Summaries

After an encounter with a neck-biter, a publishing executive thinks that he's turning into a vampire.

A publishing executive is visited and bitten by a woman and starts exhibiting erratic behavior. He pushes his secretary to extremes as he tries to come to terms with his delusions. The woman continues to visit and as his madness deepens, it begins to look as if some of the events he's experiencing may be hallucinations.—Ed Sutton <[email protected]>

Details

Keywords
  • vampire
  • psychiatrist
  • cockroach
  • mental illness
  • weird behavior
Genres
  • Comedy
  • Fantasy
  • Horror
  • Crime
Release date Jun 15, 1989
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) R
Countries of origin United States
Language English German
Filming locations St. Nicholas Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church, 288 E 10th St, New York City, New York, USA
Production companies Hemdale Magellan Pictures

Box office

Budget $2000000
Gross US & Canada $725131
Opening weekend US & Canada $96699
Gross worldwide $727998

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 43m
Color Color
Aspect ratio 1.85 : 1

Synopsis

Peter Loew [Nicholas Cage] is a successful business executive but he's having difficulty with his personal relationships and so he consults with a psychologist, Dr Glaser [Elizabeth Ashley]. Then Loew meets Rachel [Jennifer Beals], a vampire. As Loew becomes more and more dependent on Rachel's 'kisses', it appears that he is turning into a vampire, too. The sun hurts his eyes, he eats a bug, he sleeps under his overturned couch, and the sight of a cross makes him cringe. He harrasses his secretary Alva [Maria Conchita Alonso] mercilessly, and when he rapes her and she shoots him with her gun (with blanks), Loew is certain that he is now a vampire. He buys plastic teeth, eats a pigeon, and goes to a disco where he murders a girl and drinks her blood. But when he sees Rachel, she spurns him.

Now the story splits into two parts--Lowe's reality and his fantasy. In his fantasy, Loew visits Dr Glaser who absolves him of rape and murder. In reality, Loew is standing on a street corner, blood on his shirt, talking to a cornerstone. In his fantasy, Loew goes home with his new girlfriend, has a fight with her and crawls under his couch-coffin. In reality, Alva's brother comes looking for him. In fantasy, Loew holds a stake to his chest. In reality, Alva's brother pushes down on the stake. The stake pierces Loew's heart. But is this Loew's fantasy or his reality?

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