Vampire Diary
Peccadillo Pictures
ALL REGION PAL
Vampire
Diary is a new sort of Vampire film; it offers a post modern twist on the tale
re-inventing the whole approach from the bottom up. It is set within the gothic
sub culture and uses the background of dark imagery, blood drinking, leather
and Emo/Goth culture to excellent effect. The constant juxtaposing of the faux
would-be vampires with the real violence of a vampire (of whatever nature)
gives the film an intriguing series of plot turns and a good texture.
The
cinematography uses a variety of styles and while I am usually a bit unsure
about handheld camera work, I think the use of handheld camera, grainy footage
and different stocks give the film an immediacy which suits its subject matter
and style. The interchange between faux vampires, real vampires, doco
filmmaking and reality all meld together nicely through the deliberate use of
different film styles.
Holly
(Morven Macbeth) wants to make a name for herself, she has had a hard life and
believes making it big with a major doco is the key to success. She has chosen
to explore the world of Goths, vampires and other dark weekend denizens. To her surprise, she meets a real blood
drinker Vicki (Anna Walton). Whether Vicki is a vampire in a classic sense or
just distributed is left open to conjecture through most of the film and since
she kills with a bolt gun and drinks from open wounds (with no supernatural
frills), we are not quite sure what she really is. Holly and Vicki fall in love and this is
rather beautifully portrayed, Vampire Diary is not lesbian vampire exploitation
cinema, in many ways it mixes a poignant and touching love story with a vampire
motif As Holly and Vicki become closer, the uniqueness
of their love is balanced with the brutality of Vicki’s need to feed both
herself and her child, since she is pregnant after being raped by a male
vampire.
Vicki’s
early life is shown in flashbacks and is nicely done with references to her
first vampire teeth, anti social behaviour and the dark life she has had to
live at the edges of society. She is ultimately forced to be a predator living
on predators yet even the wildest animals need love and this leads to the powerful
relationship which is central to the film. It is as though two lonely souls,
one human and one perhaps not, touch, meet and try to connect.
While
Holly and Vicki do everything possible to avoid her killing to feed ranging
from rare steaks to stealing blood and “renting” bites from the poor,
ultimately she must kill and as they spin out of control into an obsessive
relationship where the “baby come first”, blood flows. The birth scene is quite
moving and impressive, we are actually touched by the birth of the baby vampire
and this play between emotional bonding and brutality is part of the film’s
success. This is perhaps the first “Vampire Family Values” film ! In the end
she must even sacrifice Adam to feed Vicki and the child and when Vicki is
taken into custody she becomes the baby’s protector. It is only in those last minutes
that we realize that the Vicki was really a vampire, since the baby now must
feed ...
This
is an innovative and creative take on the vampire genre. It uses the background
of the modern vampire sub culture to create a superbly textured environment
which is also filled with great dark music. The eroticism of Anna Walton (from
Hellboy II) is superb and the love scenes are convincing. In my mind this is as
much a film about love and obsession as about vampires and the deliberate
avoidance of any supernatural reference and the fact that you really only
become convinced that Vicki and the child are vampires right at the end make
this an intelligent and contemporary take on the vampire story.