...the nos...

Review of Ferat Vampire (1982) by screenqueeen: 👍 4/5

the thirteenth night in the lonesome hooptober day 22 film 17 cat: 0

68/100

an incredible repositioning of the vampire myth to lean into an aspect not very many readings tend to focus on: passivity. we know that monsters aren't evil by design. it's the connotation of sin woven by those who stand to gain from it that precedes them, draped in the term like lining into clothing worn benignly and innocently. but vampires largely have stood firmly against that as a willing force of evil in some capacities.

here a car is the sole vampire. it's passive in several ways, controlled by the company and engineers who birthed it into the world. i see it as a hybridization of the core ideas of Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus and Dracula while it has also been shaped by other influence from their filmic counterparts. the car doesn't act on its own, it needs a willing subject in the driver's seat and remains inert until flesh is provided through which to supply blood. the transfer of moral alignment to a creation is both in the text and deliberate by the Ferat company, positioning an instrument of death as the focus to detract from their scheming to even initially create something like that in the first place. this wouldn't be the first time an automotive company purposefully altered the image of their products to ensure a sale or endorsements.

Herz gets as close as possible to reinventing the wheel in the most interesting sense as he reimagines vampires using the car as a vehicle, adding to another way to refer to the identity of the Ferat Vampir RSR as a passive vampiric monster. there's also a less serious side to this that thrives when it allows its characters to act and react in emotional capacities. dr. Marek becomes consumed by fear until learning how to keep it at bay, Mima is on a tragic path built on obligation and heartbreak deteriorated by thirst and lust. Marek is plagued with a nightmare sequence that Cronenberg would take notes on. the car is even named Ferat, which makes me a little sad there wasn't a nos joke somewhere in there. so i have no choice but to revert to a different joke for the title.*

*NOSFIATU