# Vampire in Brooklyn

Vampire in Brooklyn is a 1995 American vampire comedy horror film directed by Wes Craven. It stars Eddie Murphy, who produced and wrote with his brothers Vernon Lynch and Charles Q. Murphy. The film co-stars Angela Bassett, Allen Payne, Kadeem Hardison, John Witherspoon, Zakes Mokae, and Joanna Cassidy. Murphy also plays an alcoholic preacher, Pauly, and a foul-mouthed Italian-American mobster, Guido.
Vampire in Brooklyn was the final film produced under Eddie Murphy's exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures, which began with 48 Hrs. (1982) and included the Beverly Hills Cop franchise (1984–1994).
Vampire in Brooklyn was released theatrically in the United States on October 27, 1995. It received mostly negative reviews from critics and failed to meet the studio's expectations, as it was unsuccessful at the box office. Despite this, Vampire In Brooklyn has become regarded as a cult classic and has been subject to critical re-evaluation especially towards Craven's direction, Murphy and Bassett's performances and chemistry and its blend of horror and comedy.

## Plot

In Brooklyn, New York, an abandoned, decrepit ship crashes into a dockyard. Ship inspector Silas Green discovers it is full of ravaged corpses and a wolf, which leaves the ship. His co-worker and nephew Julius Jones flees in terror, running into gangsters to whom he owes money. The wolf, in his true form as the powerful, millennia-old vampire Maximillian (Max), intervenes and is shot, but instantly heals from his injuries. After killing the gangsters, Max forces Julius to consume his blood, transforming him into a decaying, subservient ghoul. Seemingly the last of his kind, Max explains that a lone vampire is doomed and so he must find and fully transform the only known half-vampire woman to exist before the next full moon.
Unaware of her vampire heritage, NYPD Detective Rita Veder is struggling with the recent death of her mentally ill mother and is tormented by unexplained visions which cause her colleagues to ostracize and mock her. As she and her partner, Detective Justice, investigate the ship murders, Max enacts his plan to isolate Rita, seducing and killing her roommate Nikki and convincing her that Nikki and Justice, for whom she has romantic feelings, were having sex. Max uses his transformative powers to kill and take the guise of her preacher and a criminal, further guiding her down his intended path while causing her to distrust Justice. Max eventually saves Rita from being run over by a taxi and she agrees to have dinner with him. He magically gives Julius' dilapidated apartment a luxurious appearance and successfully enthralls Rita, tearing off her crucifix necklace and biting her.
The next day, while investigating Julius's potential involvement in the ship murders, Justice learns that Rita spent the night with Max and is informed that Nikki's body has been found. Justice finds Rita in her apartment, having slept all day, and tells her that Nikki was found posed as in one of Rita's visions, suggesting they are prophetic. Rita reconciles with Justice but almost instinctually bites him before seeing her fading reflection in the mirror. She confronts Max about the changes occurring in her. Max reveals that Rita's vampire father had told him where to find her before his death at the hands of vampire hunters; his death was responsible for driving Rita's mother insane. Max tempts Rita to accept her transformation, demonstrating his vampiric abilities and reminding her that humans have mistreated her.
Justice seeks help from vampire expert Dr. Zeko, who knew Rita's mother when she was researching the vampires of the Caribbean Islands and met Rita's father; Zeko explains that Rita's transformation will be irreversible if she feeds on human blood. Max takes Rita hunting but she refuses to drink a victim's blood, causing her to grow weak, and she seeks divine help at a graveyard. At Julius' apartment, Justice and Zeko intervene before Max can force her to drink Silas' blood. Max incapacitates Zeko and beats Justice, offering the almost fully transformed Rita his blood. Though tempted, and admitting the powerful connection between herself and Max, Rita refuses and impales Max through the heart, rejecting her vampiric half. Max's magic fades as his body turns to smoke and a bat-like spirit flies into the night. Rita is cured of her vampirism, recovers her necklace, and kisses Justice.
Outside, the thoroughly decayed and rotting Julius finds Max's ring and puts it on, instantly transforming him into a fully healed and restored vampire. Acknowledging that Julius is in charge, Silas drives him away in Max's limo to parts unknown.

