The most surprising thing about Cindy, for me, is her matter-of-fact “it is what it is” attitude about Vladimir being the Dracula. I guess we have to remember that her soul recognizes him, so right away she feels intrigue, mystery, comfort, and a mix of so many other emotions. The film wastes no time getting these two characters together. Vladimir later finds her at the club, and the two hop into bed together pretty fast. Vladimir transforms into a dog and approaches her, giving us her first bit of onscreen joy.
Several people are touching up her outfit and applying makeup. We see a soft sadness in her eyes in her first scene – a nighttime photo shoot. Despite a seemingly glamorous life from the outside, she isn’t happy. She frequents a disco club almost every night (I’m surprised she doesn’t bring a bodyguard, since she’s one of New York’s most popular models). You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved.”Ĭindy, played by Susan Saint James, is no damsel. During his scenes with her, he always cuts straight to the point and tells her exactly how he’s feeling: “I am Dracula, a great power, and yet I’m humbled before you. He laments to Renfield, “How would you like to go around dressed as a head waiter for the last 700 years? …How would you like to dine on nothing but a warm liquid protein diet while all around you people are eating lamb chops, potato chips… How would you like to not have Christmas presents, Easter egg hunts, garlic toast?” This is a Dracula who feels tired and past his expiration date – but he has a renewed sense of purpose when he meets Cindy. He knows that he’s alone, that he isn’t perfect, and that he’s out of his element in a new and contemporary world. One thing I love about this film’s version of Dracula is his acknowledgment of his perceived flaws. This is a Dracula who takes only what he needs in terms of blood to survive, and his main purpose is to find and court the old soul he knows in Cindy. George Hamilton plays a highly sensual and romantic Dracula (another ultra-romantic Dracula that comes to mind is Gary Oldman’s version from Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film). Offbeat reimaginings of Dracula and Renfield are paired with original characters who have a connection to the original plot from Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” Let’s take a look at our main players:
What I most enjoyed about “Love at First Bite” was the way it interpreted classic horror characters. After being exiled from Castle Dracula by the Transylvanian government, Vladimir and Renfield head to New York to find Cindy. On a soul-deep level, he knows that Cindy is the reincarnation of his one true love. Several decades to a century later (the timeline feels a bit unclear), Vladimir’s given new hope when he sees supermodel Cindy Sondheim on the cover of one of his magazine subscriptions. He also failed to turn his soulmate (reincarnated as Mina Harker) into a vampire. What I forgot about “Love at First Bite” is that it takes place after the events of “Dracula.” We learn that Vladimir (Dracula) escaped from Van Helsing with assistance from his daylight guardian, Renfield. This was a sign to me that, after twenty-something years, it was finally time for a rewatch. Of course, the blu was released under one of my favorite labels, Scream Factory. Is it really anything special, or does our love of it come purely from nostalgia? Recently, while browsing at my local comic book store, I found “Love at First Bite” on a double-feature blu-ray along with the Jim Carrey vampire comedy “Once Bitten” (1985). With three generations of family members enjoying the film, I began to wonder how this simple, quirky horror-comedy was able to have such a lasting impact. From my mom: “She thought Hamilton was cute…your grandmother always liked horror movies, especially vampire movies like ‘The Lost Boys’ and ‘Salem’s Lot.’ She also liked ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and ‘The Amityville Horror’ (she thought James Brolin was cute, too). Apparently, my grandmother had a mini-crush on Hamilton, so this was a regular on her watch list. I also later discovered that “Love at First Bite” was a family favorite on my mom’s side.
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