I look forward to new Chris Alexander movies the way most cinephiles await the latest works of Werner Herzog, Claire Denis, or Wong Kar-Wai. His films are often moody, dreamlike, and overly arty ASMR horror flicks. Sure, some of them are pretty bad (like Space Vampire), but when they hit the sweet spot, they are often quite mesmerizing (like Necropolis: Legion). This one might be his best yet.
Arrielle Edwards stars as a sexy vampire woman named Miranda. Her daily routine is pretty simple: She rises from her coffin, takes a shower, dons her best vampire attire, and then cruises amusement parks for fresh victims. She’ll pick up a hot babe, lure her back to her hotel, rip her throat out, and then whisper, “I love you.” The pattern repeats, one day flowing into the next, until she eventually falls for Catherine (Ali Chappell) and turns her into a vampire. When Catherine asks what the vampire lifestyle is all about, Miranda answers, “We wait. We walk. We drink. We go on.” Predictably, their bliss doesn’t last very long.
Parasite Lady feels like a more assured remake of Space Vampire as it has the same barebones structure: A vampire woman wanders trancelike through various landscapes. However, it’s a lot more cohesive than Space Vampire. It even has a point, which is something that couldn’t be said for Space Vampire.
Imagine if Jean Rollin had directed Under the Skin. That might give you an idea as to what Alexander is trying to achieve. We’ve seen this sort of vampire-as-a-metaphor-for-existential-crisis thing before, but hey, when it works, it works. Alexander makes his points succinctly and uses his abbreviated forty-two-minute running time expeditiously enough while still finding time for his highly personal artsy-fartsy digressions.
It helps that Edwards is great in the lead. With her wide-eyed waxy demeanor, she reminded me of Vampira on more than one occasion, and she is nothing less than captivating when she’s on screen (which, fortunately for the audience, is quite often). Frequent Alexander muse Chappell is also quite good in her brief, but memorable role.
No comments:
Post a Comment