## Cast

* Eddie Murphy as Maximillian / Preacher Pauly / Guido
* Angela Bassett as Detective Rita Veder
* Allen Payne as Detective Justice
* Kadeem Hardison as Julius Jones
* John Witherspoon as Silas Green
* Zakes Mokae as Dr. Zeko
* Joanna Cassidy as Captain Dewey
* W. Earl Brown as Police Officer
* Simbi Khali as Nikki
* Ray Combs as Game Show Host
* John LaMotta as Lizzy

## Production

Stunt performer Sonja Davis was fatally injured performing a 42-foot (13 m) backward fall.
Wes Craven explained his approach to the film, stating that he wanted the humor to emerge from the plot rather than Eddie’s performance, saying, "I wanted Eddie to be essentially a serious character." He also highlighted the importance of making the audience care about the characters, adding, "Even if they didn't know any vampires personally, they would at least have to identify with the type of person [Maximilian] was."
Charlie Murphy revealed that the film was initially going to be a straightforward horror movie, but Craven changed the focus to make the characters more relatable. He explained, "Maximilian wasn't going to have any redeeming qualities. But Wes taught us that we must get the audience to care about our characters." This approach helped make the villain more nuanced and engaging for the audience.
Filming lasted for 55 days, three of which were spent on location in New York City and the rest were spent in Los Angeles.

## Reception
### Critical response

Vampire in Brooklyn was released to coincide with the Halloween season. The film received mostly negative reviews and was considered at the time as a lesser film of both Murphy and Craven. The next year, 1996, Craven moved on to the hugely successful Scream franchise, while Murphy began concentrating on more family-friendly movies, with his remake The Nutty Professor. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 11% based on reviews from 35 critics, and the site's consensus is: "Neither scary nor very funny, this misguided effort never lives up to its premise." On Metacritic, it has a score of 27% based on reviews from 17 critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Vampire in Brooklyn was widely panned for failing to deliver on its unique mix of horror and comedy. Critics like Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle found Eddie Murphy's performance as the vampire Maximillian “strangely cumbersome,” describing the film as “neither funny nor frightening.” Murphy’s portrayal was criticized for lacking the intensity of a true vampire, with Roger Ebert lamenting that Murphy’s attempt at a darker, more serious role left him “comically missing.” Wes Craven’s direction was also divisive. While some, like Adrian Martin, praised Craven for his ability to balance horror and humor, calling it “Craven's best movie since Shocker,” most felt the tone was uneven. Desson Howe of the Washington Post noted the film lacked tension: “It’s neither all that scary nor all that hilarious,” while Gene Siskel summed it up as a “clunker” despite Craven’s experience. The supporting cast, especially Kadeem Hardison as Julius, provided some comic relief, but the humor often fell flat, as Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly put it, describing the film’s gags as “lame.” Meanwhile, Angela Bassett, despite her strong presence, was underutilized, with Hal Hinson from the Washington Post calling it a waste of her talents. Ultimately, Vampire in Brooklyn failed to live up to its potential, with Caryn James of the New York Times saying it was a film that couldn’t capitalize on Murphy’s appeal, and Roger Ebert quipping, “to call this a comeback for Murphy is a sign of blind faith.” The film’s erratic mix of horror, comedy, and romance led many critics to label it as an “uneven” and “forgettable” misfire.

### Box office

Vampire in Brooklyn was released in the United States and Canada on October 27, 1995. During its opening weekend it grossed a total of $7 million from 2,307 theaters—an average of $3,053 per theater—making it the third-highest-grossing film of the weekend, behind Get Shorty ($10.2 million) in its second week of release, and the debuting Powder ($7.1 million). In its second weekend, Vampire in Brooklyn fell to the number 5 position with a $4.4 million gross—a 37.6% drop from the previous week—placing it behind the debut of Fair Game ($4.9 million) and ahead of the debuting Home for the Holidays ($4 million). By its third weekend, Vampire in Brooklyn fell to the number 9 position with a $2.3 million gross, placing it behind Seven ($2.5 million), in its eighth week of release, and ahead of Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain ($1.6 million), in its second. Vampire in Brooklyn left the top ten highest-grossing films by its fourth weekend with a gross of $1 million.
In total, Vampire in Brooklyn grossed $19.8 million, making it only the 82nd-highest-grossing film of 1995 in the United States and Canada. Outside of the United States and Canada, Vampire in Brooklyn is estimated to have grossed a further $15.2 million, giving it a worldwide total gross of $35 million. While not a total flop, Vampire in Brooklyn failed to meet expectations in terms of box office performance, especially for a film with such notable names attached. Its quick decline in the rankings, coupled with a weak domestic gross, suggests that its mixed critical reception likely contributed to a lack of sustained interest.

