The Little Vampire

The Little Vampire – Since moving to Scotland from California, Tony Thompson has been having strange dreams about vampires, causing him to become obsessed with them. When he meets a young vampire called Rudolph who has made appearances in his dreams, the two become best friends and Tony gets embroiled in Rudolph and his family’s attempts to become human with the help of a long-lost magical amulet. However, with the family being the focus of a vampire hunter’s blood lust, will their dream of losing their undead status ever become a reality?

The Little Vampire (2000) – Director: Uli Edel

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43723806

Rating: U

Running Length: 95 mins

Starring: Jonathan Lipnicki, Rollo Weeks, Jim Carter

Genre: Family, Horror

REVIEW: ‘THE LITTLE VAMPIRE’

Based on the children’s book series by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg, ‘The Little Vampire’ introduces us to 9 year old Tony Thompson whose life has been turned upside down after moving from California to a big, castle-like home in Scotland. With this comes specific dreams of a vampire family and their attempt, centuries ago, to become human. His conviction that vampires exist comes to pass when he meets Rudolph who quickly becomes his best (and only) friend; the dynamic between the two is delightful.

Of course the main focus of the movie surrounds Tony and Rudolph but plenty of time is given to the older characters, particularly Tony’s parents, Rudolph’s parents and his older siblings which rounds off the story well, adding plenty of layers and much more depth to what could easily just be a superficial kids’ movie. Talented young star, Rollo Weeks’ ability to portray a 300 year old vampire who has been stuck in a child’s body adds an impressive amount of gravitas, genuinely coming across as boy who is old beyond his years.

‘The Little Vampire’ has a wonderful story, great pacing and excellent performances that will keep all ages enthralled until the very end.

CONTENT: IS ‘THE LITTLE VAMPIRE’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The movie opens with a family of vampires performing a ritual beneath a full moon. They are interrupted by a man who attacks them aggressively, pushing them over and trying to grab an amulet that has played an important role in the ritual. The amulet is accidentally thrown over the side of a cliff and one of the vampires leaps after it. As he falls, a young boy floats on the water below in a bed, he looks up to see the vampire, whose face is a bit scary, rapidly falling towards him until the camera cuts away.

Tony is picked on at school by two boys. As other children surround them watching the spectacle, Tony is pushed to the ground and has his schoolbag upended so that all the contents fall out. Later in the movie, Tony attempts to stand up to them but they grab him and the scene ends, opening on him lying in bed with a bandage on his head and some up his nose, indicating that he received a beating.

At night, a bat flies around Tony’s room until it crash lands in an empty fireplace. This bat transforms into a vampire boy who snarls at Tony, saying ‘You’re full of blood’. He tries to get away by flying over Tony’s second storey balcony but as he is weak, he simply falls straight to the ground but is seen shortly afterwards as being unharmed. We mention this in case it is potentially imitable for kids.

The vampires, including Tony’s new friend, Rudolph. choose to drink the blood of cows instead of humans. Tony winces with disgust as Rudolph drinks the blood of a cow. Nothing graphic is seen but unpleasant biting and squelching noises can be heard. These cows are regularly fed from, the farmer is seen to repeatedly go to them and, after he leaves, the cows reveal their new, vampiric red eyes.

Tony is mistaken for a vampire by the hunter, Rookery, who is intent on killing of all of their kind. He drives straight at Tony who is only saved by Rudolph at the last second. This cold-hearted attempted murder could be upsetting for some kids.

Rudolph helps Tony get his own back on the bullies by sneaking into their bedroom at night and terrifying them. After this, Tony treats them terribly. They are forced to call him ‘Master’ and do his bidding; crawling to their rooms on his orders. While it is fun to see bullies get their comeuppance, Tony treats these boys far worse than they ever treat him, turning into a bully himself which isn’t the best message for children.

A man tells the story of his ancestor, saying that she became undead like a vampire who she rescued. When asked what happened to her, the man says with some pride ‘Our family staked her!’

While spying on Rookery and another man, Tony falls into a tomb which has had its lid partially pulled away. As Rookery is convinced that Tony is a vampire, he gleefully slides the lid back, shutting Tony inside. The other man who is with Rookery protests, saying ‘You can’t do that, it’s murder!’ but Rookery threatens him by holding a sharpened wooden stake to his throat.

A tomb is opened and the bodies of two vampires lie inside, well preserved and with stakes through their hearts. Tony then has a vision of what happened to them; they flee a violent mob and when arriving in a castle, the male vampire stays behind to give the female a chance to get away. The mob quickly drag him to the ground, a man holds a large stake aloft and the camera cuts but it is clear that this is when he is killed. The woman is cornered in a bedroom and the camera cuts as the mob approach her menacingly.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘THE LITTLE VAMPIRE’ FOR KIDS?

‘The Little Vampire’ is a lovely little movie that, despite being well and truly for kids, has enough depth to appeal to adults as well. Due to a few scary moments with vampires and the vampire hunter’s, we feel this movie is appropriate for kids aged 6 and over.

• Violence: 2/5 (Rookery, the vampire hunter threatens violence and tries to kill several characters. He sends one character into danger, causing them to be harmed but doesn’t care about what he has done)
• Emotional Distress: 1/5 (The finale sees Tony making a wish for his friends, the consequences of which mean that he is once again left alone. There is a close-up of his face and a tear falls down his cheek)
• Fear Factor: 1/5 (the vampires can be a little scary at times but only briefly)
• Sexual Content: 1/5 (As she believes Tony is out playing with a friend, his mother kisses his dad, says ‘We get the afternoon alone!’ and pulls him inside the house. Tony’s dad says ‘I like this Rudolph (Tony’s friend) already!’
• Bad Language: 1/5 (a couple of very mild curse words plus one character says ‘BS’)
• Dialogue: 2/5 (several mentions of killings and threats of violence)
• Other Notes: Two boys are seen playing with toy guns.
• Deals with themes of vampires, loneliness, visions, moving to a new country, bullying, longing for a different life, friendship, family, obsession and accepting those who are different to you.

Words by Laura Record

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