My Best Friend Is A Vampire DVD Review
My Best Friend Is A Vampire DVD Review
…And my best friend is fast-forward.
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In case you're wondering, My Best Friend is a Vampire is not the loopy Jim Carrey comedy. That's Once Bitten, 1985. My Best Friend is a Vampire, straight from 1988 (totally rad!), seems to be trying to copy Once Bitten and perhaps offered some inspiration to genre icon Joss Whedon for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)… but aside from those tenuous ties, there is very little other reason to slip this DVD into your player.
Starring a Carrey'esque (at the time) Robert Sean Leonard, the fable follows a high school loser (never made it with a lady) who meets a sexy vampiress and get his first love bite. Unfortunately, a certain vampire-hunter, Leopold McCarthy (a seemingly tired David Warner), also has his sights set on poor young Jeremy. Caught between the mortal and supernatural worlds, Jeremy struggles with his new identity and comedy ensues. Or at least, it's supposed to.
A mish mash of car chases, pep-talks, and whacky misunderstandings, My Best Friend is a Vampire never quite finds its footing. There are some good moments when the bewildered boy, whilst turning slowly into a powerful preternatural creature, enlists the help of a mentor called Modoc (Rene Auberjonois), and some of the vampire traditions are joyously twisted about. There are also some fun little "spot the star" moments (a slim Kathy Bates, and Gregory Peck's daughter Cecilia), and a solid soundtrack (TIMBUK 3, Blondie, Oingo Boingo).
Aside from a few little touches, there's not much to like about this stale, boring, listless relic. If you're looking for vintage vampires with shoulder pads and big hair, rent the Carry flick instead.
The DVD, from Lions Gate series The Lost Collection, offers only a "trivia track" when it comes to special features. That is too bad. I would like to have heard a commentary from some of the actors (Leonard is still around; he's on the weekly series House, now), or maybe seen some clips from the original EPK (or whatever such promo items were called back then).
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson