vampire | the m0vie blog

Tomb of Dracula Omnibus, Vol. I (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Darren

It’s almost hard to imagine, looking at today’s comic book industry, but there was a time when horror comics were a major money-spinner for the “big two” comic book companies. The Tomb of Dracula stands out as the longest running and most successful of Marvel’s horror titles from the seventies, but there were a whole line of books being published featuring monsters old and new. It’s great that Marvel have taken the time and care to publish the complete series in three deluxe hardcover volumes. The Tomb of Dracula is a gem in Marvel’s seventies publishing crown, a delightfully enjoyable pulpy horror series that feels palpably more mature than a lot that the company was publishing at the same time.

A tome of Tomb…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Abraham Van Helsing, Blade, Bram Stoker, chris claremont, Colan, Count, Count Dracula, doctor doom, Doctor Sun, dracula, Gardner Fox, gene colan, god, Jonathan Harker, Marv Wolfman, marvel, marvel comics, Mina Harker, Quincy Harker, Rachel Van Helsing, Romania, Scotland Yard, Tomb of Dracula, vampire, Van Helsing | Leave a comment »

American Vampire, Vol. 1 (Review)

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Darren

This October, to get us in the mood for Halloween, we’re taking a look at some awesome monster comics. Check back in every Monday this month for a review of Scott Snyder’s American Vampire Saga.

In the end, though, it’s all about giving back the teeth that the current “sweetie-vamp” craze has, by and large, stolen from the blood suckers.

– Stephen King’s introduction to the collection

Stephen King, who wrote the origin half of this collection based off Scott Snyder’s notes, remarks in his wonderful foreword, “Here’s what vampires shouldn’t be: pallid detectives who drink Bloody Marys and only work at night; lovelorn southern gentlement; anorexic teenage girls; boy-toys with big dewy eyes.” American Vampire seems to be a strong rebuttal to all those modern and soft depictions of the blood-sucking monsters we’ve been swamped with over the last decade or so.

If that isn’t enough to at least interest you, then I don’t know what will.

Ch-ch-ch-changes…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: American Century, American Vampire, comic books, Comics, danse macabre, dc, dc comics, horror, los angeles, monsters, rafael albuquerque, Scott Snyder, Skinner Sweet, stephen king, United States, vampire, vampires, vertigo | Leave a comment »

Batman: Vampire Trilogy – Red Rain, Bloodstorm & Crimson Mist (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Darren

To celebrate the release of The Dark Knight Rises, July is “Batman month” here at the m0vie blog. Check back daily for comics, movies and television reviews and discussion of the Caped Crusader.

I’m going to be entirely honest. I’m not completely sure what to make of Doug Moench and Kelley Jones’ Batman: Vampire trilogy. A collection of three Elseworlds stories, all following a Batman who confronted Dracula early in his career, they initially seem like grim and dark comics from the nihilistic nineties. There’s a lot of violence, a lot of cynicism, and a lot of gore. As with a lot of Batman written around that time (and arguably beyond), The Dark Knight Returns seems like a major influence, presenting a progressively darker and unhinged Dark Knight and an increasingly brutal war on Gotham’s crime. However, there were times, reading the trilogy, that I couldn’t help but read it as a sort of an implicit criticism of these sorts of excessively dark and edgy comics.

Streets run red…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: alan moore, batman, batman vs dracula, batman vs. dracula: red rain, batman: bloodstorm, batman: crimson mist, batman: red rain, batman: vampire, Blood, Bob Haney, bruce wayne, dark knight returns, Dark Knight Rises, Doug Moench, elseworld, elseworlds, frank miller, Human, I…Vampire, Jones, joss whedon, Justice League Dark, Kelley Jones, murder, tim burton, vampire, Wayne Manor | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Dracula (1931)

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Darren

I have a soft spot for classic Universal horror. Not that it should come as a surprise – I’m a sucker (ha!) for some vintage Hammer Horror as well, and all other forms of classical horror (even if they may occasionally veer into the realm of kitsch). It’s really hard to overstate the massive influence that the 1931 Universal version of Dracula had on the subsequent adaptations of Stoker’s truly iconic novel. I honestly don’t believe that the character would the same without Bela Lugosi’s truly magnificent central performance, as seen here. Sure, I’m less than convinced about the ending, but most of Tod Browning’s adaptation is a feast for the eyes and pulpy horror classic.

