Vamp or Not? Painted Skin

I do like a bit of Chinese cinema and given that this 2008 Gordon Chan directed movie was a luscious looking film of epic proportions and supernatural in basis I would surely have gone out of my way to see it. However, blog matters first of all. When I saw the imdb synopsis “an action-thriller centered on a vampire-like woman who eats the skins and hearts of her lovers” then the film just had to be investigated. Is it Vamp… not really, but let’s see.

Out in the desert a General, Wang Sheng (Kun Chen), leads his men on a raid against bandits. In the main hut in the bandit village the leader has a girl, Xiao Wei (Xun Zhuo), all in furs (the fact they are white is significant). Before the raiders get to him it is obvious he has been killed by means unseen by the viewer due to camera angle. Wang rescues her and takes her back to the city. He tells his wife, Pei Rong (Wei Zhao), that Xiao Wei’s parents are dead.

The guards are out in force and there is a banging at the city door. A body lies outside the gates, presumably in a stupor, and is taken to Sheng’s home. It is Yong (Donnie Yeng) and in flashback we see that he was a general with phenomenal martial skills. However he did not wish to lead the men (plus Pei Rong chose, romantically, Shang over him) and left his commission to travel. Once he comes around he leaves the house.

He goes to a restaurant where he meets Xia Bing (Betty Sun), a toy-boyish young woman. Pei Rong finds him and tells him that she fears that Xiao Wei is a demon. She seems to be able to charm people, Pei Rong accidentally cut her and she miraculously healed and a Taoist warned Pei Rong of the other woman’s nature and then immediately died. He was missing his heart and since Xaio Wei arrived there have been several murders were the hearts have been removed. Pei Rong begs Yong for his help.

The culprit is a chameleon demon, Xiao Yi (Qi Yuwu), who is taking the hearts. He is in love with Xiao Wei and knows that she needs to eat human hearts in order that her skin will not rot. For her part Xiao Wei is in love with Sheng and wants to be his new wife usurping the household. Indeed this film is less a horror or action movie, it is a romance that investigates several types of love through supernatural metaphor. Xiao Wei is a fox spirit.

Now we have come across fox spirits before. They have appeared in Mr Vampire 4 , for instance, where a Taoist was attacked by one who used seduction to undermine him. She was not, however, one of the kyonsi that primarily featured in the movie. The vampire in Amazing Stories was more western typed but the fox spirit in that actively attacked the vampire and defended the hero. There is, however, nothing to connect fox spirits with vampires per se. They are vamps, in one sense of the word, but not bloodsuckers.

The reason this is called Painted Skin is due to the fact that the spirit can remove her skin to paint it, thus hiding any demon marks one assumes, and below the skin is an approximation of a human form made up of worms that crawl and squirm – it was a wonderful effect. Xiao Yi can become invisible, he is a chameleon after all, but sunlight will cause him to cast a shadow. He has a long lizard like tongue.

Xia Bing is a demon hunter by familial trade and her Grandfather had actually taken fox spirit’s tail. She and Yong hunt the demons but things become sticky when Yong is framed for murder. Following this Xiao Wei reveals herself to Pei Rong and then manipulates her into drinking a demon poison that makes her white (and causes her to cry blood tears) and then she has to falsely confess that she was really the demon.

In the cumulative battle Xia Bing reveals that her family’s blood on a blade (as demon busters) can injure demons where a normal sword might not. This was reminiscent of the lore that appeared in the OAV anime Blood: the last vampire and the subsequent series Blood+ and yet I do not think that this adds to the argument that this could be vampire as the lore in the Blood animes is so obscure.

For instance, whilst this works, there is also a magic blade that Xia Bing finally gets to unsheathe during the battle – her own anger and hatred had prevented this before – and subsequently wield. Only she can use it, so it is much like her own blood being useful against the demons, though this leads to some nice disintegration and reintegration (of the blade) effects when it is passed to Yong and subsequently returned to Xia Bing.

All in all I think there was a liberal use of the word vampire in the synopsis I quoted as there is nothing remotely vampiric about this film. It is, however, a rich, evocative movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. Not Vamp.