## Legacy
### Critical reassessment

At the time of its release, Vampire in Brooklyn was seen as one of Murphy and Craven's lesser films, something Murphy acknowledged in a 2016 interview:
   Well, I don't think The New Yorker will be singing the praises of Meet Dave. 'That was a gem!' I don't know if there's some Pluto Nash Appreciation Club out there. The Friends of Holy Man Group. The Vampire in Brooklyn Club.
Since its release, Vampire in Brooklyn become a cult classic. In the retrospective book Wes Craven: The Art of Horror, author John Kenneth Muir praised the film especially Murphy and Bassett's chemistry, the comedy, the special effect sequences, the score and the "overall 1930s–'40s mood" which he called "charming". Film critic Joe Leydon considers the movie as one of his “guiltiest among my guilty pleasures“. Charles Pulliam More of Gizmodo touted Vampire in Brooklyn as one of the most "underrated horror movies of all time" and praised it as "one of the most unique films in its genre—and one of the best." Monique Jones from Shadow and Act stated that Vampire in Brooklyn is one of Murphy's most interesting films due to how much of an outlier it is in his filmography." Andrew Shearer from Online Athens singled out the movie as one of Murphy's most underrated performances. Stephanie Williams of Syfy Wire considers the film a "spooky-time favorite" and praised Bassett's performances, the humor (especially from Hardison and Witherspoon) and adds that "infusing Caribbean culture into the traditional vampire lore was an excellent choice for obvious reasons." Cinema Blend's Rich Knight considers the film an "underrated classic", writing: "I don't care what anybody says, I love this movie." Anthony Francis of Screen Rant singled out Maximilian, as one of Craven’s greatest villains and praised Murphy’s performance: “His performance is calculated and fine-tuned to near perfection.“ In 2021, Kisha Forde of Essence also acknowledged the movie's status as a "cult classic" and how it "has gone on to be an outlier of typical horror-comedy plots". She also singled out Maximilian as one of the "15 most iconic roles" of Murphy. In 2022, Vampire in Brooklyn was listed among several other "underrated" vampire movies by Sara Century of Collider, who praised Murphy and Bassett's performances and the humor. On a retrospective article about Wes Craven, Chris Catt from Creepy Catalog praised the movie and considered it as "one of his more underrated movies." In 2022, Hal Young from Senses of Cinema wrote a Craven's retrospective and argues that the film’s blend of horror and comedy, though jarring at release, has aged better than many of Craven’s other works. Although he ranked Vampire in Brooklyn as one of Craven's worst movies, Ty Weinert of Collider praised Craven's direction and Murphy-Bassett "fantastic" chemistry. In 2022 the Blackbusters Podcast singled out Vampire in Brooklyn as one of Murphy's most enjoyable films and praised Angela Bassett's performance. In 2023, Dolores Quintana of Fangoria praised Murphy's performance: “It's a horror comedy, so it isn't a particularly subtle film, but it is one of Murphy's most charismatic and unselfconscious roles.“ Also in 2023, Dani Philips of HotNewHipHop praised the movie: “Vampire in Brooklyn holds up, with hilarious jokes, over-the-top performances, and a great cast.“ In his 2024 /Film article, "90s Horror Movies With Awful Reviews That Are Actually Worth Watching", Jeff Ames defends the film, pointing out its unique blend of horror and comedy. He highlights Murphy’s performance and concludes that, despite its flaws, Vampire in Brooklyn has "enough bite and originality" to warrant a reassessment. Jesse Hassenger from Decider also defends the movie, calling it "much funnier, more interesting, and more engaged" than Murphy’s previous movie, Beverly Hills Cop 3. The same year, Jordan Lee from Comic Book Ressources ranked Vampire in Brooklyn as one of the best 90’s vampire films and praised the “amazing tone“, comedic relief, and exceptional chemistry between Murphy and Bassett. In his September 2024 article for Collider, Chris McPherson highlights the film as a cult classic that has gained new life over the years. He also points out Angela Bassett’s performance where she expertly balances toughness with vulnerability.
Angela Bassett's performance was particularly praised. Danielle Kwateng-Clark of Essence singled out Vampire in Brooklyn as one of the best movies starring Angela Bassett and simply said about it "Every actor plays a cop at least once in their career, and Bassett was great alongside Eddie Murphy in this film." Jake Dee from Screen Rant considers Rita Veder, Angela Bassett's characters, as one of Wes Craven's strongest female characters. Chris Sasaguay of Collider also considers Vampire in Brooklyn as one of Bassett's best movies and said she's the “anchor to her male co-stars“. Fiona Underhill of /Film ranked Vampire in Brooklyn as one of Bassett's best films, writing: "Vampire in Brooklyn is a fun horror-comedy, but Bassett's acting is as impressive as ever, even while things around her are so chaotic and a mixture of tones". Andscape's Marcus Shorter also praised Bassett: "Murphy's name appears first on the poster, but narratively, Vampire in Brooklyn is Bassett's movie."
For the film's 25th anniversary, Rotten Tomatoes released a podcast titled "Rotten Tomatoes score is wrong about Vampire in Brooklyn" that attempted to justify why "Vampire in Brooklyn" should have received a higher score calling it a "cult classic" especially for the "under-appreciated sense of the bizarre, a killer score, and some serious chemistry between Murphy and Angela Bassett". They also added: "Look closely, and there are glimmers of Craven's keen sense of the horror-comedy mix, and Murphy's natural-born charisma."

