When he wakes up the next day he doesn't remember ANY of this. She won't give him the sweet, sweet loving he so desperately needs so when he winds up at an nightclub looking for a cheap, no-strings-attached encounter, through a series of strange circumstances he winds up going home with, you guessed it… the countess. Enter Mark Kendall (Jim Carey), a high school student who has had it up to here with his girlfriend Robin (Karen Kopins). Like other vampiric countesses before her (think Bathory), our heroine needs to drink blood to keep up appearances but she doesn't need female virgins for this, just virile young hunks! She's got to get this taken care of before Halloween arrives, however, and she's quickly running out of time. The second feature on the disc is 1985's Once Bitten directed by Howard Storm and it introduces us to the Countess (Lauren Hutton), a vampire who lives in a fancy mansion in sunny California. Cult movie fans will appreciate seeing Michael Pataki pop up in a small supporting role! This one holds up quite well, definitely worth revisiting. His style of line delivery apes the Transylvanian accent so often associated with the character well and he really seems to get into the role. He's suave and debonair, as you'd expect, but also quite adapt at the more comedic side required by the part. Of course, the real star of the show is George Hamilton as Dracula. James as the woman who acts as the catalyst for Dracula's obsessions coming on full force is also lots of fun, and quite beautiful. Dick Shawn as the cop in charge of looking into all of this also does fine work while Susan St. He plays the crazed, obsessed vampire hunter type well and does so with enough energy that it's no wonder he winds up getting tossed into the loony bin. A good score with some catchy tracks included on it helps to add to the enjoyment of the feature while the script offers up a good mix of funny dialogue, kooky characters and amusing sight gags.Īs far as the cast go, Benjamin is funny to watch as the wannabe Van Helsing. Moving most of the action from Transylvania to New York City adds a bit of interesting NYC grit to a few scenes and helps to set it apart from other vampire films and the movie is well shot with some slick location footage. Of course, no one believes Rosenberg, least of all top cop Ferguson (Dick Shawn), that is until a local NYC blood bank is robbed…īriskly paced and plenty funny, Love At First Bite does a pretty fine job of lampooning vampire movie clichés one after another pretty much throughout its running time. After all, he is a direct descendent of the legendary vampire hunter Van Helsing, so he comes by it naturally. When he realizes what those bite marks are on her neck, he takes it upon himself to take Dracula out of the picture. Things turn sour though when Cindy shows up to talk to her shrink, Jeff Rosenberg (Richard Benjamin), a man who just so happens to be her ex. When he runs into her at a dance bar things seem to be off to a good start and when he winds up at her place later, they're definitely off to a good start. He doesn't travel alone, however, as his right hand man Renfield (Arte Johnson) is along for the ride.Īfter a detour to Harlem after his arrival, Dracula winds up setting up a residency of sorts at the fancy Park Plaza Hotel where he winds up meeting that model he was digging so hard earlier in the film: Cindy Sondheim (Susan St. This, and the fact that the local villagers want to do away with him (they're not fans of his feeding tactics it would seem), is reason enough to hop a flight from Transylvania to New York City. The closest he gets to loving a woman is ogling a beautiful model in a magazine. The film stars George Hamilton as Count Dracula, a vampire who at first glance seems to have it all: the castle, the money, the lifestyle. Shout! Factory's Scream Factory imprint celebrates the humorous side of the horror movie with this double dose of vampire comedy films presented on a single Blu-ray disc.įirst up is 1979's Love At First Bite, directed by Stan Dragoti.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |