David Dunton | Through the Shattered Lens

What the hell did I watch here?

Okay, I think I know what happened here. Jay Raskin took Ousmane Sembene’s Mandabi (1968), Jacques Rivette’s Celine And Julie Go Boating (1974), threw in some revenge, and topped it off with the appearance of a vampire near the end of the movie. Seriously, I think this guy was fresh out of film school when he made this. It even directly references Dreyer’s Vampyr (1932) at the end when they go to see it in a theater.

I guess I need to try and explain this stupid thing so I can go back to recovering from hernia surgery.

The movie begins with Viola (Rachel Golden) telling her parents named Morris (David Dunton) and Doris (Kathryn Karnes) that she is married to a vampire. Now we cut back to when she first came to the city in order to tell us how she ended up with a vampire.

One of her first encounters is with a guy who tells her he wants to put her “on Fire Avenue”. That’s a new pickup line for me, but maybe people did talk like that back in 1983 when this movie was actually shot. Now she needs to find a place to live.

Turns out this lady lives in the same building.

Now she tries to find a job, but all the positions she calls about are filled. That’s when she runs into a member of MBC. That stands for Mohammad Buddha Christ. She attends one of the meetings.

Now she is brainwashed and when Mr. Fire Avenue asks her again, she trusts that an amulet she was given will protect her. Go figure, it doesn’t, and she gets raped. Luckily, this kind rapist has a job for her cleaning floors.

Wondering where the vampire is? Well, 50 minutes into this 90 minute movie is when we meet our vampire Robespiere (Brendan Hickey). Of course, he isn’t like any other vampire we know from other movies such as he leaves a reflection in a mirror.

Now we get the exciting cleaning 1983 computers and playing the arcade game Gravitar scenes. Then this happens.

Isn’t this almost the same way that Celine and Julie met in Celine And Julie Go Boating? Been too long since I watched it. Anyways, I don’t think this has anything to do with anything.

The rest of the movie is just Viola and the vampire going back to the people that wronged her and seeking revenge on them. I didn’t even mention the lawyer named Leachman. At least the rapist gets his comeuppance.

Then we cut back to Viola and her parents meet the vampire. THE END.

The idea of her being fleeced by everyone she meets reminded me of Mandabi. All the cinematography made me think of Celine And Julie Go Boating. I don’t know why there had to be any revenge and nor do I know what the hell a vampire was doing in this movie.

I know this is the kind of movie that some people will latch onto and love, but I’m not one of them. It really just felt like someone who threw together elements from movies they watched in college in an attempt to both deliver some social commentary while encouraging people to watch art films. And no, I’m not pulling that last bit out of my ass. The movie actually has several parts that put down slasher movies, but then when things are right again, they go see Dreyer’s Vampyr. One of the dumbest things I’ve watched all year.

Oh, and this damn poster is so misleading.

She looks nowhere near as hot as that. And does that look like a vampire to you? It looks like the guy from the cover of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on the NES.