The imdb page is here.

Commercial Vampire: Ray-Bans

Vampires only burn in the sun when their eyes are exposed… Certainly it was an idea used by Jean Rollin in his 1968 Rape of the Vampire. It was also an idea used by Ray-Bans in this ad. We have looked at Ray-Bans vampire ads in poster form but this is the video version:

30 Days of Night: Eternal Damnation – review

Authors Steve Niles & Jeff Mariotte

First published: 2008

Contains spoilers, third in a series, will spoil the first two books

The blurb: Raising the stakes in an already perilous situation, the elite members of a clandestine government sect have taken it upon themselves to become the arbiters of pain and violence against one of the most terrifying forces humanity has ever encountered. But there will be a heavy – and horrifying – final price to pay for both sides of an inhuman struggle that now threatens to spill over into an unsuspecting world…

The review: I was very taken with Rumours of the Undead, the first all prose foray into the 30 Days of Night universe. This feeling continued with immortal remains a book that had some tantalising new lore that could push the series in strange new vectors.

By the blurb this would seem to have changed direction, being from the perspective of Operation Red-Blooded. However there is plenty from the point of view of the vampires also. Unfortunately the book stalls, big time.

Let me explain. The pulp fiction writing style is still as readable as ever, but as for the story, well by the comments left below my review of immortal remains it was clear that folks wanted to know what happened to Dane. Well I can tell you – he died. The death of the character didn’t particularly serve any higher plot function or prove a brave move by the authors either. Instead the book seems to go out of its way to systematically kill off most of the characters that have developed over time, trying to return us to a status quo that existed prior to the first graphic novel. Of those who do survive the cull, and I’m thinking mainly Eben and Stella, they lose their status as undead anti-heroes and become just another cog in the maintenance of the status quo.

As for the exciting new lore... It is clear that a second bite can offer a far greater strength to the undead, Eben bites Stella just as Dane bit him in the last book, but the reason why this works and the advantages it offers are really ignored to a great extent. The human/vampire hybrid child, baby Dane, whom I didn’t want to spoil in the last review is mentioned in passing a few times before being unceremoniously killed off – whilst this sends Stella nuts for a while it is fairly much a damp squib of a direction, there simply wasn’t anything done with baby Dane that actually warranted the inclusion of the character/lore concept in this or the previous book. Likewise, in this volume an inoculation against vampirism may have been developed but, most probably, it was then lost – hurrah for the status quo.

Everything brave that they tried to do with the universe, every new direction they invented in previous novels/graphics is killed off. Characters we have come to know over many a volume either die or vanish into the ether (don’t get me wrong, killing off characters is too often not done by authors but to kill them all off… well that’s another matter and in this case it felt like closing down directions rather than opening new threads through their demise). The prose may be readable but the story is a damp squib at best. 4 out of 10 is probably generous.

Vampira – review

Directed by: Clive Donner

Release date: 1974

Contains spoilers

When I first came across the concept of David Niven as a vampire, indeed David Niven as Dracula himself, I was thrilled. The fact it was a comedy didn’t phase me, after all Niven was in many a comedy and was a fine actor. However, even as a kid, when I first saw this, it struck me as completely off… that the film was inherently wrong and, quite frankly, offensive.

What am I talking about? There is a racist element to this picture that I cannot reconcile with my own conscience, made worse by the fact that it is this element that is the source of much of the comedy. Let us, however, begin at the beginning.

In a candle lit study sits Dracula (David Niven) – a particularly English upper-crust sounding Dracula, it has to be said, given that this runs on the idea that Dracula was indeed Vlad Tepes. His butler, Maltravers (Peter Bayliss), comes in and says he has fixed the fuse – putting the lights back on. This is a Dracula who rents his castle out for income – as Castle Dracula with Maltravers playing the role of the vampire. He likes to read Playboy and look at the veins.

