonard Martin, and Harry Knowles. Written by Barry Gray. Running time: 57 minutes. Rated NR. Released on DVD: September 23, 2008. Available at Amazon.
