You Are My Vampire – review

Director: Hoi Lee

Release date: 2014

Contains spoilers

You are my Vampire is a Korean romantic comedy in which a character may or may not be a vampire. It leaves you with a sense at the very end but the primary character Gyu-Jung (Choi Yoon-Young) does come across as a bit of a fantasist and so may not be the most accurate witness.

Indeed Gyu-Jung is painted as a bit of a loser. Some 30 years old she is, as the film starts, living with her father (Kim Jong-Goo), a divorcee who runs apartments and is an inventor, whilst working at a food store owned by her mother (Moon Hee-Kyung). At the head of the film she is speaking to her best friend, Heo Ji-Soon (Kim Hyung-Mi), who believes she has split up from her cop boyfriend Lee Joo-Hyoung (Lee Jae-Yoon).

Gyu-Jung the writer

She is also trying to get some money out of her mother to buy a new laptop. She is an aspiring writer (novels are mentioned but also screenplays) and an opening voice-over about what vampires are is related to her project. Her mother refuses her the money (despite the fact that she is barely paid for working in the store) and is pushing her to get a husband. She also ascribes to Gyu-Jung the traits of a vampire when she asks “Is it about you? A thirty year old sucking her mother’s blood dry?”

juice?

At night she comes across a stranger, Kang Nam-Gul (Park Jung-Sik), wearing a face mask and carrying an umbrella. She speaks to him but he is dismissive, almost rude. Her father tells her he is a new tenant who is paying extra to not be disturbed or questioned. Apparently he is a scientist doing research (for his thesis). We see him drink a glass of thick red liquid – the camera then moves to the tomato juice container.

Park Jung-Sik as Kang Nam-Gul 

However, he is incredibly pale and later goes in the food store and asks Gyu-Jung for a contract in which she will prepare food for him to pick up a 9 in the evening but it must contain no garlic. In return he will pay a retainer of $1000 (the money she needs for a laptop), though if she breaks the garlic clause she will owe him 10 times the retainer. She agrees (and charges him $50 dollars per meal thereafter). She also sneaks in his room and sees photos of his teeth and his apparently elongated cuspids.

Choi Yoon-Young as Gyu-Jung

So we get threads of her starting to see Lee Joo-Hyoung, though he and her friend are not as broken up as she believed, and discovery of her mother’s new relationship – for whom she intends to close the store and travel – in the form, it turns out, of Gyu-Jung’s Bangladeshi friend Bahbub (Mahbub Alam), essentially a toyboy. We also get someone sneaking around and stealing Kang Nam-Gul’s research and meet his mother, who sold him to a professor when a baby and has been sent to get him to return to him. These Kang Nam-Gul threads were woefully under-explored.

Of course a relationship begins to blossom between Kang Nam-Gul and Gyu-Jung – it would, being a romantic comedy – despite (or maybe because of) her believing him to be a vampire…

bite

The film was engaging but there were, as mentioned, threads that were under-explored and it was ultimately quite fluff. There was quite a stark moment of racism thrown into the dialogue – which was deliberate. Unfortunately, the film then just moved past it with a casual mention and forgiveness rather than exploiting it to explore that racism and give the character chance to redeem themselves rather than just be forgiven because they were momentarily out of their minds. Beyond this the leads were likeable enough but overall there wasn’t enough here to make the film much more than fluff (or perhaps it is the wrong genre for me), 5 out of 10. I just have to mention that Bram Stoker’s Dracula was not published in 1879 – though maybe the subtitles were transposed and they meant 1897.

The imdb page is here.

Vamp or Not? A Fool There Was

I have internally debated whether to look at this as a ‘Vamp or Not?’ on and off through the years, indeed I have vacillated with regards the answer also.

Whilst this Frank Powell directed 1915 film popularised the term vamp to mean a femme fatale and, indeed, leading actress Theda Bara is classed as cinema’s first vamp*, it is not normally classed as a vampire film. To explore the question, I believe we must look back before we look at the film itself. (*As an aside Musidora, who played the femme fatale Irma Vep in the serial Les Vampires later in 1915 is often classed as the first vamp of European cinema.)

