Dr Liebenstein – review

Director: Erik Karl

Release date: 2014

Contains spoilers

First thing to note is that I understand a special edition of this film was pulled together in 2018. I’ve not found much but from what I can ascertain it added a framing reference for the film (in the form of a journalist) but I can only assume most of the film stayed the same. I am reviewing the original 2014 release (that went to DVD via Amazon US).

Some framing would help as would cutting down the prologue section considerably, as we’ll discuss in a second or two. This film was ambitious for an indie budget film and the biggest take away, I think, is that it serves as another reminder why an amateur/indie filmmaker shouldn’t write/direct/produce and star in their own film – breaking these things apart would allow for some dissent and temper moments where the singular filmmaker can’t see the woods for the trees.

Rachel and post-production blood

So that prologue… We start in 1972 and a young man – I thought he was called Geoff? – and his girlfriend Rachel (Jessica Henwick) are out and about, so is a blonde woman. Rachel sits up in grasses and calls for Geoff who we see kissing the blonde woman. Rachel is attacked and killed by a cloaked figure – a spurt of post-production blood telling us she was bitten. The scene has no relevance to anything else in the film but our prologue doesn’t stop there.

entering through fire

Jump forward to Halloween 1998 and we see Crystal (Mia Doran) in a cemetery making out with a guy, later revealed to be Dave Liebenstein (Erik Karl). We then see her get to her home with groceries. She changes from her outfit into an oversized shirt (which seemed like an excuse to show her in her underwear) and she gets a phone call just before taking a bite of an apple. Her girly chat (with a jokey comment about being grabbed from the grave by Lauren (Lauren Bartusek)) is interrupted by a sound. Her groceries are gone – she looks outside and her apple returns on fire. She retreats but fire appears from under the door and on the stairs and a vampire (I’m assuming Robert Carroll) enters.

day for night shot

It is interesting that this vampire can travel via flames he creates through some form of pyromancy, but the phenomena is not discussed in dialogue. Anyway, he goes for Crystal. The film then cuts back 6 months and we get to see the fate of the aforementioned Lauren. She is with Dave and he breaks up with her because she went to a party, after telling him it was a girly night out, and ended up with two guys. She isn’t happy at being dumped (no one dumps her). In bed that night she awakens, hearing her name being called. Grabbing a knife she steps outside (into obvious day for night, with actual night shot establishing footage making it painfully obvious). She screams as a cloaked figure gets her.

a film in a film

Now, whilst the middle section with Crystal gives us an establishing story for Dr Liebenstein (or Dave) the Lauren part and the 1972 part seemed to add nothing. The prologue is overlong (the opening credits roll after this – I’ll come back to them). Nor do we ever establish why the vampire went for any of the girls (and why it seems focused on Liebenstein, getting two of his girls and, in the film proper, terrorising kids living in his old house). as for the opening credits, they go on to show a lot of characters that are not part of the film – indeed through recognising one actress later it seems all/a lot of this comes from a film within the film that a horror show broadcasts and we see precious little of.

fangs on show

The credits show way too much of the crew (they contain credits for jobs normally credited in end credits such as “boom operator”) and are therefore over long. I also need to mention the music, not just over the credits but also through parts of the film. We are in emo central here but the music doesn’t necessarily fit (especially in, but not reserved to, the 1972 segment) but it is also domineering, distracting the viewer rather than adding to the film. It shows, for the wrong reasons, why picking a soundtrack is an art in and off itself.

friends

So, the film proper is 15-years later (or 2013, and its 15 years after the Crystal section, rather than the Lauren section, as it is Halloween). We go to the house where (we’ll subsequently discover) Dave Liebenstein used to live, and now is home to sisters Michelle (Claire Coppi) and Renee (Monica Szaflik) who are with their respective boyfriends Ron (Kevin Craig Wesley) and Greg (Travis Porchia). Both sisters seem to love Halloween, though Renee loves it the most. It comes out in conversation that Renee likes to satisfy her libido and Michelle is a virgin, saving herself.

fiery vamp and the cross

They decide to do a spirit board (and a rather fancy Ouija it is) and Renee jokes that they might summon a hot vampire. As it is they do come into contact with a vampire, the planchette moves on its own and states that he will kill them all. It is no surprise, therefore, that Michelle and Ron are subsequently attacked (having gone into the woods to make out it would seem) by the main vampire and a henchman vampire. Ron is killed but Dave Liebenstein happens along and kills the henchman vampire and then wards the main vampire off with a cross. He then decides to help Michelle but Ron doesn’t stay dead and the others are in danger too.

a victim

So, lore… Liebenstein holds off the vampire by wielding a cross and states that a stake through the heart only works when it is blessed. Staking causes the body to disintegrate, starting at the toes and working up. There is a lot of play made around the invitation rule but then the main vampire suggests he doesn’t need to be invited to get in and can use fire and mist to get into places. Some who are bitten turn but others do not. Kill the vampire that bit you and you’ll become human again (the one example of this we see involves a newly turned vampire who hasn’t fed but it isn’t clear whether feeding would negate the ability to turn back).

Erik Karl as Liebenstein

The acting is, at best, amateur mostly – probably the most unbelievable character is Liebenstein himself. Dave hasn’t aged, it would appear, and inherited a huge mansion. He is being blackmailed by his receptionist, who roofied him, slept with him and now threatens to tell the world – her aim apparently being marrying him. It is superfluous and serves only to make the Dave character seem even nicer but it just drags on the pacing. Why the vampire particularly wants to kill the friends, why some are turned (deliberately it would seem) and why the main vampire hasn’t dealt with Liebenstein before is all lost. That said, some of the photography is effective. 3 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

the original cut On DVD @ Amazon US