Film Review of Vampire in Brooklyn
Eddie Murphy Tries His Hand at Horror
This film is often remembered as "that Eddie Murphy vampire flick," and that's about as far as anyone's memory goes. Here's a quick overview to help decide if it's a movie worth renting, owning, or even seeing.
The Plot of Wes Craven's Vampire in Brooklyn Starring Eddie Murphy
Murphy stars as Maximillian, the last of a race of vampires seeking to continue his race by finding Rita, the half-human offspring of one of his tribe (played by Angela Bassett). Traveling to Brooklyn, New York, he learns she's a cop, and that his greatest threat to gaining her heart is her partner, Justice (Allen Payne). Rita has visions for some reason, Justice gets tossed around a lot, and just when it looks like Rita's gone over to the dark side, she doesnt.
Comic relief tries to come in the form of constantly decomposing ghoul henchman Julius (Kadeem Harrison), as well as Murphy doing his usual multi-character schtick by pretending to stick up a restaurant as white mobster Guido and the evil-promoting Preacher Pauly.
Where Vampire in Brooklyn Went Wrong
All in all, this is a pretty generic 90's film. There's the strong female lead, a dim-witted sidekick for comic relief, and most of all, Eddie Murphy playing as many roles as possible. Unfortunately, only the first of these elements can be used in a properly effective horror film. From the main characters to the tiniest of bit roles, not one character in the film is able to rise up above being a stereotype (from the Italians to the rich white woman to the young urban ghoul), though admittedly Murphy does become rather comfortable in his role as the (again, stereotypical) vampire, which is surprising.
Trying to show that Maximillian felt he was a victim of genocide would have helped, were he not so busy cracking jokes about ripping through rib cages and pulling out beating hearts. The film simply cannot decide whether it wants to be a spoof, a horror film, or a stereotypical Eddie Murphy comedy.
The Last Word on Wes Craven's Vampire in Brooklyn
Billed as "A comic tale of horror and seduction," Vampire in Brooklyn fails to achieve any of these elements in full. Only occasionally funny, never scary and only as seductive as one can find the star of Norbit, the film only works as a piece of stereotypical 90's fare. Worthy of a rental for the "just to see it" factor for Wes Craven and Eddie Murphy fans or as a silly addition to a vampire movie collection, but that's about it. It is rare to see a vampire film with an African-American as the undead lead, but vampire fans should probably look elsewhere for something to sink their teeth into.
Eddie Murphy as Maximillian
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