It appears that Playboy are to do a shoot in the castle. They are bringing four models plus various staff including chaperone Angela (Jennie Linden) and writer Marc Williams (Nicky Henson). It seems strange, of course, that Dracula would discover that they are renting his castle by reading it in the magazine – though he hopes that one might have the special blood (triple O negative) that will resurrect his wife Vampira (Teresa Graves). I should mention that the shoot seems to be run by Pottinger, played by the great Bernard Bresslaw. The fact that they made all his dialogue sub-Carry On was less an issue with Bresslaw’s performance and more the scriptwriters trying to typecast.

However, before they arrive, Maltravers discovers that he has an issue with the maid, Helga (the delectable Linda Hayden). She has decided to leave and he gets Dracula to go and bite her – to make her compliant. Here is our main lore. A bite from Dracula makes you compliant and gives him telepathic control, if the bite lasts too long you turn. This is not dependant on the amount of blood drunk, it seems, but literally a question of timing. He mistimes. Now I have a soft spot for Hayden and have done since Taste the Blood of Dracula, so the idea of her with fangs was no bad thing.

They have the dinner party, and because Helga needs to be controlled Dracula plays himself. They put sleeping draught in just about everything… which seems to make Milton (Christopher Sandford) the photographer fall asleep but everyone else just gets a bit tired and goes to bed. After the event Dracula has Maltravers crossbow Helga through the heart – which means no more Linda Hayden, so that saving grace has gone.

They gather blood from all the ladies – Angela wakes up and so Dracula uses mojo, which is as dependant on his voice as his eyes it appears. Having tested all the blood one does indeed have the blood type but due to a labelling error they don’t know who. They transfuse Vampira with blood from all the models. Vampira is suffering from deep anaemia, caused by biting a poisoned peasant, and has been in deep freeze for fifty years.

Now it is here that the film becomes offensive. As she is transfused comment is made about her getting colour back and then that there is too much colour. Maltravers asks whether she might have gone off, during her time on ice, as she becomes black. Vampira seems quite taken by her new skin tone, Dracula says that black is beautiful but he will have to turn her back as people may talk.

So what has happened? It seems that using one of the model’s blood has changed her skin colour, due to the fact that Rose (Minah Bird) was black. It is suggested that it is like doing a white wash of laundry and slipping in a coloured sock that runs. The solution, run the special blood through again, without Rose’s blood (they do not even consider it might be Rose who had the special blood). Thus they need to go to England – where the models have returned – and Dracula bites Marc to make him gather blood for testing (why Dracula couldn’t use his powers and do this himself is never answered).

You might think I am being a little over-sensitive and politically correct, you might suggest that the film is of an age and, whilst its supposition is inaccurate, we should accept that it is of an age. I’d remind readers that, the year before, the most excellent series M*A*S*H had an episode Dear Dad… Three that attacks the ridiculous idea of ‘right coloured blood’.

Lore-wise things are fairly much standard, no reflection, sleep during day, sunlight and stakes kill, vampires become bats except… We have already mentioned the unusual turning lore. Also at one point Dracula is trying to control Marc telepathically but Marc is resisting. Dracula takes him over fully and Marc becomes Dracula… not just for us as the audience but also for the character whose blood he tries to extract – she sees David Niven. Why a telepathic takeover should physically change Marc is beyond me. When Dracula is in control of Marc his reflection vanishes.

The film culminates with Vampira biting Dracula and for some reason this changes his colour also – leading to David Niven being blacked up and, with blackface, the racism that underpins this film crescendos.

The humour fails generally. Much is offensively based around Dracula (or Old Dracula as the film was alternatively called, to tie in with Young Frankenstein) being embarrassed by his wife’s colour, her sudden promiscuity (with Marc) and her jive talk. There are the occasionally good lines, which fall to vampire lore for the humour “I’ll cross my fingers sir.” “I’d rather you didn’t!” However, these are few and far between.

Not good, 1 out of 10 mainly for Linda Hayden with fangs.

The imdb page is here.

