"The Curse of the Highgate Vampire" Trailer captures the essence of horror and mystery as it teases audiences with a suspenseful glimpse into the terrifying world of vampires. The trailer, filled with eerie music and haunting imagery, sets the stage for a spine-chilling tale that unfolds in the dark depths of Highgate Cemetery. The trailer begins with a series of quick cuts, revealing a group of individuals exploring the cemetery at night. Their uneasiness is palpable as they search for answers, their flashlights illuminating the ancient tombstones and mausoleums. The dimly lit atmosphere helps create an unsettling ambiance, as shadows seem to move mysteriously in the background. As the trailer progresses, snippets of gruesome scenes fade in and out, leaving viewers both curious and disturbed.
The curse of the highgate vampire trailer
Director: Ricky Lau
Release date: 1994
Contains spoilers
An odd Hong Kong movie, in that the vampire premise is entirely Western – though the lore is a little odd in places – but sub-genre wise Romance of the Vampire really doesn’t know what it wants to be.
It is clear that Ricky Lau wanted to try something different to the more traditional, kyonsi based, vampire films he had previously made. Its just I don’t think he quite knew what. Is this a romance, it certainly has aspects of unrequited love and a love through lifetimes’ theme that owes a debt to Dan Curtis. It drips with melodrama in places and yet it has that slightly off-kilter, rude Chinese humour and a softcore sex drama aspect.
The story sees vampires Moon (Mondi Yau) and Fung (Ben Lam) move to Hong Kong. As I mentioned these are very much Western vampires. They have retractable fangs, avoid sunlight and have a coffin – okay it is a glass coffin, which wouldn’t offer much protection from the sun, but it is a coffin.
They start to use an escort Agency where Cheung (Louie Yuen) works as a guard for the escorts. One of the escorts is Rainbow (Yvonne Yung Hung). She works as an escort as she is blind and is saving for an operation that will hopefully restore her sight.
Fung sees a picture of Rainbow and she looks just like his lost love – lost when his vampiric urges overcame him and he ate her. He meets Rainbow when her ex-boyfriend Kwai Chung (Billy Chow) kidnaps her. Kwai Chung took her sight and has spent five years in jail as a result – he wants compensating for the jail time! Fung saves her.
He woos the girl, much to the disgust of Cheung who is in love with her also. Worse than having a jealous mortal is having a jealous vampire and Moon is envious of the romance as well. Of course Rainbow doesn’t know what Fung actually is.
The lore, as I said, was a little odd. It seems that Fung’s hands can glow and this glow can heal wounds (though not eyesight) and create diamond necklaces. When Rainbow’s operation fails Feng decides to sacrifice himself to save her sight. He walks into the sun – which seems to cause lightning to course up and down his body.
Suddenly he is crispy and crying blood tears that are gathered and used to restore her sight. Other than that things are fairly standard, it looked like garlic worked against the vampires and a crucifix in the heart seemed to work as a weapon – the crucifix glows when used.
We also discover that the vampires must be careful as to the blood they drink. Moon drinks from a man with the flu and becomes ill herself – describing it as drinking dirty blood. Fung saves her by feeding her some green smoking liquid, details of what the liquid was were not offered by the film.
The main problem with the film is the melodrama. This drips, as I mentioned, and not in a good way. It was weighed down with the stuff and the film seemed to go – softcore sex scene, roughly unfunny comedy moment, melodrama, softcore sex scene and so on, in a cycle.
There were some nice individual moments but, as a whole, I thought this to be fairly weak. 3 out of 10 .
The imdb page is here.
Posted by Taliesin_ttlg at 12:34 AM 4 comments
As the trailer progresses, snippets of gruesome scenes fade in and out, leaving viewers both curious and disturbed. Close-ups of bloodstained fangs and piercing eyes hint at the presence of a malevolent vampire lurking behind the shadows. The anticipation builds as the characters encounter strange occurrences, and their fear becomes more palpable.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Updates and news
Keen eyed visitors might have noticed the link for “the Blog: the T-Shirt” on the right hand side-bar. You can now get Taliesin Meets the Vampires T-Shirts from Café Press.
My internet access is not back to normal but is now a lot better than it was, so normal posting has resumed. I do have to say my thanks to those visitors who take time to contact me with vampire related news. One such visitor is Paul W who e-mailed me with details of new Spanish language series Gabriel.
Also mentioned in the article is the alleged Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration on Dark Shadows – which is exciting. As a complete, and non-vampire, aside I finally saw Sweeney Todd last weekend and was very, very impressed.
Other exciting news I stumbled across was a proposed series of vampire novels by none other than top director Guillermo Del Toro. Whether this will prove a good move on his part time will tell, after all he is known more for the visual media of film. Nevertheless I am looking forward to the Strain. More details here.
Finally, thanks to Crabstix who sent me this link to an interview with Corey Feldman.
Posted by Taliesin_ttlg at 11:03 AM 2 comments
The haunting soundtrack, consisting of eerie whispers and haunting melodies, adds another layer of suspense to the trailer. The chilling voice-over narrates snippets of the vampire's curse, weaving a tale of ancient evil and eternal damnation. The combination of atmospheric visual elements and haunting audio creates an immersive experience that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. The trailer's final moments tease a climactic showdown between the protagonist and the Highgate Vampire. Quick cuts of intense action and suspenseful chase scenes raise the stakes, leaving the audience craving to know the outcome. The tagline, "In darkness, evil lurks," serves as a constant reminder of the impending danger that awaits. "The Curse of the Highgate Vampire" Trailer successfully sets the stage for an atmospheric and suspenseful horror film. Through its combination of eerie visuals, haunting audio, and enigmatic storyline, it captivates viewers and leaves them hungry for more. The trailer's ability to evoke fear and intrigue ensures that the upcoming film will be met with anticipation and excitement..
Reviews for "From Script to Screen: The Making of The Curse of the Highgate Vampire Trailer"
- Sarah - 1 star - I was really disappointed with "The Curse of the Highgate Vampire" trailer. It failed to capture my attention and left me feeling confused. The editing was choppy, and the pacing was off. I couldn't get a sense of what the movie was even about. I was hoping for a thrilling and suspenseful trailer, but all I got was a jumble of random scenes that didn't make much sense. Overall, it failed to provide any excitement or intrigue, and I won't be wasting my time watching the full movie based on this lackluster trailer.
- John - 2 stars - I have to say, "The Curse of the Highgate Vampire" trailer didn't impress me. The acting seemed mediocre, and the dialogue was cliché. It felt like a recycled horror film with nothing new or original to offer. The special effects looked cheap and outdated, which made it hard to take the movie seriously. The trailer didn't generate any excitement or interest in me, and I doubt it will do well at the box office. I'll be skipping this one and waiting for something better to come along.
- Laura - 1 star - I didn't enjoy "The Curse of the Highgate Vampire" trailer at all. It was filled with typical horror movie clichés and lacked originality. The plot seemed predictable and uninteresting, and the acting was subpar. I was hoping for something fresh and unique, but this trailer failed to deliver. The jump scares felt forced, and the overall atmosphere was dull. I have no desire to watch the full movie based on the underwhelming trailer.