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The Vampire’s Kiss episode of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? was Written by Ric Solomon, Narrated by Travis Hopson, Edited by Jaime Vasquez, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

Nicolas Cage has brought us some truly unhinged performances. From his role as Castor Troy in the Face/Off to Eddie’s supporting role in Deadfall and Edward Malus a woman-punching cop in the 2006 remake The WICKER MAN. There’s no stopping his extreme style of acting. Where did it all begin? In 1989, Nicolas was born as a seedling in the horror film Vampire’s Kiss (get it HERE). In the 80’s some people thought that his performance was too chaotic. Asking millennials today about this film, they’d say it’s among the best films ever made. This film may have started Cage’s method of acting, but it was also responsible for a lot of problems behind the scenes and poor box office results. There are some crazy stories about our favorite over-the-top actor. In this video, we’ll take a look at Vampire’s Kiss and find out what happened to this horror movie.

In mid-’80s screenwriter Joseph Minion just finished his work on Martin Scorsese’s cult classic After hours. He was suffering from severe depression due to his toxic relationship at the time with his girlfriend Barbara Zitwer. In the script he explored themes such as identity, madness and loneliness. Minion described Zitwer as a “vampire destroying him”. Barbara, not to get ahead of ourselves but she became the producer of this movie. She was horrified when she saw the finished product and how she was portrayed. Like After Hours, Minion wanted to keep the “grim view of Manhattan nightlife”.Originally planned as the film’s director, Minion bowed out stating that the “darkness of it” was too much for him to bear. Robert Bierman, who had worked on commercials and shorts before, was offered the directing role. Nicolas Cage was interested in the role but only if Minion directed the movie. He dropped out. Cage’s agent pleaded with him not to do it by saying that this wasn’t a good movie to make after starring in

Moonstruck, opposite Cher. Dennis Quaid was initially offered the lead role and it has been reported that the film got its financing because of Quaid. Quaid would eventually drop out to star in the Steven Spielberg produced Sci-Fi film, Innerspace.The crew was scrambling for an actor to helm the lead role. Bierman met Judd Nelson whose agent demanded $1 million. He quit immediately. Sylvester Stallone and John Travolta were also considered for the role. Cage was said to regret his decision to leave the film. Zitwer remembers Cage as being obsessed with the part. Nic’s agent convinced him to be cast as Peter Loew in

Vampire Kiss. Elizabeth Ashley was hired as Dr. Glaser’s therapist, Peter. Last but certainly not least, Maria Conchita Alonso joined the cast as Alva, Loew’s secretary, and constant victim to his rants throughout the film.Vampire’s Kiss

begins with Peter Loew, a successful but eccentric literary agent living in New York City. He works during the day and goes club hopping at night to find one-night stands. He also drinks alcohol and uses cocaine. He also talks to a therapist about his declining mental state every week. He meets Rachel one night and brings her to his apartment. But this one-night affair is different. Rachel bites his neck. Peter begins to act strangely and wear sunglasses inside buildings. Peter also begins to fear daylight.

At work, Peter tortures Alva, his secretary. He makes her search through a huge file to find a contract. Peter then goes to her house to bring her to work, where he unleashes his violent behavior and attempts to rape Alva in the process. Peter then goes to her house to bring her into work, where he unloads his violent behavior and attempts to rape Alva in the process.Rachel visits Peter’s apartment nightly to bite his neck and suck his blood and his mental state deteriorates even further. He begins to gagging uncontrollably and eats a bird. He is convinced that he is becoming a vampire. He wears his fangs in a club and starts to seduce women. He grabs too hard and the woman slaps at him. Peter then bites her neck using his real teeth after removing his fangs. He leaves her unconscious and bleeding. Peter begins to profess love to Rachel when he sees her on the dancefloor. Peter has lost his mind. He is now wandering around New York, talking to himself, and having a hallucinatory conversation with his therapist. Emilio, Alva’s brother, follows him to his apartment and breaks in. Emilio takes the piece of wood from Peter, who was walking around New York with it, and pushes it down into Peter’s chest killing him.

