User reviews

Sure feels like Vancouver, BC during the dreary days, which creates the appropriate mood for the flick. Its title unfortunately associates it with some real stinkers. It is not one of those. I don't know where the movie fits, but it leaves a significant after-taste. I use these user reviews to help decide whether or not I will watch the movie. If you do too, then it's a watcher, but strangely so. It feels Canadian, as in raw and hand-held sort of. Acting is solid, and the story keeps your attention. Vampire, no. Sanguine something, perhaps. It should not be castigated just because it is not polished to the extreme, and all tricked out with CGI.

From the director of two of the best films about teenagers ever made, All About Lily Chou Chou and Hana and Alice, Vampire is an idiosyncratic art film. It was Iwai's English language debut, premiering at Sundance in January of 2011. It was so poorly reviewed that it barely even got released theatrically anywhere (only in Japan, as far as I can tell), and only recently became available in America via Amazon download. The truth is, it is a disaster. Thankfully, though, it's a very interesting disaster. With expectations adjusted accordingly, I liked it, at least a bit. Kevin Zegers plays a high school biology teacher who has a secret life as a serial killer called the Vampire because he drains his victims' blood. His victims, though, are consenting, wishing him to help them commit suicide. His pretenses are generally false - they believe he's going to commit suicide alongside them (or, alternately, that he's going to use the blood for scientific research on suicidals), but he is a gentle man. He actually believes himself to be a vampire, or maybe he wishes he were one, and he drinks the blood afterward. The film is often lovely - aided by a gorgeous, ethereal musical score by Iwai himself. There are a couple of killer sequences, particularly the film's only real horror sequence, where Zegers is forced to accompany another serial killer (Trevor Morgan) as he hunts and murders a woman by suffocating her with a plastic bag. Of all the deaths I've encountered in movies this past month (I only watch horror films in October), this was by far the most terrifying to me, with the woman just left to stumble around trying to escape her plight. The real failure of the film comes with the subplot involving Zegers' Alzheimers-ridden mother (Amanda Plummer), whom he keeps from wandering out of his apartment by attaching giant, white balloons to her. This feels like something out of a terrible indie comedy (well, it did premier at Sundance!) and it just never works. There are a lot of other instances of people just not acting like real people ever would.

This slow, bizarre film tells the story of a semi-benevolent Vampire who trolls suicide pact websites looking for vulnerable souls who he can convince to consensually bleed themselves to death- so that he can feed on their blood. He's not one of those typical mythological vampire types- the ones we are all familiar with. Rather, a daywalking human Vampire that seems to possess an inescapable and insatiable desire to drink human blood.

By day, he's a highschool biology teacher that watches over his Alzheimers ridden mother. By night, he associates with an online community of suicidal wannabes, and the other twisted f*cks that are attracted to such people- like moths to a light.

He normally operates by forming a relationship with one of the "Side by Cide" members, who he then meets in an isolated location- with their computer (to prevent the police from obtaining evidence of their correspondence)- before using his cunning to convince them to bleed themselves dry- while assuring them that he'll take himself out when it's all over. Though, actually collecting and consuming their blood, instead.

Things take a turn, when he goes to meet a potential suicidee...only to find out that she had arranged a group suicide with a bunch of other members from the site. All but he and one other girl are killed when one of the suicidees releases a cloud of carbon monoxide inside their van.

The two survivors make their way back to civilization. But on the way...the girl figures out that he is the infamous "Vampire", who has been seducing, killing and consuming the blood of the site's disappearing members. He's kind of famous in their realm.

When confronted with his real identity, he admits everything to her. Only to discover that she is willing to offer her blood- her life- to him.

While working on the girl he met at the group suicide, his psycho stalker wannabe-girlfriend breaks into his apartment and onto his computer- looking for some sort of evidence that he's found someone else. While rummaging through his apartment, she jimmies open a locked closet, where she (apparently) discovers his hidden secret.

He doesn't even kill the girl from the group either, having fallen seemingly in love with her- rendering him unable to go through with it. The two form a new pact with each other: he is to cease killing if she let's him drink from her neck- being his "only one".

In an ironic twist of fate, though, one of his student's with suicidal tendencies- whom he had previously talked out of killing herself- slits her wrists and winds up in the hospital, needing blood. When he is contacted as next of kin, the nurse asks him if he is willing to donate his own blood in order to save her life.

You'd think that this altruistic act would have garnered him some good karma, but when he returns to his flat, the police are waiting for him... I do, however, suppose that you might wonder whether it was this act of benevolence that actually sealed his fate.

