Friday, May 3, 2013

Vampitheatre (2009)

Oh boy, this was a rough one to get through. Between doing interviews, playing festivals, and selling out clubs, Theatre Peace drain their fans of blood because the band members are vampires.  The FBI becomes suspicious due to the wake of dead bodies left behind them and suspect it is someone following the band.

This set up is incredibly ridiculous. First, during TV interviews the band states they are vampires. Second, why would a band destroy it's source of income by murdering fans? Third, they are trying to be covert, yet they announce they are vampires and only kill fans? Fourth, even though the band claims to be vampires and their fans are dying, the FBI suspects it's someone who is on the fringe or following the band. Flawed reasoning indeed.

I saw a description of the film that said it was like a cross between Dracula and Spinal tap. Well, I guess if your criteria is that it has a vampire and a band in it, then yes, it is like them. But other than that, there is no similarity.

The film is more a vehicle for Theatre Peace songs than a real movie. There are multiple band videos and performances of entire songs. None of these are particularly good.

This is definitely a low budget movie. The audio is often hard to hear and sometimes drowned out by background noise, like passing cars. It was shot on video, not film, and the lighting is harsh and unflattering. The sets look like something you would see in a community theater production. A lot of the walls seem to be made out of plywood and others are just a black cloth (I'm guessing hung across a stage?)  The vampire fangs just look stupid and the acting isn't very good.

Unlike many DVD covers that don't feature characters from the movie, unfortunately this one does. Perhaps they should have gone the other route since it reminds me of Riff Raff from Rocky Horror.

Someone found the effects button.
Yes, our whole town has walls made of
plywood and black curtains
The lighting guy only knows unflattering lighting
I'm a gooey clown
First rule of bands: Never try to look cool.
You'll only end up looking stupid.
Yes, this is definitely a motel lobby.
Why is Lou's Country Store made of black curtains?
They have a very theatrical looking police department.
Oh no, this just won't do.
I absolutely believe the band is performing at
a huge outdoor festival.... on plywood...  on the
grass... next to someones car...without a crowd.

No comments: