One of the great things that Shout/Scream Factory has been
doing is finding some of the less than notable movies of the past 20-30 years
and bringing them back to life via blu-ray. Now don’t get me wrong when I say
less than notable. By that I mean these are movies that the majority of movie
goers out there either haven’t heard of or have forgotten. But once you hear
the names of some of these movies fond memories return and you wonder why you
hadn’t thought about them in a while. Such is the case with these two movies,
definite hits on the old VHS walls but not seen in some time.
The first film, LOVE AT FIRST BITE, was the bigger hit of
the two and helped re-launch the career of actor George Hamilton. Once a fairly
successful actor, the few years prior to this film saw him languishing in the
part time roles offered by series television. This film put him in a lead role
once again which he, pardon my pun, sank his teeth into.
Hamilton stars as Count Dracula who is forced out of his
castle in Transylvania and is now relocating in New York. Accompanied by his
trusty servant Renfield (a scene stealing Arte Johnson in the role), he makes
his way here and soon discovers the love of his life in the form of model Cindy
Sondheim (Susan Saint James). As he tries to woo her he finds himself at odds
with her somewhat obsessive ex-boyfriend Dr. Jeffrey Rosenberg (Richard
Benjamin) who reveals himself later to be the grandson of the same Van Helsing
who tried to kill Dracula all those years ago.
What makes the movie work are the tongue in cheek moments
played for laughs and played well. Perhaps the most memorable part of the film
is the hilarious evil accomplice laugh that Johnson uses in most of his scenes.
Add to that the disco dance ear locations and outfits and you have some
seriously funny moments. While it might not equal the laughs of a Mel Brooks
film this one does offer a great night’s entertainment on its own.
But, since this is a double feature disc set, you have more
vampiric moments to enjoy. ONCE BITTEN stars a young and unknown actor who had
done little prior to this film named Jim Carrey. The film features Lauren
Hutton as the Countess, a 400 year old vampire who must feast three times on
the blood of a virgin in order to remain alive…or is it undead? Anyway, she
needs the blood of a virgin and all seems lost. Until she meets Mark Kendall
(Carrey), the one man who meets her qualifications.
It’s not that Mark WANTS to be a virgin. After all, he constantly
tries to bed down his girlfriend Robin, but she insists that they wait.
Unfortunately that means that he becomes fair game for the much in need
Countess. As her bite moves from the first and heads to the third, Mark may end
up a vampire himself and Robin a woman without a beau. But of course this is a
movie and things never quite turn out as planned.
The movie offered Carrey a chance to let loose and he does
so here, mugging for the camera in a way that would later gather him a legion
of fans. For some reason this movie didn’t cause that to happen but it did give
him a chance to hone his style which would later serve him well. For Carrey
fans this is a must have to add to your collection.
I’ll say it again, while these two movies may not be the
greatest movies ever made they do bring back fond memories of the times they
were made in as well as the types of movies being made back then. Movie like
these today would be straight to DVD releases with little or no hoopla about
them. That is sad since they helped bring another great actor back to the
attention of the public and let an unknown have a chance to be seen. As it
stands we should be happy that Shout/Scream Factory has taken an interests in
these movies and offered us a chance to add them to our collection.
Click here to order.
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