Author: Joey Horist

Vampires, they mean different things to different people. Mesopotamians, Hebrews, and ancient Greeks dreaded them, paralyzed in terror through legends of their lust for blood. Modern-day teenage girls swoon over them, with their good looks and ivory skin that glistens in the sunshine. Unfortunately, the truth is something much opaquer than we’d like to believe. They aren’t monsters, nor are they pale-faced Abercrombie models. They come with smiles, they come as your friends and they might even be your neighbors in director Brian A. Metcalf’s Living Among Us.

After doing a report on porphyria syndrome, quite literally, The Vampire’s Disease, documentarian Mike (Thomas Ian Nicholas), and his film crew are invited by porphyria sufferer, Andrew, to come and spend a couple of nights with his family in their home and document their nightly comings and goings in order to dispel some of the common but nonetheless ludicrous myths about vampires. The film crew accepts the offer and is welcomed into the house of vampires with open arms. They are courteous and genuinely come off as a typical American family. There is Andrew (John Heard), loving father and venture capitalist, Elleanor (Esmé Bianco), doting mother and housewife who is a little vain when it comes to the topic of her age, Blake (Andrew Keegan), the eldest son who hopes to use his status as a vampire to rise to fame, and finally Selvin (Chad Todhunter), the baby of the family who doesn’t talk too much.

The first night the film crew spends with the family is pretty much a success. There are some hiccups along the way, but they do manage to get in a couple of interviews and remind us all not to stereotype. Have you looked in the mirror lately? The vampires have, and there is, in fact, a reflection staring back at them. Is your breath stinky after that third piece of garlic bread? Wouldn’t bother them a bit. Are they maimed by the dangerous UV rays from sunlight? Well, that one is actually true. Will they drink your blood? That one is more of a half-truth. Yes, they will… but certain death or infection is no longer an issue, with various health organizations pitching in to provide the vampire family with a steady supply of donated blood which they consume like you or I would a bottle of Pinot Noir. Ahhh Czechoslovakian O+ 1982. That’s a good year, yum!

Unfortunately, as time presses on, it becomes more apparent that the all-American vampires may be playing the film crew for fools. Their rituals and customs become more unusual by the moment and Mike is faced with a dilemma, how far is he willing to go to get the scoop? When is enough, enough? Meanwhile, some skeletons in the closet threaten to shatter the picture-perfect image that the family worked so hard to maintain for the documentary.

Having only recently been acquainted with the works of director Brian A. Metcalf, I was a little unsure of what I was walking into. His previous film, The Lost Tree, had me confident that I was in for a good time. Nonetheless, with any artist, after their work is released, you can’t help but wonder what’s coming next and if it will in fact set the bar just a little bit higher. I’m delighted to say that this film not only raised the bar, it catapulted the bar to whole new depths, which future vampire movies will have to contend with. I will not lie, when it comes to horror movies, the found footage sub-genre is not a favorite of mine. The shaky cameras bother my eyes and I generally have a headache by the end of the movie. I figured I would maybe walk into this movie, enjoy a few good scares and spend the majority of my time shielding my eyes trying to avoid a headache. I never thought that I’d find my eyes glued front and center to the screen the entire time, not wanting to miss a minute of anything, scanning every set piece up and down trying to catch a hint of what scares might be coming next.

The acting was phenomenal and in a rare occurrence, despite the star-studded cast, you’re never really taken out of the film trying to think of other movies the actors may have done. The only thing that matters to you is the characters you see right in front of you. I couldn’t help but notice one or two minor plot holes regarding certain characters and the ending did feel slightly forced, but when you’re making a film that mixes up the ingredients and changes a formula that’s been around since the invention of film itself, you’re not going to get it perfect on your first try, no matter who you are. Therefore, I cannot let this spoil the otherwise awesome experience that this was for me. This movie had a lot of hard work put into it from cast and crew a like and it really shows. I may be getting a little ahead of things here, but with all the franchises out there that mindlessly churn out a sequel every three years, this is the first movie I have seen in some time that I would genuinely like to see a sequel to. I think there is great potential to expand upon what was built here.

If you are a fan of vampire movies, get out and see this movie, rent it on On Demand, do what you have to do. If you don’t like vampires, give this movie a chance. Just get comfortable and prepare to be frightened and entertained. I rate Living Among Us, 4 vampire bites out of 5. I think I will be sleeping with my sun lamp on tonight. My neighbor claims that their skin is pale from having a cold and that’s why they haven’t been going out, but they’ve been looking kind of thirsty lately. I don’t trust them!