My Best Friend is a Vampire: Vestron Video Collector's Series

The teen sex comedies of the '80s were rampant with tons of hormones, nudity, jokes, and A-list actors when they were younger. In 1987, director Jimmy Huston added the horror element with his movie My Best Friend Is A Vampire. Using the familiar teenage sex comedy playbook, this film goes the extra mile and tackles some of those very poignant issues that are very relevant today such as gender roles, prejudice, and discovering identity all while handling the narrative with a comedic sense of wonder and the charm of a coming-of-age story set inside a vampire's horror universe. Eat that heart out, Twilight!

Writer Tab Murphy and Director Jimmy Huston wanted to slowly add those important punctuations of a culture from the '80s as the film went on, so My Best Friend Is A Vampire starts out like any old normal teenage sex romp. Jeremy (Robert Sean Leonard from Dead Poets Society) is a horny teenager at high school who is interested in not only the cheerleader but also the friendly band geek. The woman of his dreams invades his reality and shows up on his doorstep where his virginity is waved goodbye and his life has entered the next stage of the meaning of manhood. There's just one hook though, he was bitten on the neck during his encounter and is now a vampire. Jeremy learns this the hard way as someone claiming to be a vampire expert arrives to help him on his new journey... along with a villainous vampire hunter!

All Jeremy wants to do is fall in love and get through school, which is where this film explores Jeremy's adventure with prejudice and gender identity. The thoughtful and light approach to the subject material is infectious and often funny at times as Jeremy learns how to be a vampire in the same vein as Buffy learned how to kill them. Jeremy's parents are worried that he is a homosexual since he is not constantly on dates with women, but rather dealing with being a bloodsucker which has its own ramifications. And the idea that Jeremy's new vampire teacher allows him to tell the vampire's tale similarly to how minorities have been treated in America is fantastically poignant and satirical.

With those more serious elements added in, My Best Friend Is A Vampire manages to walk that balanced line of comedy and horror, keeping its themes of a teenage sex romp. But the performances are wonderfully fun, including the small role by Kathy Bates and Fanny Flagg (who both went on to work together in Fried Green Tomatoes). The mixed bag of ingredients whether it be horror, vampire lore, comedy, sex, or social issues have all been cooked to perfection with some memorable one-liners, and great visual gags. This film is highly underrated and was the vampire king before Buffy perfected that mold.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
My Best Friend Is A Vampire sucks its way to Blu-ray + Digital Code in a Collector's Edition from Vestron Video and Lionsgate. The disc is housed inside a hard, blue plastic case with a cardboard sleeve. The new artwork features the main cast of characters in some of their famous action beats of the film in illustrated form. There is also a digital code.

My Best Friend Is A Vampire comes with a new 1080p HD transfer from Vestron Video where it's said this particular image is newly restored. The color palette is natural and looks nostalgic for those 1980s films. blue skies, green trees, and grass on the practice field look bold. The red bordello scene and orange fire that radiates from the house are intense. Black levels are mostly inky and the skin tones are natural with the exception of when vampires are on the screen where their skin is a brighter shade of white with rosy cheeks.

The detail is sharper than the film has ever been revealing good practical makeup effects on closeups, individual hairs, facial pores, and textures in the costumes. Wider shots never go soft either. There are a few sequences where a yellow tint comes across the screen which is probably some color timing issues on this older film. Other than that, the film looks very good without any other problems.

This release comes with both a DTS-HD 5.1 audio track and a 2.0 option which are both good. The 5.1 mix is obviously the way to go where the sound is fuller and more robust. Those sound effects of the supernatural vampire noises are fantastic and other action beats sound off nicely. The surround speakers gather the school noises of students talking, lockers slamming, and band instruments playing. The score and music cues are pitch-perfect for the decade and the dialogue is clean, clear, and easy to follow.

There are 43 minute worth of extras, including some great interviews with the crew who come back to talk about making the film. There is also a wonderful commentary track from the director.

• Audio Commentary - Director Jimmy Huston and film scholar Nathaniel Thompson come back to discuss making the film, the social issues, the cast, and all the fun they had on set making the movie. It's a candid commentary with some good information.
• Most Alternative Lifestyle (HD, 19 Mins.) - Producers and writer Tab Murphy and Ken Aguado have a blast reminiscing on making the film and some of those key tones.
• Gabbing With Grimsdyke (HD, 13 Mins.) - Actor Paul Wilson talks about his time making the movie and offers up some super fun anecdotes from the shoot.
• Trailers (HD, 3 Mins.) - Trailers for the film.
• Still Gallery (HD, 7 Mins.) - Promo art and behind-the-scenes photos are here.

My Best Friend Is A Vampire still stands the test of time for being one of the underrated teen sex comedies with a bloody heart of gold that tackles some of the important issues that are still relevant today. The new 1080p HD image looks great and the DTS-HD 5.1 audio sound wonderful. The bonus features are definitely worth watching too. Recommended!