I want to drink your blood…

Family Movie Night

 

By Karyn Bowman

 

Bella and Edward from Breaking Dawn, Image from IMDb.com

This past week I was looking at the stories about the fall movie season and noted the large picture of Edward and Bella from the latest movie in the Twilight series.

 

As I looked over the ads, I saw a picture for Fright Night starring Colin Farrell as the villain of the movie.

 

I could not help thinking that I am happy to see vampires once again becoming the big mean bad guys. Sure, Edward is a romantic sort. So was the Brad Pitt character in Interview with a Vampire.

 

And yet, and yet, there is a reason for the folktales and legends of vampires. We are meant to be scared by them. These stories tell us to be wary of the dark and strangers – no matter how attractive they might be.

 

Poster Image from IMDb.com

One vampire movie that has always stuck in my head is The Lost Boys with Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland.

 

The story is about two boys and their mom who move in with their grandfather in a small California sea-coast town. The older boy is drawn to a rough crowd by a beautiful girl while the younger boy makes friends with comic book geeks who clue him in to the dangers of the town.

 

The older brother realizes he is on his way to being a vampire while Mom is dating a new guy. It becomes a full-blown battle to remain family with the living or join a new family of the dead.

 

It has been years since I have seen the movie but I cannot forget the song “When You’re Strange” by The Doors playing over the credits.

 

1992 Poster Image from IMDb.com

While perhaps it is a bit campy, Dracula starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves still gives me a bit of a scare. It is reminiscent of the great German vampire movie, Nosferatu with its shadows and mood. The point is not to humanize the monster, which it tries to do, but to show that Dracula is a monster. That he has committed crimes against God that have led to his current life.

 

We might see Mina falling for the beautiful aspect of the Count. And yet to become his lover she must drink his blood, she must step over to the dark side. It will endanger all of her family but who cares when it comes to romantic obsession.

 

You might notice that none of these movies are meant for younger children and you would be correct. I firmly believe that some movies are meant for kids when they get older. Vampire movies that have no sense of limits when it comes to violence should have limits as to who can watch them. That is simply my opinion. However, I am curious what other people might think. I have friends who love the horror genre and share this with their teenager who is now making interesting short films in that genre. I am sure their opinion is different from mine.

 

As the Halloween season is near, I would like to hear from people what age is acceptable for various horror movies. You can drop a note below in the comment section. 

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

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Other Places to See The Stars From The Twilight Saga

A few weeks back a friend of mine loaned “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer to me.

This is one of those book series I have been meaning to read. I wanted to find out why this book series has intrigued so many teen girls. I saw pictures of Robert Pattinson and understood it from the good-looking guy standpoint.

Now that I have read the book, I understand from the character point of view. Despite being a vampire, he is truly a noble soul. The lengths he will go to for Bella prove that. If there was ever love at first sight, this is it for both characters.

Now if you want to know if I am on Team Edward or Team Jacob, well, I am not saying. Bella has made up her mind and I can already tell there is no use in arguing the point.

Robert Pattinson in Eclipse, picture from IMDb.com.

Eclipse

, the next movie in the Twilight series, comes out on June 30th. But if you need a Robert Pattinson fix before then you can always try Remember Me. This movie came out to theaters this past spring and just hit the rental market this week. The story takes place in the summer of 2001 and is about Tyler (Pattinson), a young man whose family is reeling from the suicide death of his brother.

During the summer, he meets a young woman who has suffered a similar tragedy and they find love with each other. It is a happy giddy time despite the other relationships in their lives that do not flow as easily. Pattinson works well off of Emilie de Ravin as his love interest. This is a movie better suited for older teens and adults as there is a more mature storyline going on here.

Taylor Lautner from Eclipse, Picture from IMDb.com.

Now for those on Team Jacob, I want to go back a few years when Taylor Lautner was a really cute little boy. Director Robert Rodriguez based the story of The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3D (2005) on an idea his seven-year-old son literally dreamed up. It might not be the best movie in the world. I saw some people compare it to Son of the Mask as one of the worst from 2005.

However, Lautner appears as Sharkboy. He is quite ferocious although loyal to a fault. It is a fun movie to watch with its fake looking backdrops and mellow dramatic moments. The kids and I enjoy it whenever we catch it on TV.

Kristin Stewart from Eclipse, picture from IMDb.com.

Lastly, one of my favorite movies with Kristen Stewart is Zathura (2005). Hers is a small part but totally enjoyable as the big sister stuck with little brothers causing big damage to their house. She was also in a bio-pic call The Runaways this past spring portraying Joan Jett. That movie may not be appropriate for pre-teen viewers but older fans might be intrigued to see Stewart do something other than Bella.

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

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