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Released by: Water Bearer Films
Released on: 10/26/2010
Director: Patrick McGuinn
Cast: Wilson Hand, Damacio Ruiz, Ryan G. Metzger, Angelo Tursi
Year: 2009
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The Movie:
Patrick McGuinn (the son of Roger McGuinn of The Byrds) has been making experimental gay themed cinema for the better part of twenty years now. His latest, a horror themed picture called Eulogy For A Vampire, follows a young man named Sebastian (Angelo Tursi) who is found sleeping on the grounds of a monastery where, a quarter century earlier, one of the monks murdered his lover in a crime of passion. The monks find Sebastian and welcome him into their fold, each of them quickly finding themselves lusting after the new arrival save for Abbott Anthony (Wilson Hand) who is rightfully suspicious of Sebastian's mysterious appearance and who seems to know more about Sebastian than he should.
Shortly after his arrival at the monastery strange things start happening - the monks' behavior becomes increasingly bizarre (highlighted by a scene in which a character named Father Lars gets down with a pair of Sebastian's used underwear!), dead animals are found on the grounds and it starts to look like the crime from the monastery's past may be coming back to haunt all who reside there.
So there's your plot: basically Sebastian shows up, a load of monks get horny for Sebastian and act accordingly and then some strange stuff goes on and, during the last twenty minutes or so, McGuinn sort of ties it into the past and throws in all manner of bizarre Catholic imagery and religious iconography. The gay equivalent of a nunsploitation film, this movie basically takes all of the requisite elements from those films and gives them a man on man slant. You get monks coupling with one another, a guy into punishment and Catholic guilt running around with a cat o' nine tails, and plenty of gratuitous sex set inside a monastery for no obvious reason other than to shock or provoke.
Eulogy For A Vampire is a very mixed bag indeed. There are moments that work here and the locations used afford McGuinn to ensure his picture is ripe with gothic atmosphere. The cast all dive into their roles without fear and perform the sex scenes with what appears to be a good bit of genuine passion and lust. Random bits of artsy blasphemy help by providing interesting visuals and there's a bit of legitimate tension towards the end of the picture. All of this contrasts in remarkably bizarre fashion with the camp element of the picture (which doesn't seem to have been intentional on the part of the filmmakers - everyone here seems to be taking things very seriously). This definitely gives the film some pretty serious cult appeal. The performances tend to be overdone now and then and the attempts at confrontation by way of cinematic blasphemy and anti-Catholic leanings are just odd and… well… odd. The film is odd. It's entertaining enough and at times artistically competent but too erratic, broody, goofy-goth and campy to work as an actual horror film.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is okay even if the darker scenes a bit on the murky side and the colors look a little soft. Detail varies accordingly from scene to scene but there aren't any obvious authoring problems of major issues here - for a modestly budgeted feature it looks fine.
The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is on par with the video in that it's perfectly sufficient. There are problems with the source and the dialogue is perfectly audible. No alternate language options or subtitles are provided.
Extras include a music video for a song called Evidence Remains and some screen tests used in the casting process while putting the film together. There's also a moderately interesting making of featurette that gives us some insight into the production and a theatrical trailer as well as the standard static menu and chapter selection options.
The Final Word:
An interesting if inconsistent work of alternative gay cinema, Eulogy For A Vampire has some impressive ideas and an intriguing gothic atmosphere - and it also has some unintentionally funny bits that border on high camp. Heavy on style but frequently falling short in substance, if you've got an interest in the material you'll probably appreciate what McGuinn has attempted here even if it doesn't always work. Water Bearer Films' DVD release looks and sounds alright and have some passable extra features as well.
