Vamps puts its best foot forward in the effort to introduce a new spin on a pair of tired genres: it tries to bring some humor to the stiff and
brooding and darkly sexy Vampire formula while attempting to spruce up the Romantic Comedy with a little blood-sucking edginess. The result is a
movie that's most certainly unique but also rather bland and forgettable beyond its schtick. The movie wears thin rather quickly, failing to build on its
oddball formula thanks to uninspired dialogue and too much reliance on the situational even as the movie
pushes forward towards its ultimate resolution. On the plus side, the cast is excellent and most fall into character with ease, no matter how
transparent and flat some of them may be. It's a noble effort and one cross-genre fans will want to see, but Vamps doesn't redefine its
roots or satisfy as much more than an amiable curiosity.
The benefits of modern digital effects: seeing things you never thought you'd see. Ever. In a million years.
Goody (Alicia Silverstone) has been a vampire for nearly a century-and-a-half. She's lived through the rise of rapid progress and the technological
revolution, a life path that's led her to abstain from consuming human blood. She was turned by Ciccerus (Sigourney Weaver), a resplendent vamp
with no qualms about sucking on humans and living the life of a high society socialite. Goody lives with Stacy (Krysten Ritter), a fellow vampire
who's still a pup in relative terms; she was turned in 1992 and has yet to let go of the 1980s. The two live off rat blood and attend support
meetings for
fellow vamps who abstain from human blood. It's there that Goody meets Vlad Tepish (Malcolm McDowell), the "Vlad the Impaler" who
passes to her a juicy
nugget of information: if the vampire who made another a vampire -- known as a "stem" -- dies, then those transformed by her teeth will
revert to their human form but also to their popper age. Goody also reconnects with an old flame from the 1960s, Danny (Richard Lewis), while
Stacy hits it off with Joey (Dan Stevens), son of a Homeland Security agent and obsessor of all things undead, Dr. Van Helsing (Wallace Shawn).
Can
the girls live the lives they want under the influence of vampirism, or will they need to make some drastic changes to figuratively and literally see
what the light of day has in store for them?
Vamps may be more miss than hit -- it just doesn't hold together very well, the characters are fairly superficial, and the drama lacks heart
--
but when the movie works, it works quite well. Writer/Director Amy Heckerling's (Clueless) script is home to creative ideas that make Vamps a
success in short spurts. The film is at its funniest when vampires meet in "Alcoholics Anonymous"-inspired meetings, where they gather together to
commiserate and support one another in the noble but probably foolhardy goal of abstaining from the imbibing of human blood. The movie has its
moments of sure-handed humor and a sweet innocence to its characters, but it's also all a bit overplayed. The already thin plot pieces and
figuratively
scrawny characters leave the movie vulnerable to overexposure, and indeed, it cannot sustain itself on the droplets of comedy and dramatic
nourishment that come its way over its rather sluggish 90-minute runtime. It's a bit too bouncy and not sufficiently firm, a movie that's fun in
spirit
and purpose and even occasionally up on the screen, but ultimately it fails to sustain itself thanks to a shortage of life-critical nutrients.
Heckerling does assemble an A-list cast that does its collective best to elevate Vamps above the sporadically good but largely barren
landscape that is its script. Alicia Silverstone channels her Cher from Clueless in an opening voiceover that will leave viewers nostalgic for
one of the 90s best Teen Comedies, but the character never quite finds that same groove in the rest of the movie. Silverstone gives the part her all
both emotionally and physically,
but her beauty doesn't translate under the slightly gothic eye makeup, leaving her looking ragged rather than ravenous. The character both feels
and looks a bit forced, unlike Krysten Ritter's Stacy
who absolutely devours the part. The pale complexion and jet black hair do sell the appearance, but Ritter does more, finding a naturally playful and
naive tone that makes for the film's best character in all areas, whether lighter comedy at the beginning, burgeoning romance midway through, or
the drama at film's end. Ritter saves the movie in every scene, and it doesn't hurt that she and Silverstone are surrounded by a superb roster of
supporting players, including Wallace Shawn, Richard Lewis, Sigourney Weaver, and Malcolm McDowell all portraying cardboard but still likable
characters who liven up the movie and give audiences a very nice range of Hollywood's best in an effort that isn't Tinseltown's worst but that, on the
flip side, is only a
bit of rewriting away from something special.
Vamps' digital photography translates rather well to Blu-ray, though certainly a few warts appear along the way. Excess noise is evident in
many spots throughout, particularly during a sequence that introduces Sigourney Weaver's character. That same stretch sees washed out blacks and
overly bright colors. Such bothersome elements never quite reach that same level of intensity elsewhere, but they do indeed linger in places. Generally,
however, the transfer provides viewers with a bright and natural color palette that delivers all the many hues -- from loud clothes to the bright lights of
Times Square -- with pinpoint accuracy. Likewise, details impress throughout, whether natural facial features, clothing lines, wooden accents in the Van
Helsing home, or exterior city elements. Flesh tones appear even though they do span a rather broad range depending on the character and the
makeups they wear. On the whole, this is a fine transfer with only brief spurts of weakness.
Vamps features a steady but rather unremarkable Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Don't equate "unremarkable" with any other negative
adjective, however. In this case, it means the film offers a fairly pedestrian sound design with little in the way of oomph or energy, but Anchor Bay's
sound presentation delivers what's available for it to reproduce with proficiency. Music does play with fine clarity and a pleasant front-side spacing.
Surrounds don't offer a whole lot in the way of heavy, obvious support. A few random sound effects add some spice to the presentation, including a
dance sequence in chapter eight and some weird haunting/chanting sounds early in the film. A slight bit of city ambience aims to paint a fuller picture
during exteriors. Generally, however, this is a dialogue-heavy film, and the spoken word plays clearly and intelligibly. This is a forgettable track that does
its job well but has nothing to offer in terms of sonic marvels.
Vamps could have been something special, but it settles for unfulfilled potential. The movie has its moments of grand humor as it twists the
RomCom and Vampire genre around and folds them together like a pretzel, but the end result isn't quite as consistently funny, well paced, or heartfelt as
it should have been. It does sport some excellent performances from a nice collection of favorite actors, but they're not quite up to the challenge of
saving a script that could have used a bit of tweaking along the way. Genre fans should give Vamps a night out on the town, but it's not the
Vampire Comedy to bring home to mom and dad. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Vamps features good video and audio but no extra content.
Worth a rental.
Anchor Bay Entertainment has officially announced that it will release on Blu-ray director Amy Heckerling's romantic comedy Vamps (2012), starring Alicia Silverstone, Krysten Ritter and Dan Stevens. The release will be available for purchase on November 13th.
