Vamp
(1986)
R | 93 mins | Horror, Comedy | 18 July 1986
Director:
Richard WenkWriters:
Richard Wenk, Donald P. BorchersProducer:
Donald P. BorchersCinematographer:
Elliot DavisEditor:
Marc GrossmanProduction Designer:
Alan Roderick-JonesProduction Company:
New World PicturesAccording to production notes in AMPAS library files, principal photography began Jan 1986 in Southern CA. On the first day of filming, Los Angeles Police Department officers provided traffic control in downtown Los Angeles for a complicated car sequence involving a spinning vehicle. When a major traffic jam broke out, the production’s film permits were revoked and negotiations were needed to get them reinstated. The company shot at the University of Southern California for the film’s opening sequence and supplied a bell to be installed in the campus bell tower. However, the bell did not fit and had to be cut in quarters, transported and glued once it reached its destination. When humidity prevented the glue from hardening properly, a blowtorch was used to accomplish the deed. At one of the university’s libraries, the movie script collection room was used to film Keith and AJ’s dormitory room.
To contribute to the ghoulish atmosphere of the film, specially designed lighting emphasized magenta and green hues. Makeup supervisor Pamela S. Westmore and her team designed makeup effects that became increasingly frightening as the story unfolded. For Grace Jones’s strip tease, New York artist Keith Haring created her body-art pattern using white body paint. The process reportedly took Haring nine hours to apply. An 11 Jun 1986 HR news item stated that Jones’s metal bikini was designed by Manhattan jeweler David Spada.
End credits state: “Filmed at Ren-Mar Studios, Hollywood, California.” The following acknowledgments appear in end credits: “American Films, Inc. wishes to extend very special thanks to those individuals and companies listed below for their help, cooperation and promotional consideration: Barry Blaustein, Clay Borris, Bob Caviano, ...
According to production notes in AMPAS library files, principal photography began Jan 1986 in Southern CA. On the first day of filming, Los Angeles Police Department officers provided traffic control in downtown Los Angeles for a complicated car sequence involving a spinning vehicle. When a major traffic jam broke out, the production’s film permits were revoked and negotiations were needed to get them reinstated. The company shot at the University of Southern California for the film’s opening sequence and supplied a bell to be installed in the campus bell tower. However, the bell did not fit and had to be cut in quarters, transported and glued once it reached its destination. When humidity prevented the glue from hardening properly, a blowtorch was used to accomplish the deed. At one of the university’s libraries, the movie script collection room was used to film Keith and AJ’s dormitory room.
To contribute to the ghoulish atmosphere of the film, specially designed lighting emphasized magenta and green hues. Makeup supervisor Pamela S. Westmore and her team designed makeup effects that became increasingly frightening as the story unfolded. For Grace Jones’s strip tease, New York artist Keith Haring created her body-art pattern using white body paint. The process reportedly took Haring nine hours to apply. An 11 Jun 1986 HR news item stated that Jones’s metal bikini was designed by Manhattan jeweler David Spada.
End credits state: “Filmed at Ren-Mar Studios, Hollywood, California.” The following acknowledgments appear in end credits: “American Films, Inc. wishes to extend very special thanks to those individuals and companies listed below for their help, cooperation and promotional consideration: Barry Blaustein, Clay Borris, Bob Caviano, David Colden, Richard Davis, Anne L. Erickson, Peter Grossman, David Landau, Linda Lichter, Len Shapiro, Steve Werndorf, Chase Williams, Allied Product Placement, American Film Promotion, Associated Film Promotion, A T & T Communications, Bacardi Importers, Inc., David R. Bjerke Specialty Photography, Brooks Shoes, Chateau De Cheman Wine & Co., Chrysler, Gaetano Specialty Liquor, Herman Hadler Public Relations, Lava Simplex Internationale, Lee Jeans, Norm Marshall & Associates, Panasonic, Perrier Mineral Water, Pioneer Chicken, Pro-Media, Reebok Shoes, Wamsutta Corporation, Youngblood & Blad Entertainment Services.”