### The cast and crew's thoughts on the film

At the time, Eddie Murphy described Vampire in Brooklyn as a transitional film in his career, as he sought to explore roles beyond his typical comedic characters. In an interview with Joe Leydon, he explained, "I’ve always wanted to do something where I was the villain in the movie, and I love horror pictures. I was a big fan of Wes Craven." The role gave him the opportunity to play a serious vampire with a comedic twist, thanks to the character’s ability to shape-shift: "The vampire is pretty straight, and then I got all this funny stuff happening around me." He enjoyed the balance, saying, "I didn’t have to just do a straight serious role and not get any laughs." In a separate interview with Bobby Wygant, Murphy also revealed how the project grew from a small film into something larger: "This was like a small picture, and it turned into something big just how it turned out, but we approached it like, 'Let’s do a little small horror movie.'" A year after the film's release, Murphy joked in a follow-up interview with Wygant, "You're one of two or three journalists who said nice things about my last movie." When she confirmed she liked Vampire in Brooklyn, he replied, "I know. I said, 'You're one of the two or three who said, 'I like it.' I remember when you said that, I was like, 'YOU DID?'"
In a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone, Murphy humorously reflected on why the film didn’t succeed, admitting, "The only way I was able to do Nutty Professor and to get out of my Paramount deal, I had to do Vampire in Brooklyn. But you know what ruined that movie? The wig. I walked out in that longhaired wig and people said, 'Oh, get the fuck out of here! What the hell is this?'"
In interviews, Wes Craven reflected on the challenges of Vampire in Brooklyn, particularly his collaboration with Eddie Murphy. Craven explained, "I wanted to work with a big star," but found the experience difficult. He noted that Murphy, who was focused on maintaining a serious image, "didn’t want to be funny at all. He wanted to play it totally straight, so I couldn’t get the humor into it that I wanted to get into it." Craven also observed that Murphy’s reluctance to embrace the villainous aspects of the role hindered the film, stating, "He didn’t want to be really evil, which I think hampered it because it really needed somebody who could be evil." At the time, the studio, anticipating the success of The Nutty Professor (which hadn’t yet been released), pushed Murphy to focus on comedy, believing that this would ensure commercial success. However, Murphy refused, preferring to take a darker, more serious approach. Despite these creative clashes and other difficulties on set, such as tensions involving Murphy’s family and studio constraints, Craven acknowledged that it was "an interesting experience", praising Murphy’s immense talent, particularly his ability to effortlessly play multiple characters and considered the film a "good, fun little film," though he admitted that the script and production challenges ultimately limited its potential.
Marianne Maddalena, a longtime collaborator of Craven’s, echoed Craven’s frustrations, calling the film a "strange" experience. She emphasized how Murphy’s reluctance to be funny was a key obstacle. She also noted that the film felt like a "strange studio movie“. Cinematographer Mark Irwin shared that the production of Vampire in Brooklyn was a “true nightmare.” He pointed to Murphy's lack of enthusiasm for the project as a primary factor. Irwin felt that Craven, eager to break into the studio system, was “stuck” with Murphy, who seemed determined to undermine the film. The tension between Craven’s goals and Murphy’s disengagement painted the film as a difficult shoot.
