Kingdom of the VampireRemakes these days have become virtually as commonplace as sequels. It seems at times that every mildly successful 70s or 80s horror movie or Asian genre flick has its ubiquitous Hollywood studio remake at some stage of production. The reasons are the same as any sequel or adaptation; tap into an existing market with brand recognition to minimise investment risk. However, not all remakes are the cold-blooded result of financial interests. Kingdom of the Vampire was a DV feature released in 1991, one of a string of micro-budget efforts by writer/director J.R. Bookwalter. It told the tale of Jeff, a socially dysfunctional young man struggling with that ol' chestnut for psychos worldwide - an overbearing mother. She cramps his social life and makes him work to support them both. In this case, his situation is further complicated by the fact that they are both blood-drinking vampires. Fairly rough on a technical level, the deliberate pacing and low-key plotting of the movie is enough to place it above most such labours of love and carry the day past its uneven acting and murky lighting. The downplayed supernatural elements, socially-stunted young male lead and real-world setting owe an obvious debt to George Romero's Martin, but it is a freely acknowledged debt; the lead character and his mother live on "Martin Street". Seemingly a forgettable entry in the pantheon of world cinema, Kingdom of the Vampire had an impact on at least one man, young filmmaker Brett Kelly. Kelly was so inspired by the DIY sensibilities of Kingdom that he ended up writing, directing and starring in his own remake, some 16 years after the release of the original. The 2007 edition is not a slavish remake, but also fails to add much to proceedings. A strange decision in the original is to lose any hint of ambiguity as to whether Jeff and his mother are actually vampires by, well, giving them fangs. The remake instead keeps the are-they or aren't-they sensibility going, only to ditch it in a final death scene. It seems that the story would have far more power if there was the possibility that in fact the mother has been driven insane by the death of her husband (who turned out to be a serial killer) and that her tales of a fabled kingdom of vampires is all a delusion to get her son to assist in her killings. The remake is undoubtedly technically superior, although the lead (also played by Kelly) lacks the awkward charm of Matthew Jason Walsh in the original and love interest Nina is considerably sexed up from her slightly-frumpy tracksuited appearance in 1991. Other changes are either superficial or surprising - in particular the excising of a strong scene where Jeff considers staking his own mother. In the end, both versions of Kingdom of the Vampire are competent, restrained diversions...but little more.
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