Dracula’s Bram Stoker – review (documentary)

Directed by: Sinead O’Brien

First aired: 2003

Contains spoilers

With a turn around of the title Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this is a nice scholarly walk into the life and influences of Bram Stoker that was narrated by John Hurt and which aired on Sky Arts 2. The documentary seeks to find the man behind the novel and in doing so discover, perhaps, where the inspiration for his seminal work came from.

At the head of the documentary the potential source of his childhood, much spent bed-ridden, and the tales told by his mother is offered. Then the documentary wonders if, perhaps, it was within Sir Henry Irving and the almost hypnotic thrall the actor held Bram, his business manager, in or perhaps some of the book was drawn from his passionless marriage…

The documentary certainly mentions the fact that the scene with Harker and the brides was almost identical to a dream Stoker himself had. It also makes it clear that the makers believe that Stoker had, possibly buried, homosexual leanings (or perhaps a bi-curiosity) and the Freudian analysis of Dracula reveals much. I agree, however, with one expressed thought that Stoker was well aware of exactly what he put within the novel on a sexual level.

There isn’t much in way of revelation within the documentary. It is very sympathetic to the man and makes the point that whilst his obituary made no mention of Dracula at the time of his death, if it was written now it would mention little else – the documentary itself was a point in case as it was very orientated towards that seminal work.

One thing that was interesting was a comment by Christopher Lee – film producers take note – when he declared that he would actually reprise the role of Dracula again, if offered, but with one stipulation – it would have to be a faithful make of the book, as one has never yet been produced. Now that would be worth seeing. As for the documentary, for those interested in the man behind the phenomena it was a worthwhile effort. 7 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

Kindred: the embraced – review (TV series)

Directed by: Various

First aired: 1996

Contains spoilers

Few who are into the vampire genre will have failed to at least have heard of Vampire: The Masquerade, a role playing game from which collectable card games, board games, computer games and novels have all been developed. It is probably less well known that it also spawned a TV series.

The series was set in San Francisco lasted just one season. It was actually in the process of being picked up for a second series when lead actor Mark Frankel tragically died in a motorcycle accident. It seems that the company decided to not continue without him in role.

The production was a Spelling Production, so it did have a touch of the soap opera to it (more so in the pilot). It began, however, with a rooftop chase. Two vampires from the Brujah Clan (I’ll talk clans later), led by Eddie Fiori (Brian Thompson), chased a Gangrel, Stevie Ray. Also present were cops Frank Kohanek (C Thomas Howell) and his partner Sonny Toussaint (Erik King) responding to an anonymous tip. They see the Brujah stake Stevie Ray and then back to the edge of the building, jumping off and vanishing. The sun rises and Stevie Ray burns.

What we get then is a story of politics, crime and passion – all wrapped around with a large dose of melodrama. Frank is in a relationship with Alexandra Serris (Kate Vernon), a vampire and ex-girlfriend of kindred (as the vampires call themselves) Prince of the City Julian Luna (Mark Frankel). Frank is unaware of this due to the masquerade – the law of the vampires that prevents them revealing themselves. However Frank wants Luna – believing him to be a mobster and, when the truth is revealed, Alexandra becomes subject to a Blood Hunt (hunted and executed).

Let us look at the clans and all in all we meet six, though there are only five in the city. It should also be noted that they vary from those in the game. The one clan from out of town, as it were, are the Assamites, a clan of vampire assassins. They only feature in one episode. In this the vampire powers tend to be consistent between the clans (unlike the game) with the Assamites as an exception as they are expert shapeshifters, able to take anyone’s form.

The Ventrue are bankers and politicians. They are professionals. Julian is a Ventrue, though he is not the primogen of the clan, that is Archon Raine (Patrick Bauchau), Julian’s sire and former Prince of the city. Also a Ventrue is Sonny, though Frank is unaware of the undead state of his partner – he discovers this at one point and has his memory wiped and then uncovers evidence of the truth, again, in the final episode.

The Toreador were always my favourite clan in the actual game, they are the artists and musicians, holding beauty up above all other things. Beauty, of course, can be manipulative and the primogen in the series is Lillie Langtry (Stacy Haiduk), one of the most political creatures in the series – though her actions tend to be based around keeping her claws in Julian, as a lover, rather than for [capital p] Politics, as it were.