A.J. and Keith, fraternity pledges for Dipsa Phi, avoid a fake initiation hanging by promising to supply a stripper to the fraternity’s party that evening. When A.J. is unable to convince various girl friends to strip, the friends decide to hire a professional. They negotiate to borrow oddball frat brother Duncan’s car in exchange for their temporary friendship. They drive to the nearest city, and wait at a nearby bar for the After Hours club to open. Soon, three menacing customers demand several cups of coffee from the bartender. Keith flirts with the one named Maven until she smiles and bares fanged teeth. Keith is startled and asks A.J. for help as the strangers approach their table. An albino man named Snow tells Keith that Maven might just cut off one of his testicles. Maven uses a switchblade to pop off some buttons from Keith’s shirt, while Snow spills coffee on A.J.’s shirt. A.J. chuckles, takes another coffee, and spills it on Maven, who drops her knife. A.J. grabs Snow by the crotch, ending the conflict. The friends go to the After Hours club, and soon, a stripper named Katrina appears in a long red dress, white pancake makeup, blue contact lenses, bright red lips and a matching wig. After removing her dress, Katrina’s body is covered in a white striped pattern, and she wears a bikini made out of metal coils. A.J. is impressed and decides to hire her. In her dressing room, he offers her top dollar to do an encore performance later that evening. Without a word, Katrina swiftly strips again to her metal bikini, and pushes him down on a sofa. She moves along ...
A.J. and Keith, fraternity pledges for Dipsa Phi, avoid a fake initiation hanging by promising to supply a stripper to the fraternity’s party that evening. When A.J. is unable to convince various girl friends to strip, the friends decide to hire a professional. They negotiate to borrow oddball frat brother Duncan’s car in exchange for their temporary friendship. They drive to the nearest city, and wait at a nearby bar for the After Hours club to open. Soon, three menacing customers demand several cups of coffee from the bartender. Keith flirts with the one named Maven until she smiles and bares fanged teeth. Keith is startled and asks A.J. for help as the strangers approach their table. An albino man named Snow tells Keith that Maven might just cut off one of his testicles. Maven uses a switchblade to pop off some buttons from Keith’s shirt, while Snow spills coffee on A.J.’s shirt. A.J. chuckles, takes another coffee, and spills it on Maven, who drops her knife. A.J. grabs Snow by the crotch, ending the conflict. The friends go to the After Hours club, and soon, a stripper named Katrina appears in a long red dress, white pancake makeup, blue contact lenses, bright red lips and a matching wig. After removing her dress, Katrina’s body is covered in a white striped pattern, and she wears a bikini made out of metal coils. A.J. is impressed and decides to hire her. In her dressing room, he offers her top dollar to do an encore performance later that evening. Without a word, Katrina swiftly strips again to her metal bikini, and pushes him down on a sofa. She moves along his body licking and biting him. When she reaches his mouth, her eyes roll back, and her fangs protrude. A.J. tries to fight off her attack but she is too strong and sucks his blood until he is dead. Meanwhile, Keith wonders when A.J. will return. He questions the Asian hostess who took A.J. backstage, but she denies ever seeing him. Then, Keith explains his dilemma to Amaretto, a new, blonde cocktail waitress, who claims to recognize the friends from a past party, and agrees to help. As they look for A.J., the Asian hostess tells them she remembers that A.J. left the club. Amaretto believes A.J. is holding auditions offsite. She tells Keith that they can look for him at the nearby hotel, where many of the girls stay. Meanwhile, Duncan is oblivious to the drama going on. The Asian hostess tells Katrina she thought A.J. was alone, and apologizes for her mistake. Vic, the club host, assures Katrina that A.J.’s friends will be eliminated. The hotel elevator operator lets Keith off on the wrong floor before Amaretto joins him. He walks toward the stairwell but runs back as the elevator door opens. Keith walks into the empty elevator, but the closing door traps him. When the elevator moves upward, he wedges a fire extinguisher in the door, narrowly escaping certain death. On the street, Keith finds Amaretto, and asks where else they might look for A.J., but Amaretto misunderstands him and believes he is insulting her lifestyle. As she stalks off, she wonders why he does not remember meeting her when she remembers their encounter perfectly. At the club, Duncan is drunk and propositioning the cocktail waitresses. Through the mist on the street, Keith encounters a parked hearse. Snow emerges carrying a large hunting knife, and tells Keith he has been looking for him. When Snow’s three associates appear, Keith runs away. Snow follows in the hearse. He finds Keith hiding down a manhole, removes the ladder