RICHARD DOUGLAS JENSEN TALKS THE KISS OF A VAMPIRE
"Amazed at the number of interpretations"
Daniel John
In ‘The Kiss of a Vampire’, romantic-bliss turns into a nightmare when a bride discovers her groom is a vampire, as fierce as he is dashing. At the dawn of the project, before Cannes and all, what made you want to do not just a vampire—flick, but one that goes as over-the-top as this?
I love the old school horror films. I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s, and each afternoon at 3:30 p.m. after school WXIA TV-11 in Atlanta ran the old black and white Universal-horror films with Bela Legosi, Boris Karloff, Lionel Atwill, and Lon Chaney, Jr. I grew up on them. Then, when I was a bit older, I watched the great Hammer horror movies with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, which were more violent, and they had nudity. Then I discovered the Giallo horror films from Italy, films directed by Dario Argento, Tinto Brass and the like. Giallo horror is essentially erotic horror. I loved it. Graphic blood and sex. Women who were intrigued by the evil. Women love bad boys, right. So, I wanted to make a giallo erotic horror film and I researched the genre. The elements are graphic violence, graphic sexuality, blasphemy, and a main character who chooses the dark side. Over-the-top is the only way to go with horror. Horror-fans are very demanding of their horror films. They want creativity, and they want to be surprised and shocked.
The bride, Saporah Bonnette, you had already worked with before this. At what point did you know she was right for the part?
I actually wrote the part for another actress, who turned the role down, because she did not want to do the nudity. It was the second time she turned down a role I wrote for her, so I looked around for an actress who is not picky about nudity. I had previously used Saporah in 'Monster Grizzly' quite by accident. Her family owned the location and I saw her with her exotic birds and I was amazed at how erotic she looked. So, I asked her to read for the film, and she got the part, which included a nude scene. Saporah did a great job on 'Monster Grizzly', so when I needed to recast the lead in 'The Kiss of A Vampire' I reached out to her and I sent her the audition of the actor who then had won the part of Wessex, Philip Hulford. Unlike all of the other actors who had read for the role, which required a scene in which he is terrifying and a scene when he is seductive, Philip was the only actor to do the seductive scene lying down, appearing naked, with the camera in a point of view shot. Saporah was very intuitive and she did an audition which was exactly like the reverse angle of Philip’s audition and the results were electric. Also, Saporah added an element of psychosis. We hired her on the spot, and we then added more back-story for her character to increase the discussion of psychosis.
She is, by nature and given the power dynamics in the vulnerable state between vampire and human, preyed upon. Yet, Wessex do claim to be truly in love with her. Is he, or are we simply witnessing delusions, mistaking what is really his obsession for love. Because everything else around him only seems to exist to feed his Nosferatu desires?
That’s a great question. I leave it up the viewer to decide. I have been amazed at the number of different interpretations people have had of this dynamic. The essence of a good film is to make the viewer make that choice. There is no right or wrong answer.
Where did you shoot it all?
We shot in Guntersville, Alabama, a small lakeside town at the foot of the Smoky Mountains. It was very scenic and had the right atmosphere for the movie. We shot the special effects sequences at Image Hive in Birmingham. Image Hive is a superb FX and post production facility which I use on all of my films.
Petrov, the fallen priest turned hunter, is fascinating, caught between his former life and what he's become, accepted by neither side. Portrayed by none other than yourself, how did you approach playing him?
I initially wasn’t going to play the role of Petrov, but I couldn’t find an actor who could show that conflict in Petrov. He’s a priest and a vampire slayer who betrays his vows when he refuses to kill his wife, who has become vampire. He also willingly allows himself to be defiled by Wessex. I decided to play the role and decided to make him a Russian Orthodox priest as I do a pretty good Russian accent. I used two of my crew who are from Russia as my dialog–coaches and each time we did a take I’d look at them and they’d give me the thumbs up. I think Petrov is the most romantic character in this film. He is willing to be defiled and to die to rejoin his wife for eternity.
Screenwriter, producer, director, actor. Do you feel equal passion for each. Or is there one that all of the other exist to support?
I have an equal passion for writing, producing, directing and acting! I love filmmaking. When I was about thirteen years old I discovered the books of film-scholar William K. Everson, and his books inspired me to a life in cinema. In 'The Kiss of A Vampire' I hired his daughter, the legendary New York actress and playwright Bambi Everson, and I did not even realize they were related. Karma came full circle when I realized who she was. She one of the greatest actresses in the history of modern theater and cinema. She’s incredible, we just shot my next feature 'Hiding Miss Mobster' and I cast Bambi in the best role in the film. I am following my vision, and I’m blessed to be able to do this without having to answer to other producers or their ideas. After four successful films, my wife and I as co-producers now self-finance and have a hundred percent control. Add to that my twelve picture deal with my distributor and we’re golden.
You were actually on the original ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’, way back when. Was that one of the first film-sets you ever worked on?
Oh gosh. I was such a lucky kid. I grew up in Atlanta with dreams of being an actor and film-maker at exactly the time Burt Reynolds made 'Deliverance' in Georgia. He viewed Georgia as his good luck charm. He got Universal Studios to buy the old Lakewood Fairgrounds and turn it into his movie–studio, and he shot most of his next ten films in Georgia. So, I got my first lessons in film on the sets of Burt Reynolds movies and that led to working on 'Dukes of Hazzard', thanks to my friendship at the time with John Schneider, who starred in the show. I have a huge love for “Southern cinema” and I’m going to write a compendium about it in the coming years. I love that John is perpetuating Southern cinema with his recent comedies 'Stand on It' and 'Poker Run'.
Talking about legacies, maybe even immortal ones, what do you think the making of this film will represent for you as it lives on?
That’s a tough question. I’m not sure what my legacy, if any, will be. I’m very lucky that I’m a successful if somewhat anonymous filmmaker and actor. So, I don’t really care to be famous, or to be lauded with honors. I was astounded when my first film 'No Man’s Law' won ten Best Picture awards at film festivals. For me, film is about telling stories people can relate to. My hope is my movies entertain people for a long time to come. Even if they don’t know who I am or care. Just having people enjoy the films is enough for me.
