The Twilight films have all but ruined the vampire genre for a while. At least that’s what I thought until I sat down and watched Kiss of the Damned.
Paolo (Milo Ventimiglia) is a screenwriter who is trying to get away from it all to focus on his writing. Instead he meets Djuna (Josephine de La Baume) and instantly falls in love with her. There is only one problem: she’s a vampire. Djuna tries to push Paulo away, but their passion for one another is so strong she can only do it for so long. Soon they are in bed together and soon after he’s a vampire too. They are sophisticated vampires that do not drink human blood. (Think Louise or the Cullen family.)
Things take a turn for the undead couple when Djuna’s sister Mimi (Rozane Mesquida) shows up. She doesn’t quite have the respect for human life that Djuna and her elitist upper class friends do. Mimi has a blood lust that seems cannot be satiated. Things take a turn for the worse when Paolo’s agent (Michael Rapaport) shows up and quickly becomes vampire food.
The thing I liked most about Kiss of the Damned was that it felt very much like a film made in the ’80s. It doesn’t take place in the ’80s – they have laptops and blue tooth – but the whole film has an 80s feel to it. With the horror and the eroticism, it very much reminds me of The Hunger.
This is a very erotic film with many scenes that walk the line between erotic and horror. There is also a great party scene where the vampires are all sitting around waxing philosophically about human society. In many ways, Damned feels like the film that Interview with the Vampire was trying to be.
The film is presented in a widescreen format. The sound is in 5.1 surround sound. Like I said, this film looks and feels like a film from the 80s and I mean this at an utmost compliment. This is a really good looking film, it feels very dream like. The very atmospheric soundtrack also adds nicely to all of these elements.
There are no special features, which is a shame. I’d be curious to hear the director/writer, Xan Cassavetes thoughts on the film.
For all vampire fans out there who continue to weep at the existence of Twilight, weep no longer. Go out and buy/rent Kiss of the Damned and you’ll forget all about those stupid films.
Magnet presents Kiss Of The Damned. Written and Directed by Xan Cassavetes. Starring: Milo Ventimiglia, Josephine de La Baume and Roxane Mesquida. Running time: 95 minutes. Rating: R. Released: July 23, 2013.
