I'm The Vampire That's Why -by Michele Bardsley

Book #1 in the Broken Heart Oklahoma series.

Plot: Jessica is a single mom, widowed after her husband was killed in a car accident. As she is taking out the trash she's attacked by a creature and killed.
Only, Jessica doesn't die, she gets turned into a vampire. Not only is she now dealing with being one of 11 towns people who were turned that night, she has to deal with being the soul mate of one of the oldest vampires ever. Imagine, finding out you are a vampire, the soul mate of a Irish vampire prince and still having to make the weekly PTA meetings at your children's school.

I stumbled on this book one afternoon while at the mall. I had never heard of it before, but it was on a big book sale bin at christmas time. So glad I picked it up. I was looking for something "easy" to read this weekend and spotting it on my "To Read" pile picked it up. I could not put it down. I devoured this novel in just over a day. It's anything but "easy".
You are tossed back and forth slightly between the images of a modern mother and a 1950's mom. Jessica is a very realistic character who could very easily be telling you her story over coffee as to being a fictional vampire. The Irish folklore is weaved in; to perfection as you go deeper into the lives of the now vampire clan that the lead character has been thrust into.

It was a laugh out loud book, with moments that had me repeating the lines to myself as I made coffee on the rare moments I put the book down. And bonus for us fans out there of The Prince Bride (it's referenced and quoted more then once) and Remington Steele (all the males in the O'Halloran clan look like Pierce Brosnan)

The writing is witty, smart, fun and erotic. I went looking online to find there are 5 more in the series which I need to get as soon as possible.

Best of the Draculas

You might remember my Best of series from 2007, (Best of the Bugeaters, Best of the Sequels, Best of the Hunters) Well, it's time for a Best of Dracula.

You would have thought this one would have been the easiest. Um no. Even though there have been hundreds of actors to play Dracula over the decades, there is less then a handful that people actually respond to.


The top four are also the most famous.

Gary Oldman

Bela Lugosi

Frank Langella

Sir Christopher Lee


What was it about each actor that made his portrayal of the count stand out in our minds?

Is it the balance they seem to bring to the character, half animalistic half man? Or is it the fact they all played him slightly damaged?
Each actor gave Dracula their own spin, some focused on the fact he was partially based on the real Prince of Wallachia, while some focused on the fact he was not human at all.

Each of the four actors who have made Dracula a household name did so at different points in the last 70 years. Each being the defining draconic icon for their generation.

Lugosi and Langella each made him irresistible.
Lee and Oldman each made him brutal.

4 different actors, 4 very different decades, 4 larger then life versions of the same man.

Tamara Review

Plot: Tamara is the school's reject. No one understands her and it only gets worse when the rest of the class find out she's got a crush on their teacher. A party is planned and she's the entertainment. After a fight breaks out, Tamara ends up dead. Her class mates bury her in the woods, only she didn't stay dead. The rumours that she was a witch are true, and now she's got the power to get even.


This was a 2005 Canadian film like all classic horror seems to be. It blurs the lines between reality and fiction by it's use of witchcraft as a serious note in the beginning only to become the typical hollywood version of witchcraft mid way.
This is one of those films where you are not sure who to route for the dead girl or the class mates.
The genius part of this is that they never leave the "she's a witch" plot after she returns from the dead, so it never has to make up it's mind if she's really a vampire, zombie or ghost.
The effects were good, used in a way that makes you forget they are sfx, and the pace of the film is steady. We jump in with a main plot point in the form of a dream scene that foreshadows the rest of the film.

I would love to see a sequel to this one happen, and if there is one let me know.

I class this as a non-traditional-traditional vampire film. Non-traditional because she does not drink their blood but does take their memories when she manipulates them, that falls under psy-vamps. Traditional because she returns from the dead and manipulates them.

Blood the Last Vampire Live Action 2009

I have got you wondering (for those like me) why I put "live action" in the review title and not just the movie's title right? Well, for those people like me who are not anime fans, I needed to make the distinction.

Yes folks, Blood the Last Vampire was originally an anime film. And since I am not an anime fan, I have nothing to compare this remake to. Kung Fu movies are not my thing either, so I was very surprised at the fact I actually liked this one.

Plot: Saya is a dampir, half human half demon. She made a pack hundreds of years ago to avenge her father's killer, the oldest demon still alive. She now finds herself in 1970 on a Military base in Toyko where a new round of demons have taken to nesting. Can she stop them all before the demon takes over or will she loose the last part of her own humanity?

It had a very rich sense of something that could be found in Blade or Buffy, but still managed to keep itself original. Which, I know in this genre is almost impossible to do. With solid dialog, a nicely explained back story done in flashbacks, and special effects that were limited, you sped right along with this one.
Because it does pull from folklore, the vampires were captivating to watch with a slightly new spin on a very old genre.

It's been vampire movie month for me (Vampire's Assistant, New Moon, Thirst 2009, Blood Last Vampire) so by the time I got around to viewing this, I was alittle on the tired side, but it turned out to be a better fair then I was expecting. Was not too sure how an anime would translate into live action, as I have never been able to sit through an anime film before. I can see a sequel coming of this with a steady following.

