Wednesday, October 9, 2013

F This Movie! - Vampire Movies!

Patrick and JB count down their favorite and least favorite vampire movies ever made. Blood!



Join the Scary Movie Challenge!

Download this episode here. (37.4 MB)

Email F This Movie! at fthismoviepodcast(at)gmail.com.

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Also discussed this episode: Halloween (1978), Psycho II (1083), The Fly (1958), The Stuff (1985), The Mangler (1995), She-Wolf of London (1946), No One Lives (2013)

27 comments:

  1. Say, since I'm here, Massacre question for this weekend if I may; what's the protocol for seats when you go out for a bit to eat or something during the 24 hours? Leave a sweater, let the people around you know you'll be back, something like that? I'll be solo for my first Massacre!

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    1. You could certainly try leaving something or asking people around you. You might be totally fine. But because it's the kind of event where people are constantly arriving for the first time, the seat thing can get tricky. My advice? NEVER LEAVE YOUR SEAT.

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    2. Excellent, I'll bring a trucker's friend!

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    3. You're going to bring a CB radio?

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  2. Great show as usual, but I don't think you can give us Brits flak for laughing at men dressed as women when Madea flicks continue to make millions.

    Glad to hear that you guys don't hate Bram Stoker's Dracula. As many problems as that film has (Reeves and Ryder are pretty awful) I still kind of love it. I'm a fan of Dracula adaptations in general and it's one of my favourites. I just love all the in-camera effects and theatricality of it all, that blu-ray is beautiful.

    Man, I was pretty sad not to hear a mention of Werner Herzog's amazing Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht. It may be my favourite Dracula adaptation and one of my favourite vampire films. No other vampire film has captured the tragic nature of Dracula more than Herzog's Nosferatu. It has one of my favourite vampire lines ever too; "The absence of love is the most abject pain". Kinski plays Dracula as this sad sack who is disgusted by the world and only lives because he can't kill himself. He's like an animal with only the impulse to feed forcing him into doing anything. Until he sees Isabelle Adjani's Lucy and then for the first time he feels something beyond just the need for sustenance. Anyway, it's a great film and I just thought it deserved a mention. Plus, Popol Vuh's score for it is excellent.

    I also wanted to ask why the consensus here is that Room 237 is bad? I had a lot of fun with that film. Most of the theories presented are insane but they're not meant to be taken seriously. The film is more about the effect The Shining has on people than it is a genuine deconstruction of what it's about. Kubrick has been built up into being this omniscient filmmaking god who controlled every segment of the frame. He's been built up so much that crazy people can legitimise any insane theory they latch on to. Room 237 was such a reminder of what a great film The Shining is and just how enigmatic it is. So enigmatic that crazy people will sieve through it desperately seeking an easy meaning to grasp on to. Evil and fear are presented as being so beyond our understanding that some people can't handle it. That's what so special about The Shining and Room 237 brings that out in an entertaining way. I thought it was a fun film about obsession and the cult of Kubrick.

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    1. I will let others who have seen it address Room 237; I need to finish watching it. And I meant to mention on the podcast that I still have not seen Herzog's Nosferatu. It's a major hole in my vampire viewing. Sorry about that.

      Good call on the in-camera effects on Bram Stoker's Dracula. That and the music are my favorite things about that movie.

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    2. You're not the only person who enjoyed Room 237, but to me it's the conspiracy theory equivalent to JB's complaints about the Van Helsing CGI monsters. Without the touchstone of anything believable, it's hard to care about what's happening onscreen.

      Without putting words in anyone's mouth, it seems like those who liked the movie read more into the filmmakers' intent than I did. It didn't feel like the director had a point of view on the wacky theories. It seemed like he thought presenting a raw collection of outsider perspectives was enough to make it a compelling movie. I disagree.

      A lot of interesting discussion has popped up around the movie, with critics and fans thinking about what they bring to the meaning of movies compared to what writers and directors actually wanted to say. I'm happy to have that conversation, but doing so doesn't require sitting through an hour and forty-three minutes of nonsense first.

      All to say, I can't wait to watch The Shining this month!

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  3. damn you both...i just bought innocent blood and lifeforce...neither of which i have seen since they came out but i can't remember much about them. but your review makes me think that i will like them better now.

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  4. Hooray, love for Daybreakers! Now there's a movie that really grew on me and I loved how the filmmakers were willing to go along with the premise and see where it would logically lead to. Lordy, there's an execution scene in that movie that's simply horrifying and sad in it's implications for that society.

    I'm almost in complete agreement with your lists except that I would substitute in a different 1980's movie for Fright Night; I'd put in 1983’s The Hunger, which I think is one of the sadder movies I've ever seen about an attempt to connect with someone, even if it's in the most completely selfish and horrible way. I’m sure some people find it lifeless (or BLOODLESS!) and overly arch, but it works for me.

    JB, you were not kidding by half on Mitchell & Petrillo. Doing just a cursory image search, that’s pretty hilarious as to how much of a Martin & Lewis takeoff they look like.