With this film Iwai has created a monster that is not merely a heartless and manipulative, psychopathic killer, rather a burdened and tormented soul who is forced to cope with the fate he's been dealt. It's not your typical horror scenario, by any means. It's less a film that exploits the romantic gore on which most cliché vampire films are based. Instead opting for more of an emotionally disturbing approach. The ending is kind of a cop-out, but the film is oddly intriguing enough to hold your attention throughout it's almost two-hour runtime. It's certainly not the best vampire flick I've ever seen, but it's most definitely a different and original take on the genre. And for that reason it's worth a watch.

6 out 10.

I found the concept interesting (quiet, seemingly normal biology teacher meets his lust for blood by suicide victims) but this film was a mess. I felt like there were too many moving parts and not enough of an interesting plot! There was Simon, the likeable main character, his crazy mother, his crazy would-be girlfriend, the suicide victims... nothing fit well together! It seemed like scenes that were randomly filmed and they attempted to do a mashup to make the film flow! There was no climax really, and too many unanswered questions at the end. This movie also felt like it was 10 hours long. I kept wondering when it would end, and then it kept going! And then when I got to the end, it was a BIG letdown. I understand the director was trying to be artistic, but wow...

Iwai steps out of his Japanese comfort zone to produce an all-English film that never sparks to life. A young teacher with a thirst for blood helps wannabe suicides to die, at the same time taking payment in blood to satisfy his craving.

Iwai goes after lyricism and visual poetry but forgets plot and character. These dull, droll people - they are all too sharp, witty, beautiful, young and clear-eyed to in any way convince that they are clinically depressed - wander through the frame, spouting little clunky monologues that are forgotten as soon as heard. There are some nice images here, you'd expect no less from Iwai, but the master storyteller who gave us Swallowtail and Love Letter does not inhabit this film. The subtlety and youthful longings that permeated Hana and Alice are also conspicuous by their absence. There is no dramatic tension, no empathy, no persuasive on-screen relationships - Martin and his mother never really convey a sense of shared history. A relationship with a cop seems forced in order to introduce an equally wooden stalker character. The script is badly under-realised, and everything after that can't move beyond that initial failure.

Iwai on top of his game is one of the world's best filmmakers, so it is deeply disappointing to see this flat, facile film in his oeuvre. Brief glimpses of his visual prowess remain, and allied to a stronger narrative, give hope that the old Iwai will show up in his next film. It's small consolation for having to sit through this.

This is not a vampire flick. It shouldn't really be necessary to point this out, after all the summary makes it very clear. But it would seem that the reason for this film's overall cold reception is precisely that it doesn't feature supernatural, love-lorn beings to satisfy inhibited sexual desires of self-destruction. Rather, it presents an altogether uncomfortable view on real-life blood-thirst and a controversial look at suicidal obsession.

If you're familiar with Iwai's work, then neither the subject matter nor the style come as much of a surprise. Iwai's staple theme is alienated youth and the thin line between friendship and destruction. In 'All about Lily Chou-Chou', he explored bullying and underage prostitution against a backdrop of how virtual and real-life personalities differ, 'Swallowtail Butterfly' dealt with the ups and downs of a group of misfits bonding and betraying each other, and 'Hana & Alice' showed a close high-school-girl friendship with elements of rivalry over a particular boy.

'Vampire' follows a story which actually happened in Japan: a man convinces young women in suicide chat-rooms to die together with him, eventually tricking them so that he may consume their blood. The focus isn't so much on why he wants to do this (apart from ambivalent references to the quest for immortality), but rather why these women want to die - and this is where I see a continuity with Iwai's other work. It's not so much about the story itself, which takes somewhat unfathomable turns and ends up in a confusing mêlée, but rather the visuals, which create a mystified, surreal and at times even humorous perspective on death. The proverbial 'vampire' is actually seen as a perversion of this theme, which becomes obvious in a rather gory parody of the 'serial killer' image, complete with fangs and cape.

If you wonder what a Japanese film with American actors may look like, then this one may be very well for you. To me, it's been worthwhile just for seeing that the styles of Japanese cinema - character vagueness, visual rendition, and most of all quietness - can be translated into English rather well. However, if you really expect a vampire flick, better wait until the next 'Twilight' segment.

