To Sleep with a Vampire (1992) User Reviews

To Sleep with a Vampire: Better than I expected

[Platypuschow · 5/10 · 18 August 2018]

To Sleep with a Vampire is an early 90's vampire movie (Of which there were many around that time) that honestly looks dated and within quarter of an hour I already had concerns.

It tells the story of a deeply confused vampire who kidnaps a young stripper. He intends to kill her by morning but before that wants her to explain to him about life and all the things he's missing due to being a member of the undead.

Labelled a romantic horror I can confidently say the romance is very poorly handled and honestly should be dismissed altogether. This is to romance what John Wick (2014) is to intelligent cinema.

It does have it's moments to it's credit and though our lead male is as intimidating as Pee Wee Herman our lead female is fantastic and I'm shocked she didn't have a considerably better career.

A passable affair for lovers of vampire cinema and cheesy 90's b-movies.

The Good:

Interesting premise for the most part

Charlie Spradling

The Bad:

Feels dated

Plot ultimately is pretty dumb

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I have never introduced myself to a milkshake

Vampires cannot transform into bats, wolves or mist they can however turn into badly cgi made lightbulbs

a stripper has a one-nighter with a vampire; weak on dialog, which was important

[FieCrier · 4/10 · 18 June 2005]

Almost a two-person play, and as such the dialog and the performances of the leads will be important. Neither are particularly good. This might have been stronger, in fact, if it had first been crafted as a two-person play, and then worked into a film.

Anyway, a twitchy vampire who seems slightly autistic becomes infatuated with a stripper (as a result of watching too much porn in his crappy home). He wants to have her tell him about the daylight. He would have been better off finding someone with a day job, or someone who excels at painting a picture with words like a poet, but then they might not have a hot bod.

After he gets her to do whatever he wants (and he's not terribly good at it), he intends to feed on her at 6 AM, at which point the sun rises. Much is made of that deadline, despite the fact that he also says that he can go without feeding, it will just make him hungrier. Additionally, he claims he can't let the stripper go, since she knows about him, but he lets a number of other people go who learn what he is. There are a lot of inconsistencies.

Why this vampire chooses to live in a house so poorly boarded up that light from streetlamps and neighboring buildings pours in as if it were daytime, I'm not sure. With all the time in the world, you'd think he'd have done a better job, or fixed the place up a bit. He's clearly not a wealthy vampire.

This is supposedly a remake, and I'm curious to see the original version of this, Dance of the Damned. Although, that was directed by Katt Shea, and the other films she directed for Corman (Stripped to Kill, StK II) were pretty bad.

TWO DRINK MINIMUM

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 23 June 2019]

Jacob (Scott Valentine) is a vampire who feeds infrequently. He goes into a strip club and selects Nina (Charlie Spradling) a suicidal stripper as his next victim. They spend the evening together and

A slight twist at the end. But it was boringly executed. Jacob was a very dry character and Nina was not convincing.

F-bomb, sex, nudity (Charlie Spradling, Ingrid Vold, Stephanie Hardy)

Better than some...

[coulter · 9 March 2001]

I found this movie to be a refreshing look at vampiric lore. Of course the dialogue lacked the needed gripping storyline but the actors did fairly well with that. Scott Valentine didn't portray the vampire as I would have however it is a low budget film and the director may have wanted a detached almost oblivious vampire who becomes abusive when he loses control. Charlie did well I thought. In fact I would like to see her perform more roles similar to this one. Being a tortured soul in search of answers and truth. Perhaps a part two to this film where she gives birth to Jacobs child. Or perhaps she drained Jacon or brought Jacob back from death. At least this movie didn't fake a larger than life storyline above the supernatural existence of vampires. And given the low budget the cinematographers did a helluva job as well. All in all I was entertained for 81 min at 3am. Cudos to the folks that participated.

Charlie, the only redeemable aspect!

[kipper-2 · 2/10 · 24 December 1998]

To be honest, i'm surprised by the positive votes that this film has received. The movie just drags along its 81 minute life span, and the audience has to suffer the whole way through. Actually there are some positive moments in this film; Charlie Spradling gives a decent performance. She is given some pretty pathetic dialogue and she handles it pretty well. Scott Valentine(Merrideth's boyfriend in Family Ties), on the other hand, is a pretty rough watch. I guess the highlight of his performance is witnessing the guy laying on the beach wearing tiger-patterned chummies....give me a break. Also, Valentine gives us a boorish and pathetic portrayal of a suffering vampire who misses the day(to see a much more convincing rendition of the suffering vampire see Denice Duff in "Bloodstorm: Subspecies 4"). The movie moves so slow and is only positively punctuated by, and to be honest, Charlie Spradling's dance scenes. This movie can honestly only be recommended to the die hard fans of Charlie Spradling (which i am, and i still had a rough time watching it!).

