Vampire Party (DVD)

Steve Barton |

Nov 20, 2009

Starring Tcheky Karyo, Patrick Mille, Julien Boisselier

Directed by Vincent Lobelle and Stephen Cafiero

Vampire comedies. Few have worked. And with good reason … they usually end up sucking as badly as the film’s toothy protagonists. Even though we should know better, here at Dread Central we try and give everything a fair shake. Unfortunately the blank slates we offer usually end up getting covered in gibberish and stupidity.

It’s no secret, speaking personally and only for myself, I usually detest comedy mixed in with my horror. Especially slapstick comedy. The problem lies in the fact that filmmakers often put humor where it doesn’t belong (i.e., the bad guys). If your menace is nothing more than an ill-tempered buffoon — why bother? Villains need to play it straight to be interesting. Comedy should come from the situations or the human reactions to said situations, not at the expense of your monsters. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a sterling example of this. Watch. Love. Learn. Okay, lecture over.

To its credit the French importVampire Party hits its mark more than it misses thanks to some clever sight gags and an equally as clever (at times) script. Don’t get me wrong … it’s not a good movie, but it’s adequate, serviceable, and knows how to scratch the itch for the casual fan looking for a few cheap thrills and fun.

In a nutshell, the story of this flick follows a group of friends who spend their nights (and sometimes days) bouncing from one party to another in search of the ultimate good time. When one of them happens upon an invite to a party that lives in urban legend and infamy, they all decide it’s time to crash it, if only to see what all the fuss is about.

Once there, we’re treated to one colorful character after the next, enough blood to keep the horror part of this party going, and some truly laugh-out-loud moments. So what went wrong? For every good thing about Vampire Party, there’s something that brings you back down. It’s as if the filmmakers were afraid of being too clever, so mixed in with the good there are lots of eye-rolling moments of absolute crap.

By the time it’s over, we’re left with a very middle of the road type experience. While there was no cause to really dislike the movie, there was also nothing about it that elevated it to the level that it could have reached with a bit more balls.

In terms of special features we get nothing. This is unusual for Dark Sky Films, which usually packs its DVD releases to the absolute brim. Still, we can let them slide this time. We still love ya, guys!

If you’re looking to kill some time, then an invitation to Vampire Party could be exactly what you’re searching for, though we wouldn’t be a bit surprised if you forget about it ten seconds after the credits roll. Can’t anyone deliver a vampire movie with some bite? Please?

Special Features

Nada. Nothing. Nil. Zero. Zilch. Donut Land.

Film: