Underrated

Rating: 8/10 (17 February 2014)

I've been a "vampire-watcher" for over 40 years, and I'd rate this one and John Carpenter's "Vampires" right behind the Bela Lugosi masterpiece. This one's actually a better movie, but consider the standards of the times. I've got a close friend who's a clinical psychologist, and one of his techniques for helping patients deal with manipulative co-workers, narcissists, etc., is likening those 'bad' people with vampires or werewolves. He uses movies a lot in his therapy. I told him one time about this movie--in pretty serious detail--and he ran out and bought it. He said it's now a major part of his work. He was fascinated with the relationship between Seth and the defrocked minister; how the whole bar turned from a fun place into a nightmare; and even the weapons used as being appropriate for the characters. I watched it again from that viewpoint, and damned if he's not right. This is a lot deeper than one might think on the surface.