Vamp (1986)

Director: Richard Wenk

Starring: Chris Makepeace, Sandy Baron, Robert Rusler, Gedde Watanabe, Grace Jones

Two fraternity pledges travel to a sleazy bar in search of a stripper for their college friends, unaware it is occupied by vampires.

If you’re a horror fan looking for vampire gore and great practical effects, you won’t find it here. If you’re into vampire movies and you’re looking for a laugh (not necessarily in humour), well, then you’ve come to the right place.

‘Vamp’ attempts to achieve what ‘Fright Night’ did so amazingly, by blending vampire horror and comedy. While ‘Fright Night’ succeeded with flying colours, ‘Vamp’ unfortunately doesn’t even come close. The biggest issue was the lack of a strong antagonist. Although Katrina (Grace Jones) is set up as the antagonist, she is more laughable than scary and far too passive to be a memorable villain.

In ‘Fright Night’ the antagonist contributes significantly to the story and becomes the film’s driving force, while in ‘Vamp’ all Katrina does, is sit in her club waiting to be provided for, and when she kills a young man, sets in motion a hunt for his friends.

The search for a stripper for their Frat House party, leads pledges Keith (Chris Makepeace) and AJ (Robert Rusler) to the After Dark Club, a dodgy place in a bad neighbourhood. Joining them on their quest – and only because he has a car – is Duncan, who serves as the film’s comic relief character (and I thought Gedde Watanabe was fabulous as Duncan).

Off course, as it turns out, the club is run by vampires who lure victims to their club for food. The film’s first half setting up the scene and the characters was very slow moving, but the pace picks up nicely around the halfway mark when it becomes a fight for survival. Off course, it is still far too comedic to be scary or suspenseful. The final act is entertaining, I guess; it’s just a pity the climax wasn’t really thrilling – no thanks to the weak antagonist Katrina. In contrast, Chris Makepeace wasn’t half bad as the protagonist.

Would I watch it again? No.