Space Vampire

Director: Chris Alexander

Release date: Unreleased

Contains spoilers


Writing this is quite an honour but also rather strange. This film by Chris Alexander is unreleased at the time of writing (December 2019), indeed in correspondence Chris told me that, “No one has seen it.” This is clearly why it is an honour to look at it and many thanks to Chris for the opportunity. But it is strange as it is not a film that should be reviewed, at least not in a marking it out of 10 way. Again in Chris’ words “it's not REALLY a "movie", more just a waking dream.”

blood at mouth

As such this is almost like a piece of Über-Alexander, taking perhaps his most experimental films, Female Werewolf for example, to its most pronounced. It is a full-on experimental piece with overtures of vampirism and, for some reason, it also reminded me in places of Under the Skin - though this had less (to no) narrative but there was just a feel, a spark, that felt familiar.

coalesce into the vampire

The film has an, at times, jarring soundtrack that has a sci-fi theme with an almost techno to industrial heart and, on opening, that theme dominates as we see a pattern of pink on blue shapes that become dominant pink and coalesce into the face of the vampire (Ali Chappell, Necropolis: Legion) we then get a brightness, which becomes the sun across a snowy country landscape, with her walking towards us – the sheer black catsuit and boots contrasting against the snow.

blood in shower

As Chris described his own work, it then becomes a waking dream. We see her approach a house, and a victim (Cheryl Singleton, Queen of Blood, Blood Dynasty and Female Werewolf) therein. There are moments of blood, splattered across the vampire’s face or covering it when she showers, washing it away. There is no real linear aspect; the film touching on events that could be past or even to come. The camera often swoops around her, but occasionally takes her point of view or holds her static in portrait.

swooping camera

This is where the film would be difficult to score. This is the director playing within his style, exploring the boundaries having eschewed the restrictions of a communicated narrative. I understand that the film is to be projected in a gallery installation at a future date. However the director has confirmed that there is no intention to release it in its own right (though it might yet be an extra on another Alexander release). For now, however, you’ll just have to take my brief explanation of a cinematic meditation with a vampire theme.

The imdb page is here.