Vampire in Brooklyn

I skipped on Vampire in Brooklyn in the theaters back in 1995 because it had Eddie Murphy in it. He's funny, but not what I consider lead in a vampire movie potential.

I picked up a copy of the movie today and my suspicions were confirmed. It's not a bad movie exactly.

It's directed by Wes Craven, so the pacing and suspense is there- sort of. Unfortunately, it's diluted by the humor necessary to an Eddie Murphy movie.

Angela Bassett plays a cop who's a daughter of a vampire, unaware of her heritage. Bassett is one of the selling points of the movie. I'd watch footage of her read a laundry list.

Eddie Murphy is Maximillian, the title character, come to find another of his bloodline to prolong his immortality. As such, he's over the top as a sauve badass. But the entire time, I'm thinking "oh look, Eddie Murphy is wearing fangs.".

Because Murphy is the star, a lot of the film is played lightly. I think Vampire in Brooklyn had the potential to be a better film, a scarier film with another actor in the lead (kind of the reverse of Beverly Hills Cop where Mickey Rourke and Sylvester Stallone were considered for the role Murphy eventually made his own, but they would have certainly made BHC a different kind of movie.)

I wish Vampire in Brooklyn were better. There aren't enough African American vampire movies. Fortunately, when I do want to see a good one, William Marshall's Blacula movies are available on demand from netflix.