We have mentioned the Gangrel already and they are, in the series, biker and rocker types. More like a street gang than the loner animalistic creatures of the game. They are portrayed as fiercely loyal and their primogen Cash (Channon Roe), who became so after Stevie Ray’s fiery death, is Luna’s bodyguard. Their on-running enemies are the Brujah.

The Brujah are drawn as mobsters, which is somewhat different to the game where perhaps they would be more how the Gangrel are portrayed in the series. Eddie Fiori is the primogen as the series starts but he does not last the full 8 episode run – no big spoiler as Brian Thompson comes up as special guest star in the opening credits of each episode he is in.

Last, but not least, we have the Nosferatu. These are the ugly face of vampirism and their primogen is Dædalus (Jeff Kober). Actually Dædalus is not given the visage of the monster that one would expect – his ears are a bit big and he’s bald. Other nosferatu are shown to be more horrific – but not too much. That, I guess, is the soap opera mentality emerging.

Talking of which the first episode is so steeped in melodrama that it is almost as wet as Frank Kohanek’s floppy hair. However, stick with it as things improve from the second episode, not shedding the melodrama but toning it down to a bearable level. Frank’s hair looses the flop as though to match this slightly harder edge.

Other characters I need to mention are Caitlin (Kelly Rutherford) a young, go-getting reporter who investigates Julian and ends up as a romantic pursuit for him – thus a source of trouble as she is a reporter and could break the masquerade and, of course, Lillie is jealous of her. He also buys her newspaper and makes her City Editor and yet she still goes on jobs. Hmmm blond, go-getting reporter involved with a vampire, I wonder where that concept would appear again.

There is also Sasha. She appears in the pilot episode at the wake of her Grandfather – Julian’s Grandson. She is very much the wild child and Julian takes her in when she gets in trouble with the police. Sasha becomes a source of angst when she starts dating Cash and then is embraced (as turning is called) by the Brujah. She calls Julian Uncle, understandable due to the masquerade but confusing once she is embraced as one would have thought she was his Great, Great Granddaughter.

There does seem to have been a drop of some of the concepts from the pilot to the series, however, beyond the drop in melodrama. In the first episode it appears as though we shall see this through Frank’s human eyes but he becomes one of an ensemble of characters. In the final episode Julian leaves the city – something he claims not to have done for seven years – and we see his, Archon and his dead wife Evelyn’s graves. Yet in the pilot he left the City to go to his Grandson’s wake and slept the day through in Evelyn’s grave.

Vampiric powers are slightly different from both normal lore and game lore. Vampires can die if they take enough damage, or bleed to death having been cut to pieces. They can die through decapitation and through fire. Indeed they have phosphorus shells in their guns because of this. Sunlight may not kill, however, if they have fed the night before.

As well as fangs they have a sharp index nail and, when fighting, might produce whole hands worth of claws. They are stronger and faster than a mortal and have the power of mesmerism, with the ability to block memory. They have the ability of psychometry. The Nosferatu can hide in plain sight. They can also turn into birds of prey and wolves – we see a lot of wolves, not so much the birds of prey.

This is one of those shows that makes you realise that things can go awry, even with an excellent cast. The show is crammed full of great actors and yet the pilot is so thick with the melodrama I mentioned, the soap opera as it were, that it becomes difficult to watch. The series did redeem itself but was a little hit and miss in places. That said, as a whole, it was certainly an above average production and it is a shame it didn’t continue and iron out all the kinks. 6 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

Vamp or Not? Death Factory

This was a 2002 digi-cam release written and directed by Brad Sykes who would go in to direct 2004 stinker Bloody Tease. In essence it was a very simple slasher type film, with a supernatural central character, and a cameo by Ron Jeremy – yes that Ron Jeremy. Given it was released by Brain Damage I wasn’t expecting a whole lot. However the premise of the creature did interest me in a ‘Vamp or Not?’ sort of way.