Thirst 2009

Plot: a priest is infected with a virus while in a secret lab. He is pronounced dead, but somehow survives. Returning home, he's viewed as a Saint and starts to "heal" the members of the neighbourhood. One of them is his long time friend. He ends up moving in with his friend's family and starting an affair with the wife. Soon murder, manipulation and a deadly thirst become his nightly routine.


I was very interested in this film as it created alot of talk in the horror sites/groups I have been part of. I have to say first off, this is a subtitled film, and it seems to not have a firm grasp on it's own genre. With out right laugh out loud scenes, buckets of blood, and heavy dialog it's not your typical vampire film.
You're brought on a journey between a vampire who is depressed about his nature and a woman who sees no other way to be. The tone is dark and disturbing in the same vein that Interview with the Vampire was, keeping you in mind of Louis and Claudia.
It did pull from some folklore with the crossing of vampire with ghosts but plays more like an episode of Twin Peaks. And running nearly 2 and a half hours it is a bit long to sit through.
If you're looking for an action film, you will not find it here.

New Moon Rising

Originally posted on Andrew and the Aluminumsidings on Nov 20th 2009

I have shown my distaste for it,
I have defended other horror site writers for reporting on it,
I have bitched about the stalker themes in it,
I have praised the control on use of sex in it,
And I now find myself posting on it.

The next part of the Twilight series hits the cinema this weekend.

Will I be going? Of course I will, in my "Then Buffy Staked Edward the End" t-shirt.

Which I am sure will get popcorn and other objects thrown at me, in much a similar way Trent Acid was covered in crap weekly by JCW fans when he worked for the company.

The whole Twilight thing has been both a blessing and a curse for not just vampire fans, but romance fans, werewolf fans, and Jane Austen fans.

What?

Yes Spudgun, the original Twilight is a remade version of Pride and Prejudice. We all know that as the author herself admitted it. But that is neither here nor there.
Yes, I sat through the first film in great pain, and read the series of books on the good faith my cousin would read just one other vampire novel Renfield Slave of Dracula by Barbra Hambly, of which I am still waiting for cousin to keep her end of the deal.

And this leads me to say this to the people who have somehow avoided the slockliness that is Twilight, the books get out of the heavy vampire stuff and into heavy werewolf stuff. And that my pets, my dear readers, is where the books have their strength.

I can't believe I just said Stephine Meyers has strength in her writing, but I did. Her werewolves are extremely well thought out.
Her vampires blow dog backwards, but her werewolves are good.

I don't get where the woman has her head though, given both her lead males are possessive stalkers who act like crazy people. What the hell are you feeding the next generation of women?
You read Beauty and the Beast one time too many lady.
But that is another rant for another day.

Some other versions of Frankenstien

I did a countdown to Hallowe'en on the woman's site I am part of, with a different movie a day for the last two weeks of the month of October.
Here are some of the Frankenstein movies I talked about.

The Bride
Plot: Dr. Frankenstein has decided to create a woman. His creature, in this movie named Vicktor, gets upset when the Doctor keeps her for himself and leaves the castle. Vicktor finds himself in the middle of a circus while connected emotionally to the new Bride who is alive back at the castle. He is compelled to return to her for fear of her safety. She on the other hand has no idea he even exists.

This was a breakout roll for Jennifer Beals and made Sting more then just the lead singer of a band. Clancy Brown (from the first Highlander movie) played one of the most human versions of the Frankenstein monster. Due note this film was also the launching for Cary Elwes and Timothy Spall (credited as Tim Spall and only has two scenes at the beginning)


Boxing Helena
Plot: a successful doctor starts to stalk the woman he had a one night stand with. After she is in a horrible accident, she is left at his mercy. With no where else to go, she moves in with him where he starts to turn her into a living doll.

This was one of the creepiest films I have ever seen. A fresh take on the Frankenstein theme, with cast members from Twin Peaks, and was the directing debut of David Lynch's daughter.


Frankenstein Reborn

Plot: Dr. Victor Frank is a Neurosurgeon who is obsessed with the idea of reanimation. His most successful patient, Bryce, had been wheelchair bound after a motorcycle accident, and with the doctor's help made a full recovery. Only now Bryce is having nightmares about killing the hospital staff. After confronting the doctor,Bryce winds up dead. Dr. Frank then uses the body to continue his work and the nightmares Bryce had been having suddenly come to reality.


This effort was put out by The Asylum who are quickly becoming a name in the horror genre. This is from 2005, so it is an earlier offering from the company.
The sets are minimal, the acting at times stiff, but the effects make up for it in an all too real way.
This adaption of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein manages to encompass all the elements from her original book in a modern setting and still keep it's core plot.


People tend to forget that Frankenstein is more then just a monster story, it is a vampire story.
Over the next while, I will get into more depth on the topic so stay tuned.