Intergalactic vampire Vlad Tepes (The Who’s Roger Daltrey) has come to Earth and is performing in Las Vegas under the name Jamie Blood. Though most vampires now drink synthetic blood, Vlad is a purist who prefers to drink straight from the veins of others. Vlad wants to unleash a horde of vampires on Earth. Trying to stop him is Vampirella (Talisa Soto), another intergalactic vampire who wears a revealing red bodysuit and little else.
Jim Wynorski says this is the only film that he regrets directing. Think about that. This is a film that even Jim Wynorski regrets! It’s easy to understand why. Talisa Soto is attractive and convincing in the action scenes but she’s still miscast of Vampirella, a character who was as known for her voluptuous figure as for her status as one of the first vampire super heroes. The movie has none of the subversive humor of the original Vampirella comic book and the special effects look cheap even by 1996 standards. With the exception of Roger Daltrey’s devilish portrayal of Vlad, Vampirella is an anemic take on a vampire legend.
Of course, in 1996, almost all comic book movies were as bad as Vampirella. While there were exceptions like the Batman movies, most comic book films were low-budget affairs that were made for nice audiences and which no one put much effort into. Comic books movies were not expected to be blockbusters or huge cultural events and most of them, like Vampirella, were released with very little fanfare. Things have certainly changed.
Through the Shattered Lens 