It proved full of cliché, though it also had a twist that they managed to just about hide, though it wasn’t too shocking when it revealed as the clues had been there. Further I was kind of reminded, conceptually – rather than stylistically – of Jean Rollin, I’ll explain that later.

The film begins with a scream. A woman runs but she is with her boyfriend and they’re just playing. They are Alyson (Allison Beal, who would be in aforementioned Bloody Tease) and John (Michael Okarma) and they fall to the floor and make out. All well and good but then she spots the abandoned factory and suggests they go inside.

She is quite taken by the derelict building but he is very nervous. Nevertheless they start getting down and dirty on an old sofa but a metal hand thing opens the door. He’s not sure what he’s seen but he freaks and she tells him to stay there whilst she has an angry cigarette out of the room. Alyson is got. Josh goes to find her and she is there, bleeding to death, when he is attacked and sharp metal nails start ripping his guts.

Rachel (Lisa Jay) has finished her first year of college. She is talking to her long time friend Louisa (Karla Zamudio) and is approached by Derek (Jeff Ryan), all round good guy who fancies Rachel and dislikes Louisa. Also nearby is rocker boy Troy (Jason Flowers) who seems to like Louisa though she is fonder of her knife – guess that’ll come into play later. Another friend Francis (David Kalamus) and his gal Leticia (Rhoda Jordan) stop by and invite them to a party at Francis’ house. Unfortunately the party plan falls apart when he discovers that his parents haven’t gone away but then Louisa suggests the old factory as an alternate venue.

Over at the old factory a hobo named Glen (Ron Jeremy) is drunk and wanders in. Jeremy overacts for fun and it is a lovely camp performance for the whole 2 minutes he is in – it would have worn thin had it lasted longer. Alison is still alive and says they have to get out of there when the creature – clearly a woman – grabs him and bites his neck.

At a different entrance the kids arrive and get ready to party. Of course the factory is in darkness and, having explored with flashlights, Derek goes to find a breaker box – which he locates but finds that there is no juice. It seems strange therefore that there were rooms that seemed rather adequately lit – certainly not needing flashlights. Hmmm...

During their exploration, Troy finds papers and realises that the factory is the old Dyson Chemical plant. According to the press it shut down when there was a radioactive leak. However Troy’s uncle was a cop and he told him that the plant was working on experimental drugs to create bio-weapons and a female tech had been contaminated. There was then an attack and 24 workers were murdered. The police would have suspected the female tech but she had died a few days before the attacks.

When we see the creature attack we realise that she has metal braces on her legs and arms, the arm ones ending in metal claws for her hands. She also has metal teeth that are likened to fangs. She does have a tendency to go for the neck and she often rubs the blood into her face (in an ecstatic way). She starts picking off the friends one by one.

Later we hear that she was called Alexa (Tiffany Shepis) and was indeed the tech from the factory, she was contaminated and her mind went turning her into the creature we see. Whether she actually died or not is not answered but it is explicitly stated that she needs blood to survive. We also discover she is hardy, she is stabbed to death at the film’s climax but then we discover her body was not found and a realisation dawns on the survivor that Alexis is still alive.

So we have a possibly dead creature, certainly difficult to kill, who has talons and fangs albeit that they are made of metal (presumably man made). Most importantly we have a specific need for blood to survive and the consumption of blood is her primary goal. This makes me edge towards vamp.

Now I mentioned Jean Rollin and whilst the film had nowhere near the stylistic vision nor the pathos, Alexa reminded me, conceptually at least, of the Living Dead Girl. As for the film, well it wasn’t brilliant but it was a damn sight better than the later Bloody Tease. The imdb page is here.

Honourable Mention – Night Angel

“From the dawn of history, she has plagued mankind. Many a mother has wept for a baby found dead in its cradle. Many a man has spurned true love for an eternity in her hell. The Babylonians built statues to honour her. The Jews carved amulets for protection from her evil. By many names is she known, from Kali in India, to Pele in Hawaii. She was created from dust when Adam was created, but no restful peace in dust will she find. She is Lilith: the temptress, seducer and destroyer, harlot of demons and enemy of love. And she shall stalk us forever, walking in the shadows, sowing the seeds of discontent, reaping a harvest of souls for her caller of hell.”