Stairway to heaven?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, art, Béla Lugosi, Bram Stoker, Carla Laemmle, Count Orlok, dracula, film, frankenstein, horror, Jonathan Harker, Lugosi, Movie, non-review review, Nosferatu, Renfield, review, Romania, Stoker, Tod Browning, universal monsters, vampire, Van Helsing | 9 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Blacula

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Darren

You shall pay, black prince. I shall place a curse of suffering on you that will doom you to a living hell. I curse you with my name. You shall be… Blacula!

– racist!Dracula

It’s hard to make sense of Blacula. On one hand, it’s an interesting attempt to update gothic horror stereotypes for a modern audience, translating the horrors of vampirism skilfully from foreign countryside to an urban environment. On the other hand, it’s an uneven mess of a film, with plot holes so large that Blacula doesn’t need to turn into a bat to fly through them. It’s an interesting experiment, and one successful enough to spawn a sequel in Scream Blacula Scream! and to inspire films like Blackenstein, even if some fascinating concepts don’t necessarily add up to a fascinating whole.

A role he can sink his teeth into?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Blackenstein, Blacula, Bram Stoker, dracula, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, film, Marshall, Movie, non-review review review, review, vampire, William Marshall | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: 30 Days of Night

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Darren

I really wanted to like 30 Days of Night. I’m a sucker for vampire films, and David Slade’s adaptation of the horror comic started off on all the right notes, with a rather ingenious central concept. After all, if you were a vampire, could you imagine a better hunting ground than a town that spends thirty days in absolute and complete darkness, isolated completely from the outside world? It’s a novel take, and one that really should be more interesting than the rather generic desaturated gore fest that it becomes.

In need of a reVamp?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 30 Days of Night, Alaska, arts, Ben Foster, David Slade, film, horror, Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, non-review review, Otherkin, People, review, vampire, Vampire film | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Stake Land

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Darren

Stake Land is a B-movie. It’s pure schlock, with a hefty amount of cheese thrown in on top. That might sound like a criticism, but it’s more of a fact. The movie itself is well-made, a little bit sharp, not so insecure as to take itself overly seriously, and delivers something akin to an old-school creature feature with a hint of the social conscience one expects from horror. It’s not amazing, but it’s a solid addition to the slew of post-apocalyptic movies we’ve seen of late, with a refreshing awareness of its pulp roots.

He knows what's at stake...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: apocalypse, creatures, horror, monsters, stake land, stakeland, vampire, vampires | Leave a comment »

Final Crisis (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. Later on today, we’ll be reviewing Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, so I thought I might take a look at a comic book tale which was heavy on Superman, Darkseid and Batman…

This epic elegy for a doomed civilisation, declining from splendor to squalor. This Final Crisis. This last ditch attempt to save creation itself from a loathing and greed beyond measure.

– Grant Morrison outlines the whole point of the book, in case you weren’t paying attention… in a narration which deserves to be read in the most pompously ridiculous style possible

Look, I could hitch a ride back with you. I have a real talent for gritty drama no one’s ever thought to exploit.

– Merryman makes a pitch for “relevance” in the hopes of escaping comic book “limbo”

Destruction or creation. Everything or nothing. A universe full or a universe empty. Life or anti-life. Grant Morrison certainly lives up to his reputation as a frustrating and challenging author – is Final Crisis the statement of a genre looking to make peace with itself, or nonsensical Silver Age surrealism repackaged for a modern world? Is it pretentious or profound? Insightful or devoid of interest? Can’t it be both, or are these mutually exclusive states?