Direct-to-video. Erotic thriller. Nineties vampires. Wings Hauser. These are just a few of the phrases we could use to describe Pale Blood, V. V. Dachin Hsu and Michael W. Leighton's underground vampire movie. Some of these descriptions — or maybe even all of them — would be enough to get the average horror fan to add Pale Blood to their watchlist. But is there more to the movie than nineties nostalgia? That, and so much more, is the focus of this episode with film critic and The Scares That Shaped Us host Matthew Jackson.
After a series of grisly murders makes international headlines, playboy Michael Fury (George Chakiris) travels to Los Angeles to investigate the killer. There he partners with Lori (Pamela Ludwig), his local research assistant, and crosses paths with eccentric filmmaker Van Vandameer (Hauser). Soon, we learn that Fury has a personal interest in these killings: he is one of the few remaining vampires in the world, and he is hoping against hope that he might find another of his kind. Released as a direct-to-video feature in 1990, Pale Blood is an oft-overlooked entry in the vampire oeuvre.
In this short excerpt from the episode, Matthew Jackson explains why Pale Blood is a more soulful vampire movie than you might think.
The movie is not that deep, I don't think, but it is doing its best to hit on some bigger ideas. One of the bigger ideas is the idea of being a vampire in 1990, after you've seen decades of vampire movies about your life, and then realizing there's not many of you out there anymore, would be a really lonely thing. And Chakiris plays Michael as, I've heard it all, I've seen it all, I just want something that's authentic to the world that I know. For that reason, it's a great performance from him.
The Pale Blood episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast with Matthew Jackson is now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, or the podcast platform of your choice.
