A vampire becomes infatuated with a troubled stripper who just wants to speak to her child and is unable to do so. Thoughts of suicide having crept into her mind, but never quite able to go through with it, she is selected by the vampire because he feels she desires death and this gives him a reason to drink from her to sustain his hunger. But once he kidnaps her, wanting to know what daylight is like, this vampire finds there's more to her than what he had believed.
You know, this was not what I had imagined it to be. That is not a slight against the film in any way, though. Katt Shea's DANCE OF THE DAMNED is more of a melodrama, with the two principles engaged in conversation, where the meaning of life plays a substantial purpose in the story of a vampire(Cyril O'Reilly)and his chosen victim, a stripper named Jodi(Starr Andreeff). It goes without saying that you discover just how much life means to you when confronted with death.
Andreeff is a striking presence on screen. She has this depth(not just in her performance, but of her character) I wasn't expecting. Granted, I've only seen her in something like THE TERROR WITHIN, but there's a disappointment that I'm not more familiar with her. It's not just that she's sexy, but her character is also complex, and there's meat on the bones(as is in the movie, which was probably the most pleasant surprise)that becomes more apparent the longer we spend time with her.
O'Reilly's vampire is also an enigma, which I found exciting. He absolutely wants to understand the human experience and finds Jodi to be an unwilling participant at times..and who can blame her since she's only got until 6 o'clock to live? He picks her brain for information regarding what it is to be human, and this actually aggravates Jodi at times, because what she might find mundane(and take for granted)he wishes to assimilate.
What I especially found rewarding is how the film develops the relationship between Jodi and the Vampire. Both are lonely and seemingly rejected by their own species(she because of her profession; he because his kind consider him repulsive).
Jodi has a son, but is not granted access to him. She loathes her profession, but the bills have to be paid and there are just so few opportunities out there at the present.
I think Katt Shea is one of the few filmmakers out there who has spent a career conveying the lives of strippers(mostly in the 80's)and that those involved in this profession are not just whores worthy of our ridicule. That's what I think adds value to DANCE OF THE DAMNED. Starr Andreeff is provided with a part she can bring to life because her Jodi is a person who rediscovers how precious every moment is when viewing the pitiful existence of the vampire. O'Reilly, I felt, is her equal as the vampire who seems to hate the fact that he has to feed in order to gain sustenance..he was born this way and the blood of animals just aren't as nutritious as drinking from the free flowing well of a woman who no longer wishes to live. Something about feeding from a creature with a soul contributes to the vampire's taste for human blood.
I was astonished at the times where it seems both have a civility that exists between them, until a remark or deed by Jodi, in an act of defiance against him, enrages the vampire to the point that he almost harms her. We see that he has a limit, a button you can push that unleashes the animal. And, she has quite an ability to poke at his ego, to needle at a sore spot which inflames an anger she'd soon wish to see remain dormant. But, again, this act of defiance is justified since her alternative is to die. I think the suspense derives from the fact that he could attack at any moment and Jodi could do little to escape. She is at his mercy, but the vampire does have a soft side to him.. he's certainly affectionate in regards to her love for a son she so wishes to spend time with. The vampire even takes Jodi to see her son, and this is a very touching scene with Andreeff really transcending the stripper stereotype.
Throughout the movie, Andreeff's Jodi bares her soul to us, acknowledging that each passing hour brings more heartache, sadness, and regret. As time seems to pass at an alarming rate, Jodi becomes more aware of her own mortality..and the lack of passage to an exit. The vampire, however, falls more and more in love with Jodi, until he even lets her taste from his blood, willing to feed from a paperboy in order to spare her. That's the conundrum, the vampire must satiate his bloodthirst and yet his willingness to feed from Jodi wavers. I think that's the success of this movie. We know why he falls in love with her because we also spend time with Jodi and see there's much more to her that just some beautiful young woman who dances in a striptease for a leering male audience. Kudos to Katt Shea for crafting this low budget character drama which takes a refreshing approach to vampires and strippers.
You know, this was not what I had imagined it to be. That is not a slight against the film in any way, though. Katt Shea's DANCE OF THE DAMNED is more of a melodrama, with the two principles engaged in conversation, where the meaning of life plays a substantial purpose in the story of a vampire(Cyril O'Reilly)and his chosen victim, a stripper named Jodi(Starr Andreeff). It goes without saying that you discover just how much life means to you when confronted with death.
Andreeff is a striking presence on screen. She has this depth(not just in her performance, but of her character) I wasn't expecting. Granted, I've only seen her in something like THE TERROR WITHIN, but there's a disappointment that I'm not more familiar with her. It's not just that she's sexy, but her character is also complex, and there's meat on the bones(as is in the movie, which was probably the most pleasant surprise)that becomes more apparent the longer we spend time with her.
O'Reilly's vampire is also an enigma, which I found exciting. He absolutely wants to understand the human experience and finds Jodi to be an unwilling participant at times..and who can blame her since she's only got until 6 o'clock to live? He picks her brain for information regarding what it is to be human, and this actually aggravates Jodi at times, because what she might find mundane(and take for granted)he wishes to assimilate.
What I especially found rewarding is how the film develops the relationship between Jodi and the Vampire. Both are lonely and seemingly rejected by their own species(she because of her profession; he because his kind consider him repulsive).
Jodi has a son, but is not granted access to him. She loathes her profession, but the bills have to be paid and there are just so few opportunities out there at the present.
I think Katt Shea is one of the few filmmakers out there who has spent a career conveying the lives of strippers(mostly in the 80's)and that those involved in this profession are not just whores worthy of our ridicule. That's what I think adds value to DANCE OF THE DAMNED. Starr Andreeff is provided with a part she can bring to life because her Jodi is a person who rediscovers how precious every moment is when viewing the pitiful existence of the vampire. O'Reilly, I felt, is her equal as the vampire who seems to hate the fact that he has to feed in order to gain sustenance..he was born this way and the blood of animals just aren't as nutritious as drinking from the free flowing well of a woman who no longer wishes to live. Something about feeding from a creature with a soul contributes to the vampire's taste for human blood.
I was astonished at the times where it seems both have a civility that exists between them, until a remark or deed by Jodi, in an act of defiance against him, enrages the vampire to the point that he almost harms her. We see that he has a limit, a button you can push that unleashes the animal. And, she has quite an ability to poke at his ego, to needle at a sore spot which inflames an anger she'd soon wish to see remain dormant. But, again, this act of defiance is justified since her alternative is to die. I think the suspense derives from the fact that he could attack at any moment and Jodi could do little to escape. She is at his mercy, but the vampire does have a soft side to him.. he's certainly affectionate in regards to her love for a son she so wishes to spend time with. The vampire even takes Jodi to see her son, and this is a very touching scene with Andreeff really transcending the stripper stereotype.
Throughout the movie, Andreeff's Jodi bares her soul to us, acknowledging that each passing hour brings more heartache, sadness, and regret. As time seems to pass at an alarming rate, Jodi becomes more aware of her own mortality..and the lack of passage to an exit. The vampire, however, falls more and more in love with Jodi, until he even lets her taste from his blood, willing to feed from a paperboy in order to spare her. That's the conundrum, the vampire must satiate his bloodthirst and yet his willingness to feed from Jodi wavers. I think that's the success of this movie. We know why he falls in love with her because we also spend time with Jodi and see there's much more to her that just some beautiful young woman who dances in a striptease for a leering male audience. Kudos to Katt Shea for crafting this low budget character drama which takes a refreshing approach to vampires and strippers.