Vampyres (2007) User Reviews

Somewhat ridiculous

[Hatsumi · 2/10 · 9 December 2007]

Seeing people with fangs and the vampiric attitude reminds me of my high school when I was Larping ( live-action role playing). Fortunately I outgrew having my fangs glued on running around in a trench coat at night pretending I am a supernatural creature spawned of the devil himself.

These people didn't.

I don't care of what they are saying about themselves."I am a predator" "It represents how i FEEL inside" Granted they all look fantastic if you are into these aestethical choices, I truly think all of them suffer from a great social awkwardness since they have this urge to distinguish themselves from the rest of humanity, otherwise their shallow personalities might not be enough for a real sense of identity.

As the unnamed shop guy with rastas says "It all depends on what kind of vampire you feel you are". This is all just glamor and Hollywood worship. Nothing more than that. Nothing more than a business with scarce customers.

Now for the meeting where they distribute territories and everything. It is EXACTLY what we use to do while "Larping" minus the hand gestures, power displays and rock-paper-scissors. To think of it that was very fun and slightly less moronic than actually thinking we were vampires.

I have a question for all these people. Are you so insecure about yourself that you have to make sure EVERYBODY KNOWS that you are 'dark' and dangerous? When you probably aren't the child raping cannibal you project.

The choice of blood drinking is an odd one but then again it is totally your choice. I just think you'd better make sure that blood isn't infected with some crass disease.But then again your vampiric stomach acids will vampirize them. And for the human sacrifice they rave about? If there is such a thing, it is manslaughter and I don't care "vampire" or not, you deserve to be trialed and put into jail.

The documentary in itself is very very ordinary. The music is very generic, the photography is very bland. Agreed that this filmed only at night,still there is no memorable shots. No real structure, just a sloppy overview of the next-gen Gothics. It took three years to film this? I didn't had any sense of that apart from that monotone narrator. I also would have love subtitles instead of cheesy over-acted voiceovers. Definitely a documentary to see only for the people who were or are into Vampiric things.

Real or Fake, It's Still Boring

[pushbuttonick · 1/10 · 10 December 2007]

If you want to catch up with every sad nerd who always carried 12 sided dice or spent their allowance on greasepaint at the the Hot Topic every week, this is the documentary you've been pining for. The premise is the narrator stumbled into the vampire underworld of New York City and then came back to document it with poor camera-work, ugly lighting and the most attention-hungry pack of the unscariest RPG-casualty vampires ever.

Bouncing from such exciting locations as "sad vampire apartment" to "tattoo parlor" to "costume shop" and "cheesy dance club," the Narrator interviews these creatures of the night, who come in the full splendor of their fake contacts, pvc, chains and cosmetic fangs to gladly share the "reality" of being a "vampire." They all talk about why they wear fangs, and surprisingly all offer up the same boring explanation, which translates to: I'm scared of the world, I hope by spending a few hundred dollars on costumery, they will fear me. Let me pop that bubble, they won't, they'll be too busy laughing. And talk about condescending. Every "vampire" boasts about how they're superior to the rest of us "mundanes" who are content not looking like Marilyn Manson or performing rituals in parking lots to the spooky glow of klieg lights. But they're so BORING. They wander around in shambolic packs, they hang out in lousy dance clubs playing generic music and, for a society whose greatest gift is people not believing in them, they looove to talk about themselves and vampires and how they embrace "the darkness." Vampyres blows the lid off the myth of vampires being interesting at all. Just watch the scene with the guy growling like a dog who explains where the word 'Lycan' comes from. Close your eyes and you'll swear you're at the San Diego Comicon.

The narrator doesn't seem to understand the presence of commas and periods indicate pauses and starts, and at one point claims Anne Rice's 'Interview with a Vampire' "turned literature around" and that vampires gave birth to black metal. And he talks about vampires like they're real, but he couldn't sound more bored about his subjects, even droning on as the credits start rolling. I question the veracity of this movie, mostly because it makes me a bit ashamed to claim the same species. But if you enjoy bad piercings, clumsy bondage scenes, people with severe parental issues and want something to push your impatience with humanity into outright misanthropy, then Vampyres is the film for you.

Not Buffy

[shilrah · 1 March 2008]

A lot of the comments written for this title are ridiculous. This is a documentary about vampyres, people that have chosen a certain way of live. Not a cheesy Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode. It's like comparing Starship Troopers to Bowling For Columbine. And it's obvious the point of the film has missed a lot of people by miles, which is a shame, because, despite of how they may dress or whatever they call themselves, with this film these people offer an exclusive look into a world full of valuable lessons for everyone. But prejudice and associating vampyres with all the wrong things will certainly blind you from them. But for those who are willing to watch this film objectively it can be very insightful!

