The sadness of vampirism

Rating: Null/10 (28 March 2002)

The great English writer Graham Greene used to be a film critic back in the 1930s, & in one of his reviews he described how in a certain movie an actor had captured "not just corruption but the sadness of corruption, a mind in chains..." Sadness seems to be G. del Toro's forte. His "Cronos" had a haunting elegiac quality that has stuck with me for years, something ancient and mournful and beautiful like his native Mexico itself, & his American debut "Mimic" had a similar quality, enhanced of course by the lustrous Mira Sorvino. Yet "Mimic" also had enough horrorshow bells-&-whistles to keep the Yank audiences entranced--even Siskel & Ebert raved about it, they recognized the primal level it tapped.
Ultimately what's the most horrifying thing about vampirism? Isn't it that you're neither one thing nor the other? You're human-but-not, alive-but-not, doomed to an eternity of consciousness with nothing more to achieve but the next hemaglobin fix. You know you're a monster, a freak of nature, but there's nothing else for you to be. So you make the most of that. The seminal "Near Dark" pioneered the vampire-as-badass-antihero concept. TV's "Buffy" & "Angel" rendered it cartoonish. Del Toro has reinvigorated it.
The first "Blade" deserves credit for some bold notions: vampirism as a virus; a "caste system" of "purebloods" as opposed to "mixed blood" or those who were merely "turned" --the most memorable line from "Blade" was Udo Kier's "I was born a vampire, as was every member of this council"--it'd never occurred to me before that that one could be a vampire from conception onward, I mean imagine the vampire parents "He's a little cranky, he's been fanging"---the re-introduction of silver & garlic as anti-vampire tools; the "corporate" aspect. Yet the original suffered from twin limitations: it never ventured beyond the comic-book realm, & it's bad-guys were terminally lame, chiefly Stephen Dorff. He was okay in "City of Industry" as a cocky punk. He was okay in some other movie in a similar role. But a vampire??? Threatening the entire world, yet??? Gimme a break.

But with "Blade II" we're in the realm of the sad & the ancient. Not just because it's filmed in a history-soaked European city--it's the desperation & black-humor at play. The opening blood-bank scene sets the tone perfectly. I won't give it away, although it's probably no secret by now. But it alerts us we're in for something different. A dark corner of the soul is about to be explored. After that one may opt to stick around for the ride, or not. Sure there's the computerized stuff that everyone has noted, & other aspects. But beneath the audience-grabbing bells & whistles, this is a movie about sadness, & desperation, & despair. The recently late Billy Wilder said "If you want to say something important, wrap it in chocolate"--or in this case, If you want to say something bleak, wrap it in SFX.
I've been deliberately avoiding specifix. Others have said "This is great," "This sucks," "This looks like Nosferatu" or "The Matrix" etc. I myself thought the movie's vampire-boss looked a little too much like Mark Metcalf as the Master in "Buffy" a few years back. And a few other quibbles. (Del Toro borrows chiefly from himself, too bad we don't have "auteurs" any more.) But bottom line, this flick REALLY got under my skin. I'd never figured I'd cry at the end of a vampire flick, but damn, there's even some emotional resonance there. Again, the inescapable sadness. I think that's the true genius of the whole vampire shtick, whether it's from Bram Stoker or elsewhere--not seeing the sun. If there's anything more beautiful on this planet than a sunset, it's a sunrise. I was out for a walk before dawn one morning recently & passed a little pond with some ducks on the surface, still largely in silhouette with the sun venturing up from behind the trees; I'd like to retain that image until I die.
But don't get me wrong, this is still a "popcorn flick," it would never be nominated for an oscar (thank god) but if you see it, it'll stick. You may even want to see it again. I probably will. Filmmakers are the modern alchemists. Mr. Del Toro, from our ancient, sad & beautiful southern neighbor, has much to show us. I say it's a ride worth taking. There's always the bright new safe amusement park next door.
PS If Wesley Snipes wants to make this a franchise character, it's okay with me, maybe he'll make enough to where he'll be game for another "arty" little project like "The Water Dance..." Meanwhile---YOU GO, BOY!