A candidate for the lamest vampire flick ever...

[dave13-1 · 2/10 · 15 April 2012]

Folks, this dog makes Twilight look like Wuthering Heights! The low (one might say picayune) budget is a handicap, but one that better plotting and scripting, plus some actual suspense or more convincing action might have overcome. That did not happen. Lead actress Charlie Spradling is surprisingly charismatic as an exotic dancer with a dark side, but Scott Valentine lacks the depth of personality to be convincing as a Lord of the Undead. He can't manage to look menacing, or predatory, or even really all that hungry. He's Vamp Lite, the vampire with not much substance. Anyway, he picks her up at the bar she works in and they, um, hang out until dawn. Nothing much happens, no great insights are revealed about the world of vamps (or humanity for that matter), and the ending when it comes is a yawner. This one strictly for viewers who want to see B-movie veteran Spradling topless. Otherwise avoid.

Why ride a motorbike when you can teleport?

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 3 October 2021]

Suicidal L. A. stripper Nina (Charlie Spradling) does sleep with vampire Jacob (Scott Valentine), but the film should have been called To Speak With A Vampire, because she spends a lot more time chinwagging with the bloodsucker, who wants her to tell him what it is like to be human before he drains her of her blood (thereby fulfilling her death wish). Alternatively, it could be titled To Snooze WIth A Vampire, because all of that talking sure is dull, making it hard for the viewer to stay awake.

Of course, the fact that the very lovely Spradling plays a stripper is reason enough to check this one out, the actress showing an awful lot of skin as she performs at a skid row strip bar (with a remarkably high standard in performers) and, towards the end of the film, partakes in a spot of undead nookie. It's just a shame that her ample charms weren't put to good use in a better film than this one: To Sleep With A Vampire, a remake of Katt Shea's Dance of the Damned, is, for the most part, tiresome, pretentious, emo-romantic goth twaddle, its emotionally trouble characters coming together to share their feelings, sunbathe in the moonlight (sounds like an oxymoron, but it's what they do), and swop bodily fluids. Yawn.

4/10 for Spradling, but that's being generous.

"Do you converse with a hamburger before you eat it?" I thought it was pretty good.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 25 February 2006]

To Sleep with a Vampire tells the tale of a Vampire named Jacob (Scott Valentine) living in present day Los Angeles who prowls the night & feeds on human blood. A stripper named Nina (Charlie Spradling) is about to go home when Jacob ask's if they can spend the night together & talk, after a bit of persuasion Nina agrees, like a woman on her own would. Jacob takes Nina back to his house where he reveals that he is a Vampire, a Vampire who feeds on the blood of suicidal people so in a strange way he thinks he isn't doing anything wrong. Since Nina has a load of personal problems & had tried to commit suicide earlier in the night she realises why he chose her. As dawn fast approaches Nina knows that either herself or Jacob will be dead soon, as they talk & discuss things it seems all Jacob wants to know is what the sunlight feels like as it is fatal to his kind & he has never felt it on his skin...

Directed by Adam Friedman I have to admit, contrary to the popular opinion it seems, I rather liked To Sleep with a Vampire. I was going to say that it's a pretty original film but apparently To Sleep with a Vampire is a remake of a film called Dance of the Damned (1988) which I have to say I've never seen or even heard of before so I can't compare the two. The script by Patricia Harrington is a little slow & is basically a two character story, no-one else really matters. I liked the concept, I though the dialogue was good good at times but bland & stiff at other's. Forget about any tradition Vampire film-lore, there are no crosses, no coffins, no bats, no neck biting, no garlic, no Vampire hunters, no legions of the undead & the only two Vampire characteristics that make it into To Sleep with a Vampire are fangs & that sunlight kills them. I found it quite entertaining, I liked both Jacob & Nina, I thought it was unusual & did just about enough to stop me from getting bored. I also liked the ending, it comes as no great surprise but I thought it was well done & I actually felt for Jacob & Nina, don't get me wrong you won't be crying into your popcorn or anything like that but I felt for them on a basic level.