Philip Burne-Jones' the Vampire

The film itself was based on the Rudyard Kipling poem of the same name published in 1897 (the same year that Dracula was published) and, in its turn, the poem was based on a painting by Philip Burne-Jones, titled The Vampire, itself unveiled in 1897. However the idea of an energy vampire that might be called a prototype for the female vamp featured in an 1868 volume by G. J. Whyte Melville entitled Bones and I; or, the Skeleton at Home. I actually got the urge to look at the film whilst I was reading another novel, C W Webber’s 1853 volume Spiritual Vampirism: The History of Etherial Softdown.

destroying the roses

All of which serves as a pre-amble to the film itself. The filmmakers were intensely proud of the film’s connection to Kipling’s poem and apparently had it read in its entirety before showings. Intertitles offer quotes from the poem during the film’s length. It should be noted that by the standard of some silent films this is rather short coming in at just 67 minutes (compare that to the 1921 Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler, which is some 4 and a half hours (Murnau Foundation restoration)). As the film starts we see a man, John Schuyler (Edward José), with roses and then the vampire (Theda Bara) take the roses from a vase and rips the petals off.

The vampire and her victim

The film proper starts with a sunrise over the sea and then introduces the players. None are named, so Schuyler is credited as the husband and his spouse (Mabel Frenyear), called Kate in film, is credited as the wife. Theda Bara’s character is referred to as the vampire and is not named in the film. She is with one of her victims, Reginal Parmalee (Victor Benoit) and he seems to be drunk. The vampire sees Kate and her sister (May Allison) playing with Kate’s daughter, Baby (Runa Hodges). She tries to speak to them but is ignored by Kate and so says, as they walk away, that she’ll pay for that. John is piloting a boat and comes ashore to his family and friends and as the sun sets an intertitle suggests that it is the “sunset of happiness”. Already the film has suggested that the vampire is evil and we have stepped into the realm of the night.

Edward José as John Schuyler

But perhaps I am being unfair calling the vampire evil? After all this is very much a morality play built on Edwardian values and a strong woman would be a threat to the patriarchy. This is all true but she is depicted as thoroughly evil, as we will see. John is a lawyer and is appointed, by the Secretary of State, as a special envoy to Britain. His family are set to travel with him to the UK until his sister-in-law swoons and falls out of a slow-moving vehicle and Kate decides she must nurse her sister. Meanwhile the vampire has read about the appointment in the newspaper and decides to travel overseas in order that she might ensnare him. She is a gold-digger (John is later described as a millionaire) but we mustn’t forget that she has sworn vengeance on Kate for the slight she has perceived.

the previous victim

Reginal realises she is leaving and confronts her, saying that she has ruined him and is discarding him, but she lies and suggests her travel plans are only a ruse to test his love. Satisfied, he leaves the room but she has his wallet and continues to pack. In a moment of superstition, if not a decidedly supernatural moment, Kate notices that the skies have darkened and a storm gathered and wonders if it is an omen. The film then cuts to the dock and the ship the Gigantic and we see more of the vampire’s character. There is a destitute man opening car doors for a tip, which Kate gives him. When the vampire arrives, he reveals himself to be a previous victim and it is she who has left him destitute. She has the cops remove him. When Reginal subsequently arrives, the man reveals himself to be Reginal’s immediate predecessor and the victim before both of them, Van Dam, rots in a jail.

suicide

We see the Vampire on deck and her mere presence causes one man, with (we assume) his wife, to have his head turned – such seems to be her pervasive aura. Reginal confronts her with a gun, turns it on himself and commits suicide in front of her. A steward, witness to the event, tells John that she (who has left the scene) was “standing there and laughing like a devil”. The body is taken away, Kate and Baby disembark having said their farewells, and the ship sets sail. It might seem odd that an on-deck suicide does not see the ship held whilst the police investigate, with our modern eyes, but we must remember that this is a morality play. Whilst the ship is pulling away from dockside the vampire manufactures an excuse to meet John, flash some ankle and have his reserved deckchair placed next to her.

in thrall

The film cuts forward two months and John is clearly in her thrall. She lies on a chaise longue and he lies on the floor before her. Strangely there are palms but it is revealed that they are in Italy (presumably holidaying) not England. She is angered when he receives a letter from Kate and he grabs her throat, a gesture that amuses her and his demeanour immediately changes to one of longing. I read this as her being able to direct and transform her victims’ anger into passion. Unfortunately for him, the family doctor (Frank Powell) and his new wife (Minna Gale) are honeymooning and see them (she is so scandalised by his actions that she won’t stay in the hotel). There is some degree of attacking the patriarchal/misogynist status quo within the film, not only in the scandalised bride's reaction but later Kate says “You men shield each other’s shameful sins. But were it a woman at fault, how quick you’d be to expose and condemn her.” These moments are drowned by the idea that Kate will not divorce him (she speaks to a lawyer but is reminded of her vow “till death do us part”) and tries to redeem him by staying dutiful even when he installs the vampire as the new mistress of their town house.