and chuckles as he replaces the manhole cover. Trapped below, Keith wanders through the sewer system. He watches through a sewer drain as a child vampire kills one of Snow’s associates. He finds a ladder and climbs onto the street. When the Snow gang chases after him, Keith runs into an alley and hides in a dumpster. Upon leaving, he pushes aside some trash and discovers A.J.’s dead body, but does not see the Asian hostess’s corpse nearby. Soon, Keith finds a payphone and contacts police. At the club, the host, Vic, assures Katrina that he will make their problem go away, and suggests it might be a good time to relocate the club to Las Vegas, Nevada. Keith returns to the club and asks Duncan if the police have arrived. When Duncan does not know, Keith tells him that A.J. is dead, but Duncan is too drunk to react. Keith tells Duncan to stay put and sits in a men’s room stall to collect his thoughts. Someone bangs on the stall door and breaks it down. Keith finds himself staring at A.J., who is very much alive, and claims that he was “rolled” for his money. Although Keith is livid and wants to leave, they sheepishly tell police their story. The officer warns the friends to stay away from the club, but Vic invites the officer to catch the rest of the show, and Duncan joins him. Keith pleads with A.J. , but A.J. is not in any rush to leave. Suddenly, the stripper massaging A.J.’s shoulders bares her fangs and attacks Keith. He grabs a stiletto on the floor and drives it into her heart, killing her. A.J. reveals that everyone in the club is a vampire. Keith thinks that is all the more reason to leave, but A.J. is now one of them, and although he loves Keith, he is ravenously hungry and is eyeing his friend as food. Keith invites A.J. to snack on his body but A.J. confesses that will not work. Then, Keith suggests A.J. kill him. A.J.’s response is to throw a stake at his friend, and he orders Keith to kill him instead. When Keith cannot bring himself to stab his friend, A.J. attacks, and Keith drives the stake through A.J.’s heart. As A.J. dies, he tosses the car keys to Keith, warns him to escape, and offers last minute vampire killing tips. Amaretto appears and is shocked to see A.J. dead on the floor. As they leave, stripper vampires stop Amaretto and Duncan, while Vic detains Keith at the bar. When Vic claims there is no way out, Keith asks for complimentary drinks as a last request like they do in Las Vegas. Being a big Las Vegas fan, Vic agrees. Keith orders three double brandies, and asks the bartender to leave the bottle out. As Keith hands the drinks to Amaretto, he spills liquor on the floor and asks Amaretto to do the same. As he toasts Vic, he spills brandy all over the front of his shirt. When Vic laughs and leaves to clean up, Keith sets several fires, using the alcohol as fuel. He fends off Vic with a cigarette lighter. Keith, Amaretto, and Duncan escape into the cellar and onto the street using the service elevator. Keith drives away with Amaretto and Duncan, as a tow truck and sanitation truck pursue them. However, Keith swerves out of the way at the last minute, causing a collision between the two trucks. Soon, Duncan complains that he is ravenously hungry. Amaretto screams as Duncan transforms into a vampire. Keith fishtails the car to keep Duncan from attacking Amaretto, and punctures the tires on anti-backup devices at a parking lot exit. The car crashes into a parked car and catches fire. As Keith and Amaretto escape, the car explodes, trapping Duncan inside. They break into a pawnshop, where Keith steals a bow and silver tipped arrows. They return to the street, but everywhere they turn they see vampires. Keith and Amaretto escape an attack when Snow appears in his hearse. As Snow asks the vampires on the street what gang they are from, the child vampire attacks him. Soon, Amaretto reveals that her real name is Alison Hicks and she met Keith playing spin the bottle in Sue Leonard’s basement one summer vacation. Down in the sewers, they discover a secret passageway, and find the resting place for the vampires. They hide and watch several vampires return to their coffins. As Keith and Alison sneak off, she screams and the vampires wake up. Keith tips over several barrels filled with gasoline and sets them on fire. Keith and Alison become separated, but he runs toward her screams and discovers Katrina using Alison as a human shield. He shoots Katrina in the mouth and she lets go of Alison. As Katrina pulls out the arrow and approaches Keith, he pushes aside a vent cover in the ceiling and sunlight pours in. They watch Katrina wail as the sunlight eats away her body. Climbing through a manhole, the club bouncer, Vlad, pulls Alison back into the sewer, and she screams. However, A.J. impales Vlad with a stake and saves Alison. He explains that he is still alive because the stake Keith used to kill him was made of Formica. As A.J. claims that he can get around his problem by attending night school, Keith and Alison make their way onto the street and kiss.
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