In contrast, John Witherspoon had a great time on Vampire in Brooklyn, despite some challenges. He said, “that’s one of my favorite movies,” especially because Eddie Murphy allowed him to ad-lib. Witherspoon recalled, “Eddie said, ‘I want Spoon to play the old man... and let him do whatever he wants.’” Wes Craven, though known for his horror work, surprised Witherspoon with his humor, calling him “hilarious.” However, ad-libbing proved tricky: “the worst thing about ad-libbing is that when you shoot it again, you don’t remember what you said,” he explained. Craven would take notes and ask Witherspoon to repeat lines, saying, “I want you to say that again, that was so funny.” Despite these difficulties, Witherspoon appreciated the freedom to improvise, and by the end of the shoot, “I just stuck with the script.”
Kadeem Hardison’s reflections on Vampire in Brooklyn highlight his admiration for Eddie Murphy and the fun he had on the film. He described Murphy as a "genius/comic god" and shared that the experience was one of his most enjoyable, alongside I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. Hardison recalled the moment when Murphy personally called him, saying, "I’ve seen all the tapes, you’re the only one in town that can do it," which left him stunned: "Oh shit! Ok!" In a 2019 post, Hardison reflected on a scene with Murphy, describing it as a moment where "the master" (Murphy) stuck to the script, while he, the "student," was improvising. He also shared a funny moment where he turned a serious scene into something absurd. After Wes Craven showed him the playback of a dramatic window crash to convey fear, Hardison jokingly transformed it, saying, "go on & jump right back through the window," turning it into a humorous improvisation.
In 2015, co-writer Chris Parker said: "I don't want to disparage Vampire in Brooklyn. I love it. I'm so glad it happened." Co-writer Michael Lucker is happy about the legacy of the film: "What's strange is as the years go by, no matter where I go, there are people who love this movie and know lines from it. I live in Atlanta, and whenever it comes up with people in the community it's met with such a positive response and wide grins."
In 2021, Editor Patrick Lussier discussed several challenges during the film's production. He explained that the tragic death of stuntwoman Sonja Davis early in the shoot had a significant emotional impact on the film, stating, "There was a lot of weight on that film because of it. It was a pretty awful thing..." Lussier also noted the creative conflict between Eddie Murphy, who wanted a film in the vein of Wes Craven's The Serpent and the Rainbow, and Paramount, which sought a more humorous, Beverly Hills Cop-style horror. He recalled, "The original drafts of the script were much darker and much, much more Brooklyn centric and very, very cool." One early script idea featured an intense ending, with Lussier remembering, "I think the original ending had an oil tanker truck hanging off the side of the Brooklyn Bridge and this sort of fight with Eddie, Angela Bassett and Allen Payne all in this thing." However, the studio insisted on humor, with Lussier recalling, "The head of the studio at Paramount had dragged him in after seeing some of the dailies and was yelling at him that it needed to be funny." They compared the humor to Jack Nicholson's famous line from The Shining, which led Craven to respond, "Do you hear yourself? You're saying this needs to be funny, like The Shining..." These creative tensions made the production particularly difficult.
In 2023, Bassett received the Montecito Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where she acknowledged Sonja Davis's performance and how she lost her life during the film. The festival's executive director, Roger Durling, singled out Vampire in Brooklyn as one of the most underrated movies of Bassett's filmography.

### References in movies

Vampire in Brooklyn was one of several of Craven's movies referenced in the subway scene of Scream VI (2023). The directors, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett revealed in an interview with Variety that they include people dressed up as famous Wes Craven characters including Preacher Pauly and Detective Rita Veder from Vampire in Brooklyn.