Many movies dealing with vampires have been made over the years. I have seen many of them, enjoying some more than others. I’ve seen Once Bitten several times and enjoy it even though it is a bit silly.

Mark Kendall, a high school student, was frustrated and discouraged because his girlfriend Robin wouldn’t have sex with him. He went to a nightclub with two of his friends where he meant an older woman, Countess, who showed an interest in him. He didn’t know at the time that she was a vampire that needed blood from a virgin male three times before Halloween to keep her looks. She didn’t waste anytime drinking some of his blood the first night they met. Mark didn’t realize what had happened and he started acting very strange, craving raw meat and being sensitive to sunlight. Countess was determined to get all the blood she needed from Mark so she continued to turn up, which caused trouble for Mark with Robin.

Many vampire movies are meant to be scary and creepy. Once Bitten really wasn’t either. Instead it was a comedy that seemed to spoof some elements of classic vampire movies. Some of the jokes didn’t work that well, so the movie wasn’t as funny as it could have been. The movie did make me laugh more than once and I enjoyed it overall. Some of what was done for humor was rather silly, which might bother some viewers. This was a very light hearted vampire movie. Anyone in the mood for a darker, scarier vampire movie should pick something else to watch. This movie wasn’t as violent as a lot of other vampire movies have been. There really were only a few scenes later in the movie the included a little bit of fighting. Countess drank blood from a glass a few times and that was really the only times she was actually shown drinks blood. It was off a camera when she took Mark’s blood, though it was clear what was going on.

Most books and movies that feature vampires share some similarities in regard to the vampires even when some new things were added. Countess slept during the day in a coffin. Her coffin had a small television inside it that was on the one time she was shown leaving the coffin, so she probably wasn’t asleep the entire time she was in there. She drank blood daily, sometimes from a glass. She still required blood from a virgin male. Several other vampires that she had made over the years also lived in her home and did her bidding. I don’t remember her or any other character mentioning how often she needed blood from a virgin. I don’t think it would have been once a year because there would have been a lot more vampires around the house. No other vampire movie that I’ve seen or book about vampires included a vampire that needed blood from a virgin.

There were several sexual situations throughout Once Bitten. Mark and Robin had been dating for several years when the movie started. She had been putting him off about having sex for a while, saying she wasn’t ready. Mark was annoyed by that which caused him to go with his two sexes obsessed friends to the nightclub where he met Countess. She needed blood from a virgin male and she had several conversations with Sebastian about that and about how she was trying to make sure Mark didn’t have sex before she could get all the blood she needed from him. There were some sexual discussions throughout the movie and a few implied sex scenes that really didn’t show much. One bare behind was shown in one scene. That was it for nudity in the movie.

Mark was a typical high school boy hoping to convince his girlfriend to have sex. He really had no clue what he had gotten himself into by going with Countess. He was just dazzled by the idea that an older woman was interested in him. Mark was the main character and he really wasn’t developed much more than any of the other characters. This was one of Jim Carrey’s first movie roles, before he was cast on In Living Color and before he broke out in moves in Ace Ventura Pet Detective and The Mask. His performance in Once Bitten wasn’t as wild as several of his others have been, like in Batman Forever, Fun With Dick and Jane, or Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. This was a more sedate Carrey. Robin loved Mark but she didn’t feel ready to have sex which did add some trouble to their relationship. Karin Kopin was fine in the part.

Lauren Hutton was fine as the Countess. Her character was only known as Countess which did make me wonder if she had been an actual countess before she was turned into a vampire. She was very focused on finding a young man that could fill her need for virgin blood by Halloween. She had several other vampires living in her house that she had turned into vampires that did her bidding. Sebastian seemed to be closer to her than any of the others. He was more like a personal servant and he did things for her like bringing her blood or doing her makeup. Cleavon Little really didn’t have that much to do. I think his part was slightly bigger in Fletch Lives.

Main Cast

Jim Carrey - Mark
Lauren Hutton - Countess
Karin Kopin - Robin
Cleavon Little - Sebastian

Howard Storm - Director

DVD Information

Once Bitten is available on a DVD that has the full screen version on one side and the widescreen version on the other side. The only extra on the DVD was the original theatrical trailer for the movie. I picked up the DVD for $5.50 from Wal-Mart.

Once Bitten was a somewhat silly vampire movie that was still entertaining. People in the mood for a more light hearted vampire movie should give this one a chance.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD