Movie Review: Vampire Diary

Vampire Diary (2007)

Dir. Mark James & Phil O'Shea

I hadn't heard about Vampire Diary until I'd read the review in the September issue of Fangoria. They'd proudly declared the film "Video of the Month", and given the review a nice, distinctive border -- dividing it from such tosh like Dracula's Guest and Hybrid (a tale of some poor sap, who during a transplant, has been given the eyes of a wolf --yes, really). Make no mistake, Vampire Diary may differ in quality, but it's low budget practically screams from the word go. For example: most of the sequences outside of the grimy, London clubs were filmed in one of the Director's apartments. Although a rather cramped environment, this provides the film with a greater sense of intimacy, focusing on the characters as opposed to details in the background. Even when our characters are on the run, and there is a City-wide search for them, all we hear is sirens and flickering news footage. It detaches the meager cast from the rest of the world, making their status as outcasts even more plausible.

The plot is another "found footage" affair, stemming from a sub genre which includes horror classic, The Blair Witch Project (1999), George Romero's Diary of the Dead (2007), Cloverfield (2008), [REC] (2007), and The Zombie Diaries (2006). Where the forgotten footage sub genre was rather fresh in the late 90s, it's now feeling a little bit stale, earning its own set of cliches. However, Vampire Diary does succeed in bringing new ideas to the fold -- a marvellous thing too, given the small production values. The story in question unfolds through the camera lens of Holly (the wonderfully Scottish-sounding Morven Macbeth), a young film maker who's producing a documentary on "weekend vampires"-- a cult of Goths who prance around London, dressed-up as vampires, complete with fangs. They're known as The Kindred, and they're a friendly bunch:

Holly is unfazed, but one night, when she is taping her particular band of subjects, she notices another vampy-looking woman filming her. Vicki (Hellboy II's Anna Walton) is a blood sucker with a difference -- she lacks fangs, saunters around in the daylight and kills her victims using a bolt-gun before slurping their blood. She also doesn't sleep in a coffin, which is lucky for Holly as Vicki is soon sharing her bed. But, Holly isn't aware of her girlfriend's origins until members of the Goth clique start dying, and Vicki-the-vampire confesses, showing her footage of the killings. Holly is horrified, but searches for new ways for Vicki to control her blood lust. In one sequence they try to rob a blood bank, only to appear in the news for their efforts. Their situation, however, is further complicated as the police draw closer, and Vicki reveals she is pregnant with a vampire baby.

The presentation of the vampire as a possible serial killer has been done before --most notably perhaps, in George Romero's fantastic Martin (1977), which also blurs the boundaries of psychological drama and disturbing horror -- is Martin a vampire or just really fucked-up? The debate regarding Vicki's vampirism is handled much the same, and is played about through out the film. The debate itself has even divided Writer/co-Director Phil O'Shea, Mark James and Producer Michael Riley. Taken from Fangoria #276:

"I'm never in any doubt that she is," says O'Shea unequivocally -- and as scriptwriter, ought to know. "One thing that concerned me was that if we made the film and transpired that she was not a vampire, horror audiences might feel a bit disappointed and let down." But Riley disagrees: "In my opinion, she is not a vampire. She shows how a smart, intelligent, sexy woman can manipulate people into thinking certain things. And she gets away with it. There's nothing, as far as I'm concerned, in the film that says absolutely, unequivocally that she's a supernatural monster. What she does is totally physical." That leaves James . . . "We always liked the idea of playing with the question of whether she is or not, and wanting to leave it open . . . You have to make your own mind up. I don't think I can really say."

Vampire Diary successfully avoids the pitfalls of the lesbian vampire sub genre -- this isn't an exploitation film, glorifying nudity or gore (even though there is plenty of each). It's more of a drama, a character study -- the idea that we're witnessing everything through the lens of Holly and Vicky's camera makes scenes travel at a choppy, comic book-like speed, disrupting the overall pace of the narrative. Although this may seem a bit disorientating, it provides a wider insight into the nature of Vicky and Holly's relationship -- we see their highs, and their lows -- their fights and make-up sex. Walton and Macbeth both play their parts beautifully -- Vicki is given enough vulnerability to underline her savage tendencies, whilst displaying a life-long sense of loneliness, and Holly's pushy edge dissolves as she does everything to protect her lover, and feed her.

Aside from this, Vampire Diary isn't without it's faults -- there's the usual quibbles and inconsistencies when it comes to documentary-style films: are the characters really that obsessed in film making? Oh, that's convenient, there's an ideal camera ledge right above their bath tub . . .There acting ability also varies when it comes to the co-stars, and the music is often rather intrusive -- but I guess it comes with the territory of such a film. Of course, these are minor, and it's easier to commend the film, especially given its tight budget. Vampire Diary may not be astounding film making, and it's not for everyone, but it's unique in its own twisted way, and you could do a whole lot worse than check this little film out.