DINNER WITH A VAMPIRE

(Lamberto Bava, 1988)

A foolish camera crew discover a crypt, and within it the withered corpse of an ancient vampire of Mesopotamian origins. One of the crew scratches himself (of course), the blood drips onto the corpse (as would be expected), and the vampire is almost instantly revived. He then kills the crew (naturally!).

Fast-forward to 1988. A group of 20-somethings are auditioning for a chance to be in the latest horror film by avant-garde director Jurek (George Hilton). After a few scenes of horrible dancing, poor acting, and weak singing, we are introduced to the winners: Rita, the blonde singing sensation (haw!), Sasha, the brunette stage actress, and Monica the redhead whose dancing consists of hopping about like a Mexican jumping bean. With Sasha's man-friend Gianni in tow, they set off to Jurek's castle to meet him in person.

Once there they are introduced to an assortment of bizarre servants before meeting Jurek. After dinner and a creepy black and white home movie, Jurek informs them that he is actually an ancient vampire who has grown weary of living but cannot destroy himself or tell anyone else how to. He then advises them of his true intentions for inviting them to his home: he wants them to find a way to kill him before dawn, or he will do the same to them. Oh yes, and crosses, stakes, and garlic have no effect on him!

I initialy went into DWAV with a sour taste in my mouth. A horror comedy by Lamberto Bava? Does the world really need this? It's actually not as bad as one would expect, but by no means does this imply that it's a great film.
The special effects are incredibly cheesy, what with the spiders and bats on strings, the stop-motion animation, and a hilarious chest-ripping scene. On another sad note Lamberto pretty much ripped off his two Demons films and pasted them right into this one. Must have run out of ideas. And it shows.

On the upside, it's somewhat entertaining. There's a fair bit of funny dialogue amidst the crud, and George Hilton definitely makes a splash with his over-the-top vampire hamming. Bava again proves that he's more than competent with the technical aspects of film making. The location/ sets are absolutely breathtaking in their use of colour, lighting, and texture. The camerawork and compositions are also top-notch, and the soundtrack though disposable, works. And Jurek is one ugly f*kin vampire in true form! Recommended only for completists.