From the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy, It's Retro Nerd Girl with a film review for you.
Today I'll be reviewing the movie Once Bitten released in 1985.
Starring:
Lauren Hutton and Jim Carrey
Directed by:
Howard Storm
Genre:
Comedy, Horror
Rating:
PG-13
Budget:
$3,200,000 (estimated)
IMDb Rating is currently:
5.4
The Synopsis is:
A vampire countess needs the blood of a virgin in order to stay youthful and a sexually frustrated high school student, Mark Kendall is her main target.
Story:
The original screenplay was written by Jeffrey Hause and David Hines about a 17-year-old virgin tempted by a sexy female vampire.
Robin was named after a girl whom writer Jeffrey Hause had dated and Mark was named as a tribute to co-writer David Hines's nephew, who had died from leukemia.
As well, the homophobic school shower scene was based on a personal experience of co-writer Jeffrey Hause.
It was always meant to be a campy comedy but the original script was a little darker and artsier than the result.
For instance, the role of the Countess was written for Elvira played by Cassandra Peterson and Mark was written for Michael J. Fox.
It’s kind of interesting to imagine how the film would have turned out if the writers got the film they wrote.
Playing on the vastly popular teen-film formula of it’s day, the script was transformed into something more palatable for a wider audience. But in truth, it didn’t get much of a wide audience, but a very small audience, such as myself, who really enjoy the mix.
The comedy element is played up with lots of set ups that pay off such as our main character, Mark liking his hamburgers well done, even burnt. Then later after he is bitten by the vampire, he eats a raw burger.
There are many nods to older films like
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Robin has a line which was a take-off from the film: "He wants me because I'm nice and sweet and pure..."
A vampire goon breaks a door and the Countess says"why couldn't you just open it", referring to Jack Torrance's door scene in The Shining (1980)
Frankenstein (1931) is referenced at the end, when Mark says “I've created a monster”.
The movie’s later scenes at a High School Halloween dance allows the characters to go gangbusters on movie references with their costumes.
Pinocchio (1940)
One of Mark's friends dresses up as Pinocchio for the Halloween dance.
The King and I (1956) Gandhi (1982)
Russ planned to dress as Gandhi for Halloween but didn't have a mustache or glasses so he says is dressed as Yul Brynner instead.
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
A student at the Halloween dance is dressed up as Darth Vader.
The Blues Brothers (1980)
A couple at the Halloween dance are dressed as The Blues Brothers.
Ghostbusters (1984)
A guy in a Ghostbusters jumpsuit is prominently seen at the Halloween dance.
Pacing:
At 1h 34min it’s actually pretty good. It does have a korney montage that makes little sense to the story, but it’s still pretty fun.
Challenge:
The challenge here is the countess and her whole purpose in the film is to be the temptation for Mark.
However, she is quite a sympathetic character. She is not mean and evil for the sake of it. She is a vampire with specific needs, that in themselves pose as a challenge for her.
The vampire rules in this film are a little different than most. Typically, the countess can drink any kind of blood to stay alive, but she needs the blood of a virgin to keep her young appearance.
She can’t just bite her victims any time any where. She has to bite her victims 3 separate times on their inner thigh before Halloween and it’s not specific how many years apart but it seems to be at least 20 years years from what I can tell.
It’s pretty ridiculous, but it makes up a lot of the drama in this comedy.
So in many ways the Countess is so likeable that I forgive her for not being so great of a villain, but recognize that she is a character with a lot of flair.
Besides the Countess’ need to preserve her youth, Mark's sexual desire is personified in her as she slowly has more control over him as time progresses.
As a virgin, he feels he is the only person who is not fully enjoying life and is now obsessed with his desire to know what he’s been missing.
He’s been dating Robin for a long time but she is not ready to go that one step further. And he has the internal battle of temptation of physical gratification against his long standing love for Robin.
You can kinda understand his point of view, it seems the world is mocking him as he stands in a drive in an witnesses everyone else having the time of their lives.
Empathy:
The empathy here is one that grows on you.
At first you feel Mark’s frustration in his relationship with Robin but at the same time, it seems very wrong for him to pressure her as much as he does.
Mark intentionally decides to cheat on Robin, which leads to a lot of trouble. He doesn’t actually get to do anything serious with the countess, but he believes he did and he was completely willing to go through it.
Mark lies to the Countess about his age and he lies about going to college to seal the deal as you will.
He is not as nice of a guy as he is pretending to be to both Robin and the Countess.
I enjoyed the misdirection that the audience thinks that the Countess is going to bite his neck, but she doesn’t. Then you think that she must be biting his privates, but she’s not. She’s simply taking a bite in his inner thigh.