in his cups

So we see his descent, his standing lost by the scandal. He even makes the gossip columns back home and the language in the newspaper article should interest us. It suggests that John (not referred to by name) “has fatuously fallen under the spell of a certain notorious woman of the vampire species”. Not only is it suggested to be a spell but they actually make the suggestion that the vampire a different species. John is fired from his position as special envoy because of the scandal and we see him become a drunkard. However, whilst the vampire has been said to cast a spell I have not mentioned anything that would specifically draw vampirism to mind… yet.

a brazen kiss

John becomes a drunkard but he also ages. Now, alcohol can have an ageing effect but this is marked and over a relatively short number of months, In fact I read his alcoholism as symptomatic rather than the source of his symptoms. He walks in a more stooped way, his hair becomes white and his eyes become sunken amongst dark circles. It is as though all the vitality has been sapped from him. Eventually the vampire is thought to have left him and Kate goes to him, but on hearing this the vampire returns and kisses John in front of Kate who leaves as the vampire offers an evil smile (remember she is getting revenge on Kate). This scene suggests that John has no will of his own and the vampire’s presence draws him. Desperate Kate actually takes Baby to the town house but even that cannot separate John from the vampire.

 the most of him died

John has some self-loathing it would appear and smashes a mirror, which might be a deliberate play with the idea of vampires and mirrors introduced by Stoker 18 years before, whilst twisting it so it is the victim who doesn’t want to see their own reflection. He then seems to fall and die though, like the victim of a traditional vampire, the poem (in intertitle) tells us “some of him lived, but the most of him died”. This is a curious quote and does sound like the victim who dies but then rises undead. The vampire scatters rose petals on his corpse as the film ends.

Theda Bara is the vampire

There are elements within this – the almost supernatural ability of the vampire to ensnare a man, the power of fascination she seems to wield and the description of a spell (and references to omens) – which draw me to the idea that as well as a femme fatale type of vamp she really is a vampire. However it is the marked impact on his health and vitality that utterly draws me to my conclusion that she is an energy vampire, though I am not sure as to whether that is what the filmmakers were aiming for. Of course, in terms of a morality play, this is purely metaphorical but isn’t the vampire, as we have come to know him and her within a media sense, often a metaphor; it is the strength of the archetype. My verdict on A Fool There Was is that this is Vamp.

The film is available black and white and tinted on YouTube, with and without sound, and is also available at The Archive. The imdb page is here.

Honourable Mention: A (Schizophrenic) Love Story

This was a 2014 film directed by Dylan Thomas Ellis & Glenn D. Levy, which was indeed a love story, indeed probably best described as a romantic comedy. The comedy came mainly from the central character Connor (Andrew Pozza) and the fact that he is an agoraphobic young man with anxiety and schizophrenia (brought on by trauma) and the interactions he has with his hallucinations and those in the real world.

Andrew Pozza actually wrote the screenplay and having looked in to his previous efforts he is primarily (at the point of writing) known for spoofs. This was not in that genre at all and though the Connor character was at the centre of the jokes one felt they were more with him than at him and, whilst it is a comedy, there was a large measure of sympathy built in for the character.

Connor and his three inner companions

So, you might be wondering why it’s being featured at TMtV. As the film starts we see a band playing in a garage. Connor is the guitarist, Einstein (Richard Lukens) is the keyboard player, the Virgin Mary (Jennifer Joseph) is the drummer and a vampire named Asher (Derek Lee Nixon) is the bass player. We also see that Connor actually isn’t plugged in and the others are not there. These three characters are the three staples of his hallucinations and much of the interaction in film is with them.

going to bite?

However, given that Asher does nothing particularly vampiric (though it does look like he leans in to bite Connor at one point) I decided to make this an Honourable Mention. The three characters represent aspects of himself and there is a definite reason why he hallucinates those three in particular. The fact that he is seeing them means that he is off his meds – they make him feel like a zombie – something he denies to doctor and neighbour Bob (Bruce Davison).

Jamie Teer as Lily

The three characters are aware of their nature and when Connor meets his new neighbour Lily (Jamie Teer) for the first time (she has just moved to her mother’s home on the street) he has to work out whether she is real in the first instance. She has her own problems but their friendship and romance quickly blossoms despite their unspoken issues and the barriers they both erect.

love advice during a date

This is, of course, not the normal film subject we look at here but is another example of the pervasiveness of the vampire through all levels of media. A film that could have been a crude joke based on mental health impairment becomes a sympathetic story, which is great, but the base genre might not be to the taste of all TMtV readers. The imdb page is here and you can find the film here.