Embrace of the Vampire Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Embrace of the Vampire Blu-ray Movie Review

Does this remake "suck" or is it worth "embracing?"

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 10, 2013

The old remake machine was oiled up good and wet up for this one. Embrace of the Vampire takes the "old" 1995 film of the same name and puts a modern spin on it, well, as modern as "modern" can be when discussing a time difference of less than two decades. Nevertheless, Director Carl Bessai's (Sisters & Brothers) picture offers a fairly robust, albeit largely clichéd, narrative as performed by a cast that might have just walked off a glamour photo shoot before walking onto the set. Everything in the film, down to the smallest detail, is spiffy and polished. It's very clean on the surface but fairly dark underneath, again a classic juxtaposition that the film uses effectively, if not generically. Other than a shiny façade -- that classic "fresh coat of paint -- there's not much here beyond a serviceable light Erotica film that's all about virgins, vampires, and other assorted vixens engaging in frequent sex, hazing, and taunting. What's not to love?

Pure. For now.

Charlotte (Sharon Hinnendael) is a good girl and virgin who has just started a new life for herself. She's changed schools on a fencing scholarship, leaving behind the relative safety of her all-girls Catholic institution for a coed experience for which her life has left her unprepared. She finds friendship with her new roommate Nicole (Kaniehtiio Horn) and lands a job at a coffee shop after a positive interview with Chris (Ryan Kennedy). Despite some rough hazing, things seem to be going well enough. However, she suffers from recurring nightmares, nightmares so awful she awakens out of her bed and outside the dormitory. She impresses her Mythology instructor, Professor Cole (Victor Webster), who also happens to be her fencing instructor. Her performance begins to slip as her nightmares begin haunting her waking hours. Visions of blood, temptations of the flesh, and the sort of physical and psychological challenges that would destroy a lesser person test her limits on a regular basis. When she learns of her place in a dark history and her importance in the present, she must choose a course of action that will forever alter her life.

If there's anything of real note in Embrace of the Vampire, it's not immediately recognizable. That doesn't make this a bad movie. In fact, it may be said the opposite is true, to a point; it's fairly engaging on a very basic level, even as it rams through cliché and stereotype to build its story and characters. The film effortlessly paints its primary character as a rather sympathetic one, a character who never fits in, takes abuse from her so-called "friends," and suffers through a myriad of disturbing visions and revelations that come together to seep into her reality and not simply haunt her subconscious. It's all very basic storytelling, muscled up with an erotic edge. The picture makes use of the old standby theme of the metaphorical cleanliness of moral purity and virginity against impurity translated into the physical realm, the need to sacrifice the former to cleanse the latter. The problem is that the film ambles quite a bit, even in its rather compact 91-minute runtime. The goal seems to be to pile so much stress on poor Charlotte that she might conceivably crack at the end and give in to the fate evil is shaping for her. Yet it all feels rather anticlimactic, both in the lead-up and in the resolution. It all works well enough on a very simple level, but there's just nothing here that commands the audience's attention or stirs up the brain cells beyond the hackneyed basics.

At least it's pretty. Embrace of the Vampire offers a clean, robust appearance. Everything in the film looks smooth and manicured, so effortlessly modern and sleek that it almost feels wrong, from the absence of "regular" looking people to the school grounds, dorms, and classrooms that are so neat and tidy and straight and modernist that it almost feels as if no evil could lurk within, no ill could come from them, nothing bad could survive in such surroundings. It all reflects, to a degree, Charlotte's personality. She should feel safe in such an environment that, like her, is pure, but around her are all sorts of ills in the shape of untrustworthy people, or other people she is convinced may be untrustworthy by those who would see her suffer. She's hazed, spoken of with contempt, and surreptitiously led down a dark path by the one she should trust the most. It's all very refined in a manner that allows the story to feel straightforward but at the same time show a sharp edge underneath. Yet it's all rather bland at the end of the day. The pieces are there, but the film never quite makes use of them beyond the basic structure they provide. What might have been a much more thought-provoking film is instead a movie of some missed potential that, despite its best efforts to the contrary, feels rather superficial and hollow from start to finish.

Embrace of the Vampire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Embrace of the Vampire looks terrific on Blu-ray. Though the HD video source sometimes appears a slight bit flat and shows a tiny amount of banding here and there, the net effect is hugely positive. Details are incredible. Image clarity and stability are nearly off the charts. It's so accurate that every little drop of blood, small skin imperfection (not that there are many with this cast), clothing stitch, and support detail on campus interiors and exteriors are consistently impressive and oftentimes dazzling. Colors are bold and consistently so; green grasses, bright red blood and lockers, and all other variety of colors -- though those greens and reds are the main ones in an otherwise largely toned down but very bright palette -- look incredible. Black levels are deep and accurate, while flesh tones are fine, though perhaps a little bright. Overall, this is a tremendous image from Anchor Bay.

Embrace of the Vampire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Embrace of the Vampire features an upper-tier Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It never feels cinema huge but it does often provide rather big, satisfying, room-filling elements. Musical delivery is often generously wide yet also clear and nicely defined. It plays with a solid low end foundation and crisp, accurate notes. A galloping horse early in the film offers substantial, but not overpowering, heft. Very nice environmental ambience supports a few scenes, particularly nighttime exteriors. A few heavier action effects enjoy quality stage presence and accuracy. Dialogue plays firmly, clearly, and consistently from the center. This is a strong all-around soundtrack from Anchor Bay.

Embrace of the Vampire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Embrace of the Vampire contains no special features.

Embrace of the Vampire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Embrace of the Vampire doesn't succeed beyond the superficial. It's unquestionably a good-looking movie, but that good look serves a purpose that's never fully realized. There's a good "purity" vs. "impurity" angle at work, but everything surrounding it feels so cliché that it never finds much relevance beyond the immediate. Fans of the original will probably enjoy this one well enough, while newcomers might find a little bit of value in the sleek production and straightforward story. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Embrace of the Vampire features fantastic video and solid audio but no supplements. Worth a rental.