The vampires in this directorial debut by the late Tony Scott are the kind of creatures to fear; relentless, fierce bloodsuckers who won't spare your life if you cross their path. There's a punk vibe to the characters and the environment surrounding them (thanks in no small part to the electronic sound effects used throughout the film).
Leading the deadly duo is the lovey French beauty and actress Catherine Deneuve as the seductively manipulative Miriam Blaylock. Deneuve uses silence to her advantage as her character utters little dialogue, instead relying on subtle body language like menacing glares. When Miriam does speak, her voice is laced with silky smoothness thanks heavily to Deneuve's natural French accent. Her behavior is almost callous when she learns how quickly her companion, John Blaylock, is dying; even to refusing to save his life by claiming "I can't". However during the film's shocking finale, Miriam's actions from the past do come back to give her retribution for refusing to help all her former lovers.
Playing the second female lead is the talented Susan Sarandon as scientist Sarah Roberts. She plays Sarah's naivety well as she is a rational woman, but when confronted with the rapidly dying John Blaylock her logic is soon thrown for a loop when she realizes John's tale of his fate comes true. There is a vulnerability always present in Sarandon throughout the film as her portrayal remains human to her final scene. The chemistry between her and Deneuve is electric as Miriam lures Sarah into her dangerous web.
The final member of the triangle though he exits nearly halfway through the film is the charismatic late singer David Bowie as John Blaylock. Bowie makes the most of his limited screen-time in the only way Bowie could. He is silent, brooding, charming, yet lethal. The late singer-actor even learned to play cello for the music scenes and the haunting melody pulls you in and keeps you entranced. The makeup to age Bowie's John is remarkable as the actor is barely recognizable under the layers; even Bowie's trademark British accent is barely recognizable when he speaks an aged vampire (According to Bowie himself, he would go out onto the George Washington Bridge and scream out punk rock songs to make his voice hoarse for his later movie scenes). Sadly John Blaylock was a character who was underused and given little to do before he is quickly gone before the viewer's eyes, but he does leave an impression.
The narrative is straightforward, but does little to develop the element of trying to save David Bowie's John Blaylock and seemed to rush forward to the relationship between Catherine Deneuve's Miriam and Susan Sarandon's Sarah. The atmosphere of the film is dark and brooding with a touch of the 1980s punk rock vibe in the background. The score is subtle and consists mostly of classical music (played by actors Catherine Deneuve (on piano) and David Bowie (on cello)) and electronic vibrations tossed in the background throughout the film's run time.
This is worth a watch for any vampire movie fan.
Leading the deadly duo is the lovey French beauty and actress Catherine Deneuve as the seductively manipulative Miriam Blaylock. Deneuve uses silence to her advantage as her character utters little dialogue, instead relying on subtle body language like menacing glares. When Miriam does speak, her voice is laced with silky smoothness thanks heavily to Deneuve's natural French accent. Her behavior is almost callous when she learns how quickly her companion, John Blaylock, is dying; even to refusing to save his life by claiming "I can't". However during the film's shocking finale, Miriam's actions from the past do come back to give her retribution for refusing to help all her former lovers.
Playing the second female lead is the talented Susan Sarandon as scientist Sarah Roberts. She plays Sarah's naivety well as she is a rational woman, but when confronted with the rapidly dying John Blaylock her logic is soon thrown for a loop when she realizes John's tale of his fate comes true. There is a vulnerability always present in Sarandon throughout the film as her portrayal remains human to her final scene. The chemistry between her and Deneuve is electric as Miriam lures Sarah into her dangerous web.
The final member of the triangle though he exits nearly halfway through the film is the charismatic late singer David Bowie as John Blaylock. Bowie makes the most of his limited screen-time in the only way Bowie could. He is silent, brooding, charming, yet lethal. The late singer-actor even learned to play cello for the music scenes and the haunting melody pulls you in and keeps you entranced. The makeup to age Bowie's John is remarkable as the actor is barely recognizable under the layers; even Bowie's trademark British accent is barely recognizable when he speaks an aged vampire (According to Bowie himself, he would go out onto the George Washington Bridge and scream out punk rock songs to make his voice hoarse for his later movie scenes). Sadly John Blaylock was a character who was underused and given little to do before he is quickly gone before the viewer's eyes, but he does leave an impression.
The narrative is straightforward, but does little to develop the element of trying to save David Bowie's John Blaylock and seemed to rush forward to the relationship between Catherine Deneuve's Miriam and Susan Sarandon's Sarah. The atmosphere of the film is dark and brooding with a touch of the 1980s punk rock vibe in the background. The score is subtle and consists mostly of classical music (played by actors Catherine Deneuve (on piano) and David Bowie (on cello)) and electronic vibrations tossed in the background throughout the film's run time.
This is worth a watch for any vampire movie fan.