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  5. My pick for the worst vampire movie would have to be Queen of the Damned. In addition to being Aaliyah's last movie role as she died a few months before its release, this film suffers from some poor writing, terrible direction and wooden acting (with the exception of Aaliyah, who did a decent job as the head vampire queen despite not giving that much to work with) and it was no wonder that Anne Rice herself immediately dismissed this after it came out. I just like to wonder, has anyone seen it and what are your thoughts?

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    1. I always thought that there might have once been a good movie in there, but it got screwed up along the way. There are actually some neat things in it, but they get drowned out by the terrible things.

      Vampire Reviews did a good video on it, where she posits the problem is that they made a movie about the frame that the book is based on.

      Hang on I'll see if I can find it....

      http://blip.tv/mavenoftheeventide/vampire-reviews-queen-of-the-damned-6529739

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  6. Loved the podcast. Loved the choices.

    JB - Loved what you said about Shadow of the Vampire. And I'll "see" your Old Dracula and raise you Roger Corman's Transylvania Twist starring Robert Vaughn and The Late Boris Karloff (unused footage from The Terror just dumped in the middle of the movie).

    The Sammy Petrillo/Jerry Lewis lawsuit...according to an interview that Petrillo did with Filmfax a few years back Lewis didn't win. Petrillo's lawyers were able to prove that Lewis had had plastic surgery on his face where Petrillo hadn't so the Judge threw out Lewis' claim of having sole right of that "look". Lewis still managed to call in favors and made it impossible for them to get work. Petrillo became a agent.

    Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to see if I can find a copy of Blackinstein....

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  7. I LOVE this.

    Also, this episode serves as a reminder that I like some really bad movies. I have affection for both The Forsaken and Dracula 2000. My thoughts on Dracula 2000 is that it at least tries to bring something new and interesting to the Dracula mythos. I like the Judas twist. Now, years and years later, it seems a little bit silly. But at the time it felt like it had more on its mind that many of its contemporaries. But...I also like a lot of bad movies.

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    1. I got to admit, the Judas idea is not a bad twist at all.

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  8. I'm admittedly slacking this month, but Near Dark is absolutely on my list of movies to try to see before the month is up. It has always seemed awesome to me (though I've never seen it). Plus, it's Kathryn Bigelow and vampires. What's not to like?!

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  9. JB asked, “Does Meat Loaf show up in BloodRayne with really big breasts?”

    Meat Loaf is surrounded by nude women during his scene, so… yes?

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  10. First off YAY! thanks for the shout out guys I still have at least 20 movies to roll through this month, that along with my new girlfriend has gotten me off the ledge. Good choices on the vampire movies especially with Daybreakers on the list and Lost Boys on neither list (still love the ending though of Lost Boys) I actually remember seeing Dracula 2000 in theatres and just squirming in my seat god I hated that movie, usually if a movie stinks I will start going into MST3K mode in my head to keep myself sane but this one oh boy.

    Quick technical question for the scary movie challenge boars, is anyone else having trouble loading up the newest comments on the site, it seems to stop at October 6. It might just be my computer.

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    1. Under the last comment you're able to see, it should say "load more" or "loading" or something like that. If you click it, that should show more recent comments. Because there are SO MANY (because you guys are THE BEST), you might have to do it a few times to get through all of them. Let me know if that works!

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  11. At the risk of being "that guy", I have to provide a slight correction. INNOCENT BLOOD was shot in Pittsburgh, not Philadelphia. Pittsburgh is my hometown, and I was in high school when the film was being made around town.

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  12. JB, your intro put such a big sincere smile on my face. Just what I needed when leaving work after a pretty full on day. Thanks :-)

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  13. Great podcast guys - I must admit I had low expectations because I thought I wasn't a big vampire movie guy but then when you started going through your lists I remembered I apparently was! Inspired me to watch Let the Right One in again last night and boy do I love that.

    I heard Stakeland was actually pretty good - have either (or any) of you seen that and would you recommend?

    And JB - I really like 30 Days of Night too - not that it's GREAT or anything, I just find it very watchable - very easy on the eyes (because Josh Heartnet - that's how it should be spelled because he always captures mine!) - I'd probably enjoy it nearly as much with the sound off, it's just such a gorgeous LOOKING movie in spite of the bleak setting.

    Quick non-vampire question: My The Burning blu-ray arrives today - does it really require a clean first watching or should I just go with your commentary right away?

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    1. I liked a lot of things about Stakeland without loving the movie as a whole. But I should probably see it again. It's not a waste of time, but I didn't think it was a total success, either.

      I LOVE the idea of 30 Days of Night; I just wasn't a big fan of the execution.

      Congrats on buying The Burning on Blu-ray. That's fantastic. I would watch it once first without us yammering over it. It's short and pretty good. THEN you can get to our commentary -- you know, THE GOOD STUFF.

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    2. Thanks Patrick - my wife-to-be almost never congratulates me on my movie purchases so I appreciate the affirmation! And looking forward to the movie - it's Thanksgiving here and I'm heading to the parents for the weekend - maybe I'll watch it with the whole family!

      Stake Land is on Netflix so I'll probably give it a shot.

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  14. Oh jeez...I kind of like Bloodrayne. Ironically of course because I find it pretty funny. If given the choice of watching one Uwe Boll movie, I would choose Bloodrayne.

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  15. I think I'd rather watch Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire than ever watch Tim Burton's Dark Shadows again....

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