VAMPIRE (2011)

Studio:       Lionsgate
Director:    Shunji Iwai
Writer:       Shunji Iwai
Producer:  Shunji Iwai, Tim Kwok
Stars:     Kevin Zegers, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Amanda Plummer, Trevor Morgan, Adelaide Clemens, Yu Aoi, Kristin Kreuk, Rachael Leigh Cook

Review Score: 

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Summary:

A high school biology teacher recruits suicidal girls online who willingly allow him to drain them of their blood. 

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

High school biology teacher Simon uses the website sidebycide.com to recruit suicidal teenagers. Under the pretense of committing suicide together, Simon drains the young girls of their blood and then drinks it.

Simon meets with a girl named Jellyfish. He takes her to a shipping warehouse where she volunteers to die by allowing Simon to drain her blood. Simon collects her blood and then vomits after consuming several quarts. Police eventually find Jellyfish’s body in a freezer at the shipyard.

A construction worker on a cherry picker outside sees an older woman wearing a strange harness fitted with large balloons inside of an apartment. Police officer Abbot King investigates. Simon explains that his mother Helga has Alzheimer’s. The balloon harness aids her mobility and keeps her from wandering. Abbot wishes to become friends with Simon and pushes to take him and his mother fishing.

While fishing, Abbot introduces Simon to his sister Laura. Laura takes an immediate liking to Simon and starts forcing herself into his and Helga’s lives.

Simon finds a woman about to jump from a bridge and convinces her to allow him to drain her blood. Afterwards, Simon attends a party for blood enthusiasts and self-proclaimed vampires. Simon is introduced as “Blood Baron.” A guest named Renfield finds footage on Simon’s phone linking him to the girl found at the shipyard. Renfield asks Simon to take a drive with him.

Renfield has Simon drive his car, which looks like a taxicab. They pick up an unsuspecting fare named Michaela. Renfield stages a scene that allows him to asphyxiate Michaela. Renfield rapes her and uses fake teeth to bite her neck and drink her blood. Simon angrily accuses Renfield of being nothing more than a rapist and a maniac.

Simon comes home to find Laura with Helga. Laura claims that the building manager let her in. She also asks Simon for a spare key to her apartment, which he refuses.

At school, Simon discovers a student named Mina preparing to hang herself. He talks her out of it.

Simon meets with suicidal girl Lapis Lazuli from the “Side by Cide” website. She insists on taking her van instead of Simon’s car to the spot where they are to kill themselves. Simon discovers that three other suicidal teens are also in her van. Their names are Ladybird, Gargoyle, and Gallows. Lapis drives them to a forest and parks. While discussing their method of execution, Gallows mixes chemicals that fill the vehicle with gas. Simon and Ladybird escape, but the others die.

Simon convinces Ladybird to hike with him ten miles towards a bus stop. Along the way, Simon and Ladybird end up with leeches. They take turns sucking the blood from each other. On the bus ride, Simon admits that he is the vampire that has been a discussion topic on the website. A mutual affection develops between Simon and Ladybird.

Simon finds Laura at his home again. Simon tells her there is someone else and he accidentally calls her Lucy. Laura leaves in anger.

Simon meets Ladybird at her apartment and prepares to drain her blood. She tells him the story of how an abusive boyfriend killed her son Josh. Ultimately, Simon is unable to allow Ladybird to die.

Laura picks the lock to Simon’s apartment. She tries unsuccessfully to hack into his computer. Eventually, she forces her way into a locked room while Helga watches.

After Ladybird recovers, she and Simon kiss during a bonding moment. They appear to be forging a new relationship. Meanwhile, Laura discovers a large freezer in the secret room at Simon’s apartment. Inside the freezer is a female body.

Simon learns that Mina is in the hospital after a suicide attempt. He agrees to donate blood to save her life. When Simon returns home, he finds police all over the building. His mother floats down to the street in her balloon harness and calls to her son. Simon runs, but the blood loss makes it easier for the police to capture him. At the hospital, Mina learns that she was saved thanks to Simon’s blood donation.

A flashback scene shows that the girl in the freezer was named Maria Lucas. She was another suicidal teen that Simon had met on the Internet.

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Review:

2011 was a peak year for vampires in entertainment.  In its fourth season, the HBO series “True Blood” premiered that summer to its most watched episode ever and equaled its third season record for total viewers by the Fall.  Meanwhile at the movies, “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” broke the franchise record for worldwide box office revenue.  Kids even had the animated feature “Hotel Transylvania,” while Tim Burton and Johnny Depp brought a ballyhooed adaptation of “Dark Shadows” to the big screen.  With the fabled bloodsuckers cresting on a surge of popularity, how is it that a film titled “Vampire” starring recognizable faces took until 2013 to find a home video release?

The delay in distribution is possibly because there are no traditionally defined vampires to be found anywhere in the film.  Although “Vampire” does not feature any of the mythological creatures of the night, the title is not a misrepresentation.

When he is not tending to his Alzheimer’s addled mother, high school biology teacher Simon prowls a website in search of young girls.  He is not at risk of being surprised by Chris Hansen, however.  His is a fetish of a different variety.  Simon befriends suicidal teenagers already committed to dying and offers a peaceful exit by exsanguination.  The jars of blood collected than satiate his desire to drink it in the way that an alcoholic craves vodka.  Blood consumption is not part of a fantasy for Simon.  It is an uncontrollable vice.

“Vampire” is a dark drama about sad people with fractured minds and cracked emotions.  The story endeavors to portray people desperate for human relationships as they cope with various levels of depression and unfavorable life situation.  The word “vampire” in this instance is metaphorical for the leeching dependence that one person seeks from another in an effort to feel vibrantly connected to life.

One scene does offer a brief tour inside a gathering of self-styled goths and blood freaks with an unhealthy passion for plasma and all things Dracula-related.  There is also a gruesome murder sequence involving a perpetrator other than mild-mannered Simon.  Otherwise, whether or not the deaths depicted onscreen constitute homicides is akin to the pros and cons arguments made about Jack Kevorkian.  Simon offers broken spirits a tranquil solution, even if it ultimately serves his own interests.  Similarly, whether or not “Vampire” can be considered a horror movie is up for just as much debate.  It may not focus on fangs and throat punctures, but the physical and emotional tragedies it does show are nonetheless disturbing on a level other than visceral.

“Vampire” unfolds quietly while using a handheld camera to create an atmosphere that peeks inside an authentic slice of tragic lifestyles and tragic personalities.  The performances take time to breathe.  No one is in a rush to spit out lines and hurry along.  Instead, the rich ensemble tells their intermingling tales with slumped shoulders and pouty expressions that hint at inner turmoil and consuming despair.

A judge would still find the movie guilty of carrying multiple moments past the expiration of their potency.  More than once, “Vampire” takes its arthouse tone to an extreme by letting a scene play too long or by including symbolism that wins over Sundance crowds while alienating mainstream audiences.  Although in truth, anyone disappointed over the absence of fictional vampires will have long since tuned out before the film comes to this point.

The title can be argued as accurate, but the box art is more misleading than anything else.  Know what the movie is as well as what it is not.  “Vampire” is an indie drama that revels in gloom while thoughtfully exploring suicide, loss, desperation, and depression, even if it wears concrete slippers of hipster indulgence every now and again.  Corpses, coffins, and pointed teeth may not play a role, but for some, the real themes of “Vampire” are more frightening than any Transylvanian monster story could ever be.

Review Score:  70

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