I'm always interested in vampire films that are original and stay true to the complexity of a blood sucker surviving in the modern world and yet is able to refrain from being whatever Twilight was all about. 'Vampire' is definitely an interesting take on the genre, which focuses on a young science teacher who preys on girls looking to commit suicide. The most interesting thing about this film is how the vampire himself seems to be surrounded by crazy people and I'm not talking about his victims. The sane characters are the depressed people looking for death and the other characters all seem to have personality disorders or are psychopaths, which then makes the lead seem that much more of a nice guy. The film starts out really interesting and has a very cool cast of actors that are well known in connection to the horror genre, but the film begins to fizzle out when it goes from drama to art-house drama about halfway through. Then, the film continually drags with scenes that are unnecessarily too long to be entertaining. The weirdest part is the long list of Horror veterans with crazy small parts throughout the film that go nowhere. Kind of a huge disappointment, but Vampire doesn't deliver the horror as much as it smothers you with drama.

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From start until I turned it off, I must have said "this is the worst movie I've ever saw". It doesn't even deserve to be played as background noise.

With such a great cast of some of the most beautiful actresses ever, I expected much more. This is actually one of the worst movies that I've ever watched all the way through. I was waiting to see Kristen Kreuk but she wasn't in it until the last 2 minutes. #waste of money

Let me begin this very short rating opinion by saying I own of all of Shunji Iwai's movies on DVD and am a fan of his work; however, I found Vampire to be a failed experiment-collaboration with American actors. For me, this movie was a chore to watch as it was painfully tedious, dreary, soulless, and at times disturbing. Simon, the main character, was very unlikable and the only reason I forced myself to finish this movie was because I hope to see justice bestowed for his unconscionable acts. Personally, I am happy Yû Aoi only made a brief appearance because because her talent could not redeem Vampire. Like all of my favorite movies, I regularly revisit "All About Lily Chou-Chou"; "Vampire" I wish to forget.

To those that enjoy the Dracula vampire movies, don't bother with this one. This is not a fantasy. This is a true modern day sanguinarian vampire drama that is very enjoyable and very believable. While some may consider if bordering on horror, only due to a second vampire within the story, it is a well written and portrayed drama of true vampirism, where people truly are addicted to drinking human blood of others. Most will enjoy this as it fails to be as predictable as it first appears, and everyday life drama is well portrayed. It is disappointing that that many gave this a low rating, most likely as they simply wanted to see the typical fantasy vampire horror movie. This isn't it - this movie is real life, and truly could be based on a true story.

I can never understand the promoting of suicide. As for the teacher, when he vomited the blood up, that was expected, this film is serious flawed

I write as a fan of Shunji Iwai's cinema: he is a master. An auteur.

The slander written of this film, by previous reviewers, should be ignored. What has been crafted is unique, cerebral, and very disturbing. A must see for fans of cinema, especially followers of Shunji Iwai.

The story, casting, cinematography, and editing, all feel like his previous outings, but the one difference is the obvious: the topic on display is not one routinely viewed in American cinema, which makes this film all the more important.

Vampire belongs in-line with the great films Hanna and Alice, and All About Lily Chou Chou.

No need to explain the storyline, because this film should be watched carefully.

-RJZII

You just wish the title would be more original. Like my summary, it just isn't really up there. And that is a shame, because the movie as it is, has quite a lot going for it. But how do you sell it, if you have to ask for a movie called "Vampire"? I know, if that's everything that is "wrong" with the movie, then there is nothing wrong with it.

Which is not that far from the truth. I had no idea that this was made by a Japanese director, but I got the vibe that it isn't your regular "horror" movie. It is more weird drama, than anything else. Great actors too, who just live up to the feeling of this. It's difficult to recommend, because at the end of the day this isn't what people will expect from a movie like this ... Still I liked it (a lot)

about solitude, death and relationship. a parody, a social analyze or only new image of serial killer. in fact, only a mirror for the importance of life, for the new forms of dialog, emo generation, internet importance and a poetic form of happiness.a Japanese air and almost unrealistic/confuse story. only an exercise to define a world. interesting, amusing, cold, realistic. a film who can be really bad for the expectation of young viewers or only metaphor for another. a story who not seduce but can be an inspired picture for many usual situations. and this is important. a Kevin Zegers who does a not bad role, exploring many of his character nuances, dialogs as smoke circles, crumbs of a kind of documentary and bizarre end. a film about a vampire. the only victim, different by usual definition/ expectations.

Not Shunji Iwai's best but, very good yarn about young vampires and the tricks they play to seduce victims. Perhaps Shunji had to rush or didn't have a large enough budget. Worth watching.