The Latest REAL Vampire Movie (a Movie That Would Actually Terrify Small Children)

In 2009 the Spierig brothers Peter and Michael brought us a vampire movie that went relatively unnoticed. Even I, who love vampire movies that do not involve sparkling and do involve copious amounts of blood and violence, managed to forget about this movie and not see it in the short time it was in theaters. Thanks to the wonder of Netflix Instant I was able to rectify my lapse and finally watch this movie. IMDB classifies it as horror, but it's much more of a sci-fi film. Set in 2019, it tells the tale of a world where humanity is on the verge of extinction and the vampires that run the world are searching for an alternate blood source to prevent the rise of subsiders (vampires that have reverted to a more primitive state).


What makes this film wonderful is the new take on vampires and vampirism. It's always great when people give an new twist to old legends such as this (except for one specific example that I refuse to reference again), and the fact that the Spierigs give a scientific basis to their vampires is wonderful. Vampires were created from humans being infected by a virus carried by bats, and then it spread from newly-formed vampire to human. The vampires are what we traditionally think of as being vampires: direct sunlight and beheading kills, blood deprivation cause them to go crazy, etc. The really interesting thing is the idea of a cure, which is discovered accidentally by Willem Dafoe's character "Elvis" and then further tested and implemented by Ethan Hawke's character Edward. I refuse to say more on this, but when you watch it think about the biological and immunological basis of their cure. Or write in the comments of talk to me on Twitter, because it's awesome. Or maybe I'll do a follow-up spoiler entry. It's awesome though; trust me and my geekiness.

Visually this movie is also great. It combines elements from Romero's early work, such as the gore and effects Dawn of the Dead  (1978) and the ancient vampires (i.e. Marcus) from the Underworld series of films (starring Kate Beckinsale, the 4th installment of which is due out soon). The plot focuses too much on the least interesting parts of the story, and too little on the most innovative and unique aspects, but it's beautiful to watch. The shots are well set-up, the sets are just futuristic enough to make you feel that the movie is set in a not-too-distant future. The cast is great, helmed by Hawke and Dafoe as our conflicted protagonist and the leader of the opposition, along with Sam Neill as a truly wonderful villain (whose evil comes more from greed and bureaucracy than vampirism).

4 stars out of 5

Definitely should watch!