retro movie review: A Vampire in Brooklyn

The poster, and later the DVD cover, of Vampire in Brooklyn describes the film as "a comic tale of horror and seduction." That's actually a pretty good description of the movie's three agendas, and if asked whether Vampire in Brooklyn succeeds in meeting these agendas, I'd say, "two outta three ain't bad."

The story concerns Maximillian, a sophistocated, wealthy vampire from the Caribbean. He comes to Brooklyn, New York in search of a woman he believes is destined to be his bride, and finds her surprisingly quickly, in the form of Rita Veder, a detective with the N.Y.P.D. Naturally, Rita and her partner, the unsubtlely named "Detective Justice," are assigned to the case when Max's vampiric thirst leaves a trail of bodies in its wake. Meanwhile, Max (concealing from her that he's a vampire) romances Rita. It doesn't take long for the audience to figure out that Justice and Rita are already in love (in classic movie fashion, we figure this out long before the characters do) but Max is an expert at emotional manipulation, and he repeatedly arranges to appear as if he can offer Rita everything she's ever wanted. He also preys on her suspicions (which are based on a misunderstanding rather than fact) that Justice has slept with her roommate, making Justice an unviable rival for Rita's affections.

So there we have the horror and seduction, and for the most part, it works. But before I get into that comment in detail, let's explore the element that doesn't work, the comedy.

Max, you see, is played by Eddie Murphy. Murphy also co-wrote the screenplay with his comedian brother, Charlie. The Murphys can't help but pepper the film with comic relief characters who, for the most part, are simply unfunny. Specifically, there are three comical characters in the film: The most notable in terms of screen time is Max's comic sidekick, a bumbling young man named Julius Jones. Early in the film, Max turns Julius into an undead ghoul, and there's an unamusing running gag about how parts of Julius keep falling off at inopportune moments. Then there's Julius's landlord and uncle, Silas. John Witherspoon plays Silas exactly as he plays all of his characters, as a befuddled, cranky, dirty old man. Finally, there's a scene in which Eddie Murphy plays a Southern preacher. Murphy is good in the role, just as Kadeem Hardison and John Witherspoon are good in their comic roles, but they're all simply out of place in this film, and don't provide the laughs they're intended to.

That's partially because, with the exception of these three characters, Vampire in Brooklyn is played as a straight horror film. That may seem a surprise, considering who wrote it, but this is very much more of a Wes Craven film than an Eddie Murphy movie. Murphy and his producers basically hit the jack-pot when they managed to hire horror maestro Craven to direct this flick. I've often argued that horror, more than any other genre, is really a director's showcase, and Craven pulls out all the stops here. Vampire in Brooklyn is stylistic in all the best ways, as Craven's many flourishes add to the atmosphere and plot, rather than distract from them. Craven and Murphy later bad-mouthed Vampire in Brooklyn, and blamed each other for its failings, but let me tell you here and now, the faults lie with the comedy (Murphy's specialty) not the horror (where Craven, proven both here and elsewhere, clearly excels).

At this point, this is probably reading like a mixed review, and I guess it is, but don't let that distract you from my main point, which is that the movie focuses on the horror more than the comedy, and the horror works very well. By this, I don't mean that the movie is outright scary, but I'd argue that horror films, with some few exceptions, aren't really about the scares, they're about a sense of atmosphere and style. That goes doubly for vampire horror films, which tend to mix the dread with seduction and temptation. Vampires live eternally, and their love is often as deep as their life-span. Vampire in Brooklyn does much to explore this aspect of the vampire mythos, especially through the love triangle of Justice, Rita, and Max.

All three characters, by the way, benefit a great deal from the actors portraying them. Murphy made the film right when his career was in a downward spiral. (How bad was it for Murphy back then? When I saw this in the theater, there was only one other person there.) It's a shame this movie was overlooked, because Murphy's performance in this rare dramatic role is letter-perfect. He's matched by Angela Bassett, whose presence at the time was more of a box-office draw than Murphy (this being her first film after back-to-back Oscar nominations for major roles in Malcolm X and What's Love got to do With It?). Finally, there's Allen Payne, who never became a celebrity like his co-stars here, but who holds his own against their star power as Justice, the virtuous cop who may have kept his feelings for Rita secret a bit too long.

All in all, I'd say that Vampire in Brooklyn is a flawed but also highly enjoyable film. Watching it gives me a slighly greater admiration for Eddie Murphy as an actor (I say "slightly" only because I already admired him) and a continued appreciation for the directing talents of Wes Craven.