Vamp

I wonder how much of an influence this film was on From Dusk till Dawn? This film also features a pair of idiots stumbling into a strip club which is actually a haven for vampires. Instead of a pair of gangster brothers, we’re stuck with a pair of frat boys looking for a good time.

Where Vamp really stumbles is in having Grace Jones play the leader of the vampires, and squandering her interesting film presence in a thankless supporting role that gives her no dialog, nor even much of a character besides some fierce high-fashion outfits to wear. Her Keith Haring look for a striptease is a bizarre moment, one of grander ambitions and more interesting artistry than the rest of the film can bother to aspire to.

Vamp is hogged up for far too long but handsome but bland college kids. It’s a troop of B-movie actors, and Jones outshines them all despite being dumped about halfway through. I have yet to find a decent movie in which Grace Jones has a part. Too often she’s set-up to be a threatening, dynamic presence in the film, before being thrown aside so the plot machinations can go on as normally intended. I guess she’s too androgynous, ferocious, sexual, and unique a persona for Hollywood to figure out what to do with her. What a pity.