Rather than trumpet my (accurate) prediction that a certain zombie movie wouldn't do better than #5 at the box office this weekend, I thought I'd point out that the 2003 Australian movie Undead is finally getting released this weekend.
Written and directed by brothers Michael and Peter Spierig, who also funded most of the film and did all the effects on home computers, Undead actually manages to breathe some life into what is rapidly becoming a stale sub-genre of horror film by introducing comedic elements and some almost inexplicable weirdness. I saw it at SXSW in 2004 (review here) and enjoyed it quite a bit, though my viewing experience was probably enhanced by my moderate inebriation at the midnight premiere.
Anyway, the Brothers Spierig talked to Dark Horizons about their next project, which also sounds interesting:
Michael Spierig: The vampire project we hope is quite different to all the other vampire movies. Its called 'Day Breakers'. It is basically a film about...it basically set about 10 to 15 years in the future and what's happened is that the world has almost been completely taken over by vampires, but what's happened is that the vampires have kind of accepted their life and returned back to their suburban homes and back to their daily jobs. So we are dealing with a world now that tries to live day by day and accept their lives as vampire.
Question: Are they doing this at night or are they...
Michael Spierig: They are doing this at night but they have also modified their lives so they can function also in the daytime. Like they have modified their houses so they can block out their windows, they have built walkways so they can walk around during the day, they have modified their cars so they can drive during the day. But the problem is what has started to happen is this new world is they are running out of their food supply, which is human blood. There are very few human beings left in the world and vampires are starting to starve. So the film is essentially about 2 brothers strangely enough. They go on two completely different paths...
Sounds like a vampire version of Office Space.
The zombie movie might be getting a little overly fermented, but the vampire genre spoiled and sprouted mold decades ago. Of course, I'm willing to give the Spierigs (or anyone else) the benefit of the doubt if it keeps Hollywood from making another Anne Rice movie.
How about a Vampires vs. Martha Stewart reality show?
Superman vs. Godzilla?
Have you seen "Strange Things Happen At Sundown"? It was pretty good, it's only a couple years old. (Alla has the same problem you have, she feels compelled to review movies, so I get secondary exposure to a lot of this stuff).
No, see, they're vampires--but from Outer Space, see? Alien vampires! Yeah, and they come from Another World with no moon, so when they invade Earth, they discover that they're also werewolves at the first full moon! Then, it gets complicated...
Vampires versus alien invaders, anyone?