Country: United States of America, Japan
Language: English
Year: 2011
Simon seems like a fairly normal, average young man who’s devoted to his teaching job and ailing mother. Underneath the surface, however, things are not what they seem. Simon hunts through online chat rooms and message boards, searching for the perfect girl: beautiful, shy, and suicidal. Simon has a particular condition: he is compelled to drink blood.
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Director
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Shunji Iwai
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Producer
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Shunji Iwai
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Producer
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Tim Kwok
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Production Company
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Rockwell Eyes Inc.
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Production Company
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Convergence Entertainment
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Production Designer
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Alexandra Rojek
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Casting
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Brad Gilmore
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Adelaid Clemens
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as Ladybird
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Amanda Plummer
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as Helga
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Keisha Castle-Hughes
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as Jellyfish
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Kevin Zegers
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as Simon
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Kristin Kreuk
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as Maria Lucas
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Rachel Leigh Cook
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as Laura
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Trevor Morgan
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as Renfield
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Yu Aoi
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as Mina
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Other titles of Iwai Shunji in the Fortissimo library are HANA AND ALICE (2004), ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU CHOU (2001) and APRIL STORY (1998).
In Competition Sundance 2011. Starring Kevin Zegers (TRANSAMERICA), Rachel Leigh Cook (SHE'S ALL THAT), Adelaide Clemens (WASTED ON THE YOUNG, X-MEN ORIGINS). Special Mention Strassbourg Fantastic Film Festival 2011
Born in 1963 in Sendai City, Japan, Iwai Shunji started his career by directing music videos and music-oriented cable television programs. Through the subsequent years, he vigorously wrote and directed numerous television dramas, video clips and commercial films, soon earning a reputation for his distinctive visual style.
Shunji has won several awards with his acclaimed films
2011 VAMPIRE
2009 NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU (segment)
2004 HANA AND ALICE
2001 ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU CHOU
1998 APRIL STORY
1996 SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY
1996 PICNIC
1995 LOVE LETTER
1994 UNDO
1993 FRIED DRAGON FISH
1992 GHOST SOUP
Screen International
23-Jan-2011
Author: Anthony Kaufman
Vampire addresses some engaging notions about the value of life, and human connectedness, with a profound sense of sympathy
Screen Crave
23-Jan-2011
Author: Christie Ko
this film is a remarkable critique of the different nodes of vampire culture in America. We come across guiltless murderers, cape-wearing posers, a woman who believes in vampires, and a woman obsessed beyond reason with a man she hardly knows for no apparent reason. The fact that it takes place in a heavily forested town and that it includes a number of chuckle-worthy vampire film jokes makes me more and more inclined to look at it as a critical response to the American obsession with vampires and the value set that obsession fosters. This movie does a great job of pointing out the types of things people fantasize about when they think of vampires, and then shines the harsh light of reality on it, as if to say: “but if that was possible in the real world, this is how ugly it would look.”
Twitch Film
28-Jan-2011
Author: Ryland Aldrich
there is a lot to like about this portrait of a killer more empathetic than psychopathic. True Shunji Iwai fans will be very happy to know that he has sacrificed none of his unique style in an attempt to crack the English speaking market.
Culture Tourist
26-Jan-2011
Author: Paul Trinh
Brooding vampire movies and TV shows are in vogue right now, so it’s no wonder that another film at Sundance is capitalizing on these blood-sucking creatures. Add Iwai Shunji’s festival entry, Vampire, into the mix. The film recalls a similar Swedish vampire film from 2008–Let the Right One In. Both are similar in style and tone featuring a loner protagonist seeking human connection and gratification.