Production took place in fall of 1987 around New York City. The film was shot in a few weeks. Robert Bierman, the director, described the shoot from beginning to finish as chaotic. The cinematographer Stefan Czapsky and Bierman used a distinct visual style to capture the surreal and dark mood of the film. The use of stark colors, unconventional camera angles, and bold lighting helped to convey Peter’s deteriorating state of mind. The film cost around $2 million. The producers were trying to save money in any way possible. Office scenes were filmed for free at an empty government building. Cage and Beals did not get along on set. This was mainly because she was hired to play Rachel. Cage, in a fit of rage, demanded that the part go to Patricia Arquette, his then-girlfriend. Nic wanted to be turned on in their scenes so he asked that hot yogurt be poured over his feet while he did a love scene. There are many disturbing and strange scenes in

Vampire Kiss.

The scene where Peter recites the alphabet is the first. This scene is not just infamous, but what most people remember about this film. Nic bellows out the alphabet and performs increasingly frantic gestures to accompany each syllable. Elizabeth Ashley, who filmed the scene with Nic, said that it was not random. Cage has said that the scene is very choreographed. Every one of those movements was thought out with my cat in my hotel room.”

Another shot involves Nic eating a cockroach. This is the only scene in the script that was not included. He chews on a live roach like a madman. This scene originally called on Mr. Cage eating a raw egg. However, he decided that it would be more shocking and effective to eat an actual roach. The crew did not want Cage getting sick, so they consulted a doctor. The doctor told Nic to drink whiskey immediately after the scene was shot. The director made Nic run around Manhattan scaring people, talking to himself and shouting, “I am a Vampire,” repeatedly. The public didn’t know Cage at the time because

Moonstruck had not yet hit theaters. He would ask people to drive a stake in his heart with a piece wood, as seen in the film. You can see genuine fear in their eyes because they didn’t know they were being filmed. Bierman said that they shot these scenes using long lenses, and then set up a camera on the other side of the street to film Nic. It was the director who had him jump onto the desk to confront Alva. Bierman said that for the movie to flow Nic’s character needed to constantly change and never let the audiences know what was going to happen next. The producers were shocked and couldn’t believe he did it. Bierman defended him, saying that the accent was chosen so that Peter would not be played in a straightforward manner and be disliked and unwatchable. You can even say Keanu Reeves adopted this accent for his role in

Bram Stoker’s Dracula…

just not the charisma.After production wrapped, the film was shelved by its distributor, Hemdale Film Corporation, for 18 months. Vampire’s Kiss

was released on June 2, 1990. Unfortunately, it was released in the same year as Batman,

, which made his way to theaters on June 23, 1989. The film was a flop, with a final box office of around $725,000. The majority of audiences did not rush to the theaters to watch it. The critics were not too complimentary either. Variety wrote, “Cage’s over-the-top performance generates little sympathy for the character, so it’s tough to be interested in him as the personality disorder worsens.”Vampire’s Kiss released on home video, from HBO and Hemdale, in August of 1990. MGM released it on DVD in August 2002. Scream Factory released it on Bluray in February 2015, with a great audio comment from Bierman and Cage about the behind-the-scenes of the film. Its latest release was in 2022 from MVD Rewind Collection with an almost identical video and audio transfer as well as similar bonus features from Shout Factory’s release.

After this film was released to the masses, Nicolas Cage would go on and change cinema by crafting offbeat and over the top characters. Since then, Cage has worked with some the best directors in Hollywood, including Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott. He’s also worked with Joel Schumacher, Michael Bay, Spike Jonze, and Jon Turteltaub. In 2023, he even played the role of Dracula in the very underrated gory horror comedy,

Renfield.Over the last 10-15 years, this film has gained cult status because of Cage’s over the top performance and its memes have brought a new life to it online. Its dark humor and absurdity appeal to fans of unconventional and offbeat cinema. Cage said in a GQ interview that this was his favourite role. It’s a movie that provokes strong and polarizing responses from its viewers, and defies easy classification. Vampire’s Kiss

is praised for its uniqueness and distinctiveness. It has been revisited by its newfound audience and reapplauded. Below are a few of the previous episodes from WTF happened to This Horror Movie. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A1l6TyK3xohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAzQ3vyJ45o

Entertainment - Media News Watch originally published at Entertainment - Media News Watch