If you love the Vampire genre give this a miss.

[omallek2004 · 2/10 · 4 January 2008]

What a sad bunch of people this "documentary" represents. They like to play dress ups, are into a bit of S&M. The occasional group leader is interviewed rambling on with a mishmash of spiritual/ new age justification for their play acting. Maybe they are a secret society because they are about as exciting as a bunch of Klingons at a Star Trek convention. Only interesting character was the French man, a genuinely sick criminal who's very short interview strangely highlighted just how shallow the rest of subjects were in this show.

If you love the Vampire genre, both in books and film, give this a miss.

Sympathy for the vampyre

[morticia2012 · 10/10 · 25 December 2007]

Meet Lestat and Count Dracula, oups pardon me, Lord Zillah and Rex Black… Beautifully shot by night, eerie music, Vampyres tells the story of a journalist who stumbles upon a vampiric clan and the investigation that follows. The openness of the vampyres in front of the camera is truly amazing and you understand quite quickly why this movie took few years to shot (I mean just to earn the trust of the so-called children of the night, it must have taken some time). You get to see a side of America not easily seen, another side of the fence where you'd better join a clan of vampyres to keep you off the road to jail. Yes, the blood scene is riveting, but this movie is not exclusively for the gore fan. You' ll keep thinking of this movie and asking yourself questions for days. Only criticism, I wish the movie lasted longer as I didn't want it to end.

Close encounters

[inuit14 · 8/10 · 17 December 2007]

i saw this kick-ass movie last week here in Paris, and it's great ! We travel from NYC to Italy, from Paris to Japan (i might forget some) and meet, one after the other, people for who, it seems, becoming "vampyres" was the only way to remain human… Weird enough, i know, but no more weird than this crazy world ! Horror fans will have their content of "blood night parties" and other might discover the under-world which they may not suspect… You might be frightened or quite puzzled after seeing the movie, or even full of love for your sunny life and disrespect for their cult… But seeing Vampyres is just like wandering at night, with a bit of curiosity and a strange feeling of uncertainety… Actually, in Vampyres, you may meet both freaks and lords. Will you believe your eyes ?

Real Monsters Freaks and Fangs. Cool and Extreme Stuff

[Marion88 · 11 December 2007]

The movie "Vampyres" which i saw in Valencia will confirm Jamaicans in the idea that Babylon has lost control again: shots of tens of boys and girls, white, black, Puertoricans, dressed up in leather, walking the street of the Queens at night in silence, looking like they came straight out of Walter Hill's The Warriors... until they open their mouths and you make out the canines, the long sharp teeth... the fangs. And then you understand that Blade's children are out on the streets and are multiplying. For the first time I see a film showing the film industry its reflection in the mirror of society. Hey Hollywood horror machine, this is what you do to the people. Not to everybody. No just to the most fragile, socially or psychologically youngsters of America. As in everything there is a good side: calling themselves Lord, Count and Countess, like the old European degenerate vampires of the XIXth century allows these guys to access social status, which society denies them otherwise. A guy who lived in a cardboard box says it: being a Vampyre took him off the streets. He became somebody and found a new dignity. But for the rest. Scary. The blood drinking sequences are very tough. The cannibal guy testimony is one of the scariest I ever came across. By the way how come this guy is not in a hospital, he's the real Hannibal Lecter, did he eat his nurse??? The music reminded me of Goblins at times. Don't watch Vampyres late at night and not by yourself, especially if your skin is white and delicate.

Cool documentary/insight into a fringe culture

[D-Sligar · 8/10 · 1 March 2008]

Regardless of what some of the more culturally-challenged who posted disparaging reviews about this film, it was actually quite interesting and insightful. These reviewers probably cannot see past their own backyards, yet alone the broader sense of a world full of diverse people. How can you judge people for something you cannot understand, even after having it just explained to you? This film will drop you into many different groups and show you what they believe and how they live, it doesn't matter what you believe, they're simply showing you what they believe. The camera was definitely documentary style and there were quite a few shots of strangeness that will leave you with either a laugh or strange thought. All in all, this was a cool film with some interesting fashions and styles. The only question I really had in the end was "What do these people do for a living?" They have to be doing something to afford their lifestyle, but outside of the tattoo artist, what else? Check it out and avoid the disparaging comments as they were probably written by the same type of individual they talking trash about.