Distributed by
Pioneer LDCE

Cat.no: PLFEB 35641

Cert: 15

Running time: 109 minutes

Sides: 2 (CLV)

Year: 1995

Pressing: UK, 1997

Chapters: 18 (8/9+1)

Sound: Dolby Surround

Widescreen: 1.85:1

Price: £24.99

Extras : Trailers for Beverly Hills Cop 1, 2 and 3

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Director:

Wes Craven (Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street)

Producer:

Mark Lipsky and Eddie Murphy

Screenplay:

Charles Murphy, Michael Lucker, Chris Parker

Music:

J. Peter Robinson

Cast:

Maximillian/Preacher Pauley/Guido: Eddie Murphy (Beverly Hills Cop 1-3, Trading Places, Metro)
Rita: Angela Bassett (Strange Days, Waiting To Exhale, What's Love Got To Do With It)
Justice: Allen Payne
Julius: Kadeem Hardison (A Different World (TV))
Woman in Park: Jerry Hall (Freejack)

Vampire In Brooklyn tells the story of Maximillian, the last vampire alive, and he's come to Brooklyn. On his arrival he makes his mark in an alleyway where he despatches of two thugs, one who ends up feeling more than a little cut up, and the other who is left intact apart from the fact that he's missing his heart.

While in town he meets Rita, a cop who is falling for his attempts to make her his mate for eternity, especially after some of the weird dreams she's having, even though she knows his true identify courtesy of nightclub owner Dr. Zeko.

Along for the ride is Julius, Max's sidekick, who was around at the time he made his first appearance and now is also one of the undead, although for him things are more drastic as he's decaying with an ear dropping off here, and a hand there.

Also thrown into the mix is one of Eddie Murphy's trademarks of playing different characters, this time including Pauley, a paunchy preacher, and Guido, a fast-talking thug.

One of the good points this film has going for it is being helmed by the horror-meister Wes Craven, currently back in the cinematic good books with his massive hit Scream, a sequel for which is already in production for release in 1998.

However, the film doesn't have much else to recommend it. Eddie Murphy turns in a performance he could phone in, especially those which he dresses up as other people for as this has been done too many times already, especially in his directorial debut, Harlem Nights, and the 1996 remake of the Jerry Lewis comedy, The Nutty Professor, the latter of which is due for a release later this year on Pioneer PAL Laserdisc. Eddie Murphy is also responsible for not knowing when enough's enough. While he directed Harlem Nights, in that film, as with this he also co-wrote the story and produced it. If he'd just stuck to what he's best at, which is turning in a good comic role, we could have had something really worth checking out.

Angela Bassett, usually one for a drama role, doesn't seem to warm well to comedies, spending most of her time looking confused or anxious as Murphy turns up wherever she is in one of his various incarnations. Meanwhile, Kadeem Hardison seems to be making the best of the bad script, and could probably do well following fellow actors like Damon Wayans (Last Boy Scout) and Keenan Ivory Wayans (The Glimmer Man) into typical wisecracking action films. There's also a cameo from model-turned-Rolling-Stone-bimbo Jerry Hall, whose acting is as unworthy as it was in 1991's sci-fi dumb-but-fun actioner, Freejack.

Chaptering is good with 17 spread out through the film, plus one at the end for trailers of all three Beverly Hills Cop films, all currently available on PAL Laserdisc. Picture quality is okay but nothing special with some of the colours looking a little washed-out at times. However, the real gem of the package is the surround sound which kicks in with force at any time something supernatural occurs (Rita's bad dreams for example), or whenever Wes Craven feels like it.

Overall, given Murphy's input, this film is probably more one for the die-hard Murphy fan rather than just the casual film viewer.

Film: 2/5
Picture: 3/5
Sound: 5/5

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1997.