Byzantium

Neil Jordan, 2013

IMDB

3/5

Next to the zombie genre, the next sub-genre of horror movies could certainly be vampire movies. Although lacking in offerings over the last five or so years (Twilight fatigue perhaps?), its a category sure to continue contributing to the world of film. I will start right off the bat by saying I believe the best vampire film of all time is Let the Right One In, and I don't even have to think about it. There are things done in that film that I still think about from time to time, and it has one of the best movie endings ever made. It is a horror film full of confidence, not afraid to break the vampire conventions. It's unique, bold, darkly beautiful. It examines eternal life fully, negative aspects and all. Something that Interview with a Vampire wasn't able to fully do. But Byzantium is actually more like Let the Right One In in the sense that it gives a more broad examination as well, while also breaking some of the stale vampire conventions that dull the genre.

You could argue that its a character study; mostly focusing on Eleanor's (Saoirse Ronan) struggles. She never had a choice when it came to becoming what she is. Spared by death but cursed by eternal life, she is lonely in her perpetual existence. Eager to share her story with anyone interested in hearing it, not able to keep it bottled inside of her, most people aren't able to comprehend. And of course when she meets an elderly man who is able to understand what she is, he looks at it as more of a swift exit for him and an offering for her. Byzantium has a stylistic aesthetic that is also similar to Jim Jarmusch's 2013 film Only Lovers Left Alive in the sense that it follows two floating bloodsuckers through a decaying modern landscape. But Byzantium manages to make the story more compelling. While Lovers is more of a draining (no pun intended) bought of depression that you are forced to endure for 2 hours, Eleanor's struggles are more compelling and the backstory is ripe with intrigue.

One of the best parts of Byzantium is it doesn't struggle to offer you a complete story. It literally gives you a modern day storyline with flashbacks going back to 200 years prior, and still manages to wrap things up with a good sense of closure and a satisfying ending while maintaining balance. And that is by definition a good movie.

Spring

Justin Benson, 2015

IMDB

3/5

Through skillful camera-work and intelligent storytelling, Spring resembles a love-child of Before Sunrise and Let the Right One In, if there ever was one. A genre-clash, it's a horror/romance film that mainly focuses on the lives of two people. Evan (Lou Taylor Pucci), a grieving drifter who impulsively decides to hop on a plane to Italy. And Louise (Nadia Hilker), a mysterious beauty who tries to capture Evan's heart quickly and doesn't want to wait until the next night for a date. Evan immediately comes off as a sympathetic figure, having to endure the final moments of his mother suffering from cancer and watching her fade off. His misfortunes mount as he gets let go from his bar-tending gig at the local dive which clearly serves as the last straw for him before he decides to get out of dodge.

Evan can probably be called the every-man in the sense that he's just a young guy willing to jump into the unknown looking for adventure. He's confident but self destructive. Aggressive but also vulnerable. The most impressive part of the film is in the sudden twist, when the entire construct of the picture radically shifts into different form. It's something that isn't done enough, and hopefully a film like this can inspire other filmmakers to make the bold jump into genre-bending. It's here when everything changes. It works really well, and if anything the film falls a little to in love with its new form and ends up running about a half hour too long. Other than that, it's a pretty engaging story between two completely different people. 

Only Lovers Left Alive

Jim Jarmusch, 2014

Can I Stream it?

2/5

Two vampires reunite after years apart from each other to complain about their frustrations with the modern world and how uncivilized the human race has become.

Jarmusch creates the kind of movies that people want to say they liked. But Only Lovers is a perfect example of an intellectual filmmaker making an awfully dull movie. Maybe he was in his own head too much. Maybe he was trying to hard to make a carve out a niche in an already exhausted genre. But even the story didn't feel all that fresh, either. Maybe the angst-ridden vampire stories are better left for Anne Rice. Jarmusch did do a couple of things right. Shooting in Detroit to take advantage of the dystopian landscape is a good idea, might as well make use of America's dying city and make a subtle message about the actual state of our American culture at the same time. It's no mistake that they juxtapose dying Detroit and culture-rich Tangier. Casting Swinton and Hiddleston is certainly a good idea. But instead of letting Swinton breathe he follows her on exhaustingly long shots through Middle Eastern alleyways. Instead of letting Hiddleston breathe he turns him into a virtually mute emo-rocker, like a junkie who can't seem to get the right score in his hands. And of course that's the point, two vampires completely dissatisfied with the state of the world. All of the culture, the art, the creativity has died off giving way to a toxic race that they call "zombies". Maybe Lovers needed actual zombies to make it more interesting. Only Lovers feels like work while watching it. You get a feeling that you were bit in the neck in the opening credits and slowly bleed out during the remainder of the film, sort of falling into a lightheaded daze. There should be a disclaimer that you need 3 Venti's before viewing. Don't watch this one after a couple glasses of wine. The Blade franchise is more engaging, as strange as it feels to say that. Only Lovers can be placed somewhere in the middle of the Twilight franchise and the much better Interview with a Vampire. 

Let Me In

Matt Reeves, 2010

4/5

When I had heard that they were remaking the Swedish horror "Let The Right One In" I wasnt too optimistic that it could hold up to the original. Now after seeing both, I look at them almost equally and there are only subtle deficiencies in both films. Anyone who has not seen the original Swedish version should do so. Thats all I will say about the original. This film is a near perfect horror film, and definitely in my top 5 horror films of the past 10 years. Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass) has been good in every film I've seen her in, and she is perfect in her role of Abby the vampire. Kodi Smit-Mcphee gives a really great performance as well, as Owen. This film is how every vampire film should be. Unfortunately we've become consumed as a culture with a watered down, vanilla Vampire genre thanks to the absolutely horrible Twilight films. Let Me In is very different. Its takes itself seriously. The cinematography in this film is fantastic. Theres an ambient, dark & yellow glow to the film that reminds me of David Fincher. I would imagine the cinematographer, Greig Fraser, is influenced by Fincher. There are so many big moments in this film that were so original, especially the ending.