Vamp (1986) New World/Comedy-Horror RT: 94 minutes Rated R (language, violence, some graphic scenes, nudity, sexual references) Director: Richard Wenk Screenplay: Richard Wenk and Donald P. Borchers Music: Jonathan Elias Cinematography: Elliot David and Douglas F. O’Neons Release date: July 18, 1986 (US) Cast: Chris Makepeace, Sandy Baron, Robert Rusler, Dedee Pfeiffer, Gedde Watanabe, Grace Jones, Billy Drago, Brad Logan, Lisa Lyon, Paunita Nichols, Trudel Williams, Leila Hee Olsen. Box Office: $4.9M (US)
Rating: ***
I remember going to see Vamp on a Saturday afternoon at the City Line Theater. A friend of mine working there JW tried talking me out it, saying how terrible it is. He added that several people walked out on it the previous night. When it comes to movies, I’m not easily deterred. In fact, I’m more inclined to see a movie if I hear bad things about it. Besides, we’re talking about a New World production here. And it has vampire strippers. No way am I missing it! The expression of his face when I came out afterwards and told him I liked it. It was classic!
I wasn’t joking either. I really enjoyed Vamp, a comedy-horror about a couple of fraternity pledges who find themselves neck-deep in bloodsuckers at a strip joint called “The After Dark Club”. It’s a cross between Fright Night and After Hours by way of Animal House. It’s an uneasy blend of teen humor and gory vampire action, but in a bizarre sort of way, it works.
In order to gain acceptance into a fraternity, Keith (Makepeace, Meatballs) and AJ (Rusler, Weird Science) agree to hire a stripper for a party. Since they don’t have a car and their college is about 200 miles from the nearest town, they have to ask this obnoxious rich student, Duncan (Watanabe, Sixteen Candles), to borrow one of his. He agrees to loan one to them provided they bring him along on their excursion.
They arrive in town where they quickly discover things get weird once the sun goes down. We’re talking empty streets, closed businesses and weirdos running around like the albino street gang led by Snow (Drago, The Untouchables). They go to the After Dark Club where AJ hopes to hire Queen Katrina (rocker Jones), the most popular stripper in the joint. Naturally, things don’t go as planned. Nobody could have suspected the club is actually a front for a family of vampires who usually feed on customers that won’t be missed by anybody should they disappear. In short, Katrina kills AJ and Keith spends the rest of the night trying to stay alive.
At the club, an attractive waitress named Amaretto (Pfeiffer, The Allnighter) insists that she knows Keith from the past. Of course, he has no idea who this girl is or if she’s like her co-workers. It’s just one of many odd things that happen over the course of Vamp which has its fair share of amusing moments as well.
Visually, Vamp is rather fascinating. I like the pink-and-green neon-lit look of the movie. Director Richard Wenk (writer of The Expendables 2) makes sure the locations take on an eerie quality be it the inside of the nightclub, the barely populated streets or a sewer. The performances, like the film, are weird. Rusler has a few good scenes. Jones is good at being scary, but that’s about all she’s given to do here. She doesn’t have a single word of dialogue. As for being sexy, only in some alternate universe could Jones be regarded as such. Thankfully, Vamp appears to take place in such a universe. I like Drago, he makes a great villain. Sandy Baron (Leprechaun 2) co-stars as Vic, the club owner who dreams of moving their operation to Vegas. The tacky pink tux is a nice touch. As for Makepeace, he’s an affable kind of guy. He gets off a few good lines. He’s also handy with a crossbow. Pfeiffer is cute and funny. And yes, she’s Michelle’s younger sis.
The makeup and gore effects in Vamp are quite good considering the low budget. Like I said, this blend of comedy and horror isn’t a perfect mix. It’s hard for some people to laugh at a movie in which somebody has their heart torn from their chest. Not me, I get what Vamp is going for. It’s part midnight movie, part grindhouse flick. It’s also quite fun. If you dig weird ones, you’ll want to check it out. Take it from me, it doesn’t suck.
