Kiss of the Damned Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Kiss of the Damned Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 2, 2014

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Strasbourg Film Festival, Xan Cassavetes' directorial debut "Kiss of the Damned" (2012) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers for the film; audio commentary with Xan Cassavetes, and different cast and crew interviews. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"What do you think happened last night?"

Screenwriter Paolo (Milo Ventimiglia, Rocky Balboa, The Divide) meets the strikingly beautiful poetry translator Djuna (Josephine de La Baume, Our Day Will Come, Quai d'Orsay) in a video store. They have dinner in a quiet bistro and then head back to her place. There Djuna kisses Paolo but tells him that she can’t make love to him because she has a serious skin condition.

On the following night, Paolo returns and tells Djuna that whatever it is that she has together they can deal with it. Deeply moved, Djuna confesses to Paulo that she can’t go out when there is sunlight and that she drinks the blood of animals to live. The stunned Paolo is then shown what his mind refuses to accept. During the demonstration, Djuna also sinks her teeth into Paolo’s neck.

Paolo’s transformation is fast and exciting. While making love to him, Djuna also teaches him how to do all the important things vampires need to do to survive in a world dominated by humans.

Soon after, Djuna’s sister, Mimi (Roxane Mesquida, Fat Girl, Kaboom), rings the bell and announces that she needs to spend a week in the house before she checks into a rehab center in Phoenix. Seriously displeased, Djuna contacts the local leader of the vampires, Xenia (Anna Mouglalis, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, Novo), a narcissistic actress living alone, who quickly confirms that she has given Mimi a permission to use her house.

The two sisters and Paolo try to coexist under the same roof, but the tension quickly becomes unbearable. Meanwhile, Paolo’s bubbly agent, Ben (Michael Rapaport, Beautiful Girls), decides to visit his client and friend to see if he has made any progress with the script he has been paid to write.

Xan Cassavetes' (daughter of John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands) feature-film directorial debut, Kiss of the Damned, very much reminds of the classic European horror films from the late ‘60s and early 70s. In fact, the film’s atmosphere seems quite similar to that of Belgian director Harry Kumel’s Les lèvres rouges a.k.a Daughters of Darkness (with a terrific performance by the legendary Delphine Seyrig). Both blend horror and erotica very well and have thematic depth that makes them look fresh and very stylish. In other words, these are horror/vampire films for adults.

Cassavetes’ film has a few rough spots, but its sincerity eliminates the distracting pomposity that is present in some recent and quite popular big-budget vampire films. After Paolo’s transformation, which occurs very early into the film, Cassavetes also spends a good deal of time examining the human nature of the relationship between the lovers. A few of the dilemmas they face are effectively used to produce excellent observations about the way people meet, fall in love and communicate with each other in the real world.

The majority of the film was shot in rural Connecticut. The large house where the lovers stay has a proper Gothic appearance and it quickly creates the impression that it has embraced its guests and is actually protecting their true identity.

The sex scenes are terrifically shot. The camera would frequently come very close to the naked bodies to capture the gentle touches or simply stop and observe the faces of the lovers while they experience overwhelming sexual pleasure.

The film’s appropriately atmospheric soundtrack was created by Steven Hufsteter (Alex Cox’s Repo Man, Robert Rodriguez’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico).

Kiss of the Damned Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Xan Cassavetes' Kiss of the Damned arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

The film looks beautiful in high-definition. The overwhelming majority of the footage is quite dark, but clarity and depth are terrific. Shadow definition is also excellent. There are plenty of close-ups where despite the fact that light is restricted depth is always excellent. The atmospheric panoramic shots also impress with excellent fluidity. Furthermore, there is a wide range of cool but very rich colors. The prominent colors are cool blues, grays, browns, and dark greens. The blacks are rich but never looking boosted. There are no serious transfer-specific anomalies to report in this review. From start to finish, the encoding excellent. Also, there are no serious stability issues. All in all, Kiss of the Damned looks fantastic on Blu-ray, and I am convinced that its fans will be enormously impressed when revisiting the film at home. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Kiss of the Damned Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The lossless track opens up the film in all the right places. At times it is only the wind blowing that enhances the unique atmosphere, while other times there are electronic sounds that dramatically change the tone of the film. The mixing, however, is excellent and depth and clarity of the sound are terrific. Additionally, the dialog is always crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow. (While viewing the film, I noticed that a couple of times the subtitles 'bloom'. There a few lines that look much thicker when compared to the rest of the subtitles).

Kiss of the Damned Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this is a very relaxed but very informative audio commentary with Xan Cassavetes who discusses her relationship with the French actresses, the invaluable support of Milo Ventimiglia (including some apparently very bold footage that was left on the cutting floor), the film's style and tone, how the sex scenes were filmed, etc.

• Interview with Xan Cassavetes - in this video interview, the director of Kiss of the Damned explains what inspired her to shoot the film and discusses its tone and atmosphere. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Interview with Joséphine de La Baume - in this video interview, actress Joséphine de La Baume (Djuna) discusses her contribution to the film and the character she plays, as well as Xan Cassavetes' directing methods. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Interview with Roxane Mesquida - in this video interview, actress Roxane Mesquida (Mimi) discuses her interactions with Xan Cassavetes during the shooting of the film and the character she plays. The actress also mentions a rather interesting experience she had while shooting the love scene on the streets of New York. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• AXS TV Interview with Milo Ventimiglia - in this video interview, actor Milo Ventimiglia (Paolo) discusses the style of the film, and its European qualities in particular, as well as the character he plays. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• AXS TV Interview with Roxane Mesquida - in this video interview, actress Roxane Mesquida (Mimi) discusses the character she plays and the visual style of the film. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Redband Trailer - in English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Greenband Trailer - in English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Kiss of the Damned Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I really enjoyed Xan Cassavetes' directorial debut, Kiss of the Damned. It has the proper serious tone I believe a good vampire film should have, it is very atmospheric, and it is also a bit rough, which makes it look as edgy as those classic European arty vampire films from the the late '60s and early '70s. Eureka Entertainment's technical presentation of Kiss of the Damned is terrific. Also included on the disc is a very honest and very informative audio commentary by Xan Cassavetes. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.