So begins the 1990, Dominique Othenin-Girard directed, flick. Now there isn't really a vampire aspect to this film – though there is a little lore correlation – but the quote helps indicate why I have given this an honourable mention. Lilith, as an archetype, is strongly tied into the vampiric mythology – indeed Montague Summers mentions her in his work. The Lilith myth can be varied but we shall look at it in more detail as we explore the film. Incidentally this was viewed via VHS so apologies for the screenshots.

The film itself starts off with Lilith (Isa Jank) rising from the earth as there is a lunar eclipse, at the same time her re-birth fills dreams. At one point she lifts up her hand and it is a claw – this seemed bird-like and I wondered if that was deliberate as Lilith is often connected with the screech owl. She cries and bangs it down and it takes human form. The next day at Siren fashion magazine we see that art director Craig (Linden Ashby) had dreamt of her re-birth when he flashes back to the dream.

A car pulls up outside a house, driven by Lilith. There is a man, Joseph (Sam Hennings), in the car with her – it is his house (he thought they might go to hers) and she reveals that she knows he is married but harbours dark sexual fantasies. She wants to be on the cover of Siren – which he owns. She drives off but, when he is in his bedroom, she appears again and comes on to him as his wife (Tedra Gabriel) sleeps. She slices his chest with her nail, as she rides him, and tastes his blood, when his wife wakes she slits her throat and when the son (Ben Ryan Ganger) enters the room she chases him away with power.

The next day and the magazine is shocked to hear of the triple murder. Sub-editor Rita (Karen Black) tries to keep the show on the road. As there was to be a party for the magazine, involving advertisers, it is to go ahead. Craig is there with Ken (Doug Jones) and their co-worker Rod (Gary Hudson) is there with a date. Rita introduces Craig to her sister Kirstie (Debra Feuer) then Lilith walks in. She makes a bee-line for Craig, licks around a bottle top and acts flirtatious. Kirstie draws Craig back and Lilith uses her powers to make her glass explode.

Ken ends up dancing with Lilith but Rod interjects and they almost fight over her. She leaves with Rod (who has abandoned his date) and Ken follows. He watches through a glass door as they get it on, breaking through and slicing his leg open. Ken follows her into a glowing elevator and falls down the shaft – dying. Craig sees all this in his dreams.

What we get is a relationship blossoming between Craig and Kirstie as Rita is seduced by Lilith and the magazine staff fall under her thrall. She will spread her evil by being on the cover of the magazine, inspiring destructive lust in all who see the picture (indeed at one point Craig becomes hypnotised by the picture as it comes to life). What she also wants is to take the soul of a man in love – in other words Craig – but it is that very love which may protect him.

We get the involvement of a voodoo type woman called Sadie (Helen Martin), who lost her man to Lilith years before and she is our main source of lore but, before Craig speaks to her, he ends up being dragged into Hell in a sequence that features genre favourite Phil Fondarcaro.

He is nearly lost at that point, Lilith going for the heart, but a piece of silver and amethyst jewellery that Kirstie made protects him, causing Lilith to reveal her demonic face. Sadie later suggests that it is the meaning of the jewellery and not what it is made of that is important but we also see Lilith react to a random piece of silver jewellery – the problem vampires have with silver is a well established piece of lore.

Sadie tells them that she was Adam’s first wife but one man was not enough for her – a little different to the myth I'm familiar with, in which she refuses to be dominated by Adam and wishes for equality thus insists that she goes on top during sex, but hey… She also says that to dispel Lilith she must be stabbed in the heart – Sadie has a specific ritual dagger for the task.

At the head of the film we get a monstrous face, brought on when Craig admits his love for Kirstie and this morphs further into a winged form and there was definitely something bat like in the modelling they used.

Not a vampire movie, as I mentioned, this has the elements I listed and also some more succubus type elements in the lust aspects – plus I guess we can safely say that she was a vamp whilst not a vampire. But it features Lilith and this is of genre interest. The imdb page is here.