After Mark is bitten we develop more compassion for his character especially once he owns up to his mistakes and tries to make a brand new start with Robin.
All the while, he is going through a very comedic variety of changes as he transforms into a vampire.
He is sensitive to light now, drinks the blood from fresh meat his mother is preparing, is turning invisible in mirrors, and is being mistaken for a vampire around Halloween when he doesn’t have a costume.
At first Robin seems like a smart girl who wants to take her time with big decisions. She really begins to shine after the pre-Halloween hop dance off. You then realise that there is a lot of spicy fight in her and she’s ready to fight for Mark, because she loves him.
And there is something progressive here. Robin does get captured once, but she is not a damsel in distress. Mark is the one in distress and if she didn’t get involved, there would be no one to save him from the Countess. She is actually the hero in the story.
Technical:
Technically the film is meager. There are a few effects but not much, nothing groundbreaking.
The vampires were just painted with Halloween make-up and not in depth like some of the other vampire films around this time like Fright Night released the same year in 1985.
The big down sides to the film are the flubs, one big one is the ending chase scene where the film sets up some characters at one door and the other group to enter at another door, but somehow, it gets switched.
The film really shines in the area of music with an interesting score and a fantastic 80’s soundtrack. None of the songs gained a great deal of traction for it’s day, but fans of the film can probably sing every song for you.
They are really great.
The three songs that are the most memorable to me are The Picture performed by Hubert Kah, Hands Off performed by Maria Vidal, and Once Bitten (my favorite) performed by 3-Speed.
Performances:
Lauren Hutton was excellent as the Countess. Gorgeous and fit at 42 years old at the time of the film’s release, she was incredible. Her raspy voice and incredible sense of fun really worked for the character, making the Countess extremely likable.
Jim Carrey was incredibly adorable as Mark Kendall. If you really look at it, the character in the beginning is a little bit of a jerk, and I hate using that term, but he is… however, Jim plays Mark as a tortured soul which lends some endearing qualities for the character.
A lot of people think that this was Jim Carrey’s first film, but it’s not. He was in two films before this one and had about 18 TV appearances before this film. And although this was not the defining movie for his career it’s kinda cool to see him as a young actor honing in his skills and trying to break into the industry.
He does a lot of wonderful impressions in this film. What a great talent.
Karen Kopins nailed the part of Robin, giving her a lot of panache.
Another actor of note was Cleavon Little who delightfully portrayed Sebastian. Many people may be more familiar with him from Blazing Saddles and in this film he shows his wide range as a comedic actor.
And Richard Schaal as Mark’s father Mr. Kendall I thought was an incredible match, because he looks as if he could actually be Jim Carrey’s father.
A very young Megan Mullally steals the screen for a few minutes as Suzette, the very memorable ticket girl at the Pre-Halloween Hop who thinks that Mark is in a vampire costume.
Best:
One of my favorite scenes in the film is a flashy montage in the beginning featuring the title song, Once Bitten by performed by 3-Speed. I remember having that song stuck in my head for years after I heard it for the first time. On occasion, I’d just catch myself humming that tune.
I enjoyed the relationship between Sebastian and the Countess.
The dream sequences were so much fun! I absolutely loved them, playing with Count Dracula tropes of many older vampire films. That was fantastic.
The dance off scene was an incredible scene, full of physical funny moments all to a great song, Hands Off sung by Maria Vidal.
The ending:
Was a lot of fun, and totally devoid of the big monster battle at the end, which I liked about it. It just ended up being a whole bunch of vampires chasing Mark and Robin. Simple, but it worked for me.
Wish List:
This film had a great concept, but I wish it did go darker.
I also wish there was more screen time for the Countess, giving her and her interesting crew a deeper backstory.
I also wish that the vampires had some more abilities. They seem to be more vulnerable than supernatural.
Enjoyment:
The film didn’t do well in the US, but much better internationally under other titles like Seduction Has Teeth (France), Vampires Forever (France), Virgin Boy Wanted (Brazil), I Love a Vampire (Argentina), Just One Bite (Hungary) and Kiss Princess (Poland).
The film had a great deal of TV exposure to garner its cult following among a small group of movie lovers, myself included.
This movie is often compared to the commercially successful film Love At First Bite released in 1979, which is also a comedic vampire horror film within the same vein.
And I really agree. I love them both for all of the reasons many people don't like them. Once Bitten is in a league of its own for being a cheesy teen sex obsessed eighties flick that uses the guise of a vampire tale to comedically play upon both genres.
I actually saw this in 1985 and it is completely in my wheelhouse. It’s my guilty pleasure. Shh, don’t tell anyone!
My Rating:
8.1
That sums up my review. I hope you liked it.
This is Retro Nerd Girl signing off!
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