Short Film: The Vegan Vampire

Fear not when this film suggests that the recovered 1928 film is 142 minutes in length – this 10-minute short (that seems to have the celluloid break at the end) is actually a 2010 creation directed by Suzi Terror and made for the Time Capsule competition from the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival (Imagine).

There is little in storyline, to be honest, but absolutely plenty in style but let us address the concept of the veganism suggested by the title. Vegetarian vampires are not an uncommon concept. Sometimes this is a restriction to vegetables – be that carrots for Bunnicula or vegies generally (due to a resurrection faux pas) for (one incarnation of) Duckula as examples – and sometimes it might be a disparaging description of a vampire forgoing human blood for animal blood… but vegan? Well bunnicula probably is, in this case we never find out because the film doesn’t go that far.

Mirte Eggenkamp as the vampire

Rather we have the vampire (Mirte Eggenkamp) rise from her deathlike slumber and go hunting. The first thing to notice is the filter heavy black and white photography looks brilliant. Along with the makeup the photography makes Mirte Eggenkamp look magnificent as the vampire and the short can be screenshot like crazy because it all looks so good. She climbs stairs and enters a student’s room, biting her. However, her body rejects the blood that is meant to give her life.

attack

The feeding scene was bloody (within the confines of black and white) and the subsequent vomiting of blood is incredibly visceral. The vampire becomes more and more hungry – she preys on a mother playing in an abandoned church and the same thing happens, her body rejecting the blood. Weak with hunger she begins to hallucinate and let me say that even the hallucinated rubber ducks worked visually. The orchestral score had worked thus far and becomes demented during the hallucination scene.

There isn’t really more to say with regards this one, except that I recommend you give it a watch and note that it is embedded below. The film’s facebook page is here, and the imdb page is here.