Director Friedman has a strange set of credits to his name, most of his work previous & since seems to be comprised of Playboy porno videos & a made-for-TV John Travolta biography! Anyway, he does a good job here considering, it's competent & has some nice lighting although why on Earth did he feel the need to have Jacob 'see' in black and white? Is there a sensible reason as to why a Vampire would see in black and white? Forget about any gore as not one drop of blood is spilt until the very end where someone gets a cut arm. To Sleep with a Vampire would have been a PG rated film all day long if not for the sex & nudity including some cool strip dance routines.

Technically the film is good & has a nice feel about it, it's well made throughout & probably looks better than it's low budget suggests. The acting is variable, sometimes it's good while at other's it's not so good. Leading lady Spradling does a pretty good job overall & I thought she was quite sexy in it.

To Sleep with a Vampire surprised me, I liked it. Thinking about it I probably shouldn't have, it's slow, it has no blood or gore & is almost entirely dialogue & character driven but there was something there that I just found likable & watchable. It's certainly a bit different which helps a lot & I liked the whole concept & what the film was trying to do. I think it's well worth a watch & you could do a lot worse, low budget maestro Roger Corman acted as executive producer.

Watch this to see Charlie Spradling!

[kchiefs1 · 2/10 · 10 February 2021]

Charlie Spradling is the best thing about this movie. If you are a fan of hers(I am!) by all means watch it but if not? Skip it.

I would have watched it or given it 2 stars without Charlie.

Atmospheric Gem

[edward-149 · 7/10 · 25 February 2006]

Much of the dialogue is horribly clichéd in this film, which is a shame, but the atmosphere set up from the beginning is well worth sitting through it - reminiscent of the Blade Runner city, I would say. Also, the character of Jacob, while playing the stereotypical, lonely vampire, is refreshing in that he portrays an impoverished psychopath (and not the European nobleman done to death in everything from Dracula to Anne Rice), mad from loneliness but still homicidal; we really experience his inability to endure, but unlike Louis of Interview with a Vampire, his mystically demonic nature does not permit him to develop a conscience. It does pale a bit as it progresses, and this film could not be enjoyed in the daytime, but seen in the early hours perhaps, or the very late, its atmosphere is well worthy of the 7 stars I've given it.

Charlie Spradling is the only redeeming feature

[Al-148 · 3/10 · 5 July 1999]

This movie features Charlie Spradling dancing in a strip club. Beyond that, it features a truly bad script with dull, unrealistic dialogue. That it got as many positive votes suggests some people may be joking.

Vampire Tale With Bite

[bevashwick · 10/10 · 8 November 2001]

This film provides an intelligent and entertaining twist to the vampire genre. Even the low-budget constraints (e.g., the strip club scenes) seem fresh. They serve the story without losing their intrinsic prurient interest. There are, to quote my buddy Carl, some "way cool action scenes where the vampire dude beats the crap outta these other dudes." Combined with the scenes in the vampire's lair, the power of the vampire is revealed with a verisimilitude that makes it easy to suspend disbelief. From start to finish, this vampire film sucks you in.

Vampire in need of a shrink

[johnny-handsome-891-1130 · 1/10 · 15 February 2014]

To sleep with a vampire. *****Warning Spoilers***** God what an awful movie this is. I know Charlie never gonna get an Oscar part but this was juts down right boring Scott valentine can't act (he never could) He basically walk around in the room, a lot of the movie take part in a one room apartment) being all moody. The script doesn't make much sense either. He picks up a depressed stripper cause he can feel she got a death wish. She comes with him back to he's apartment ( "Cause deep down, all strippers love to date their customers right") Than he tells her, that she will tell him all about what its like being out in the daylight, and that he's gonna kill her afterwards when the daylight comes at six (only problem is: you can see daylight seeping trough the boarded up windows, the whole time they are in the apartment. some scenes it even shines him right in the face, and he don't react) As she point out her self if you wanna know about being out in the daylight, why kidnap someone who works at night There is no on screen chemistry between the actors. If it wasn't cause you know both are actors you would think they had picked two strangers right of the street

Oh did I forget the cheese lines? "I can't stop the sound of your heartbeat; I can hear the blood in your veins" Seriously who, comes up with this garbage? The pathetic dialog is so bad it makes you cringe, and for a vampire movie it moves to slow paced I know all actors gotta make a living somehow, but this gotta be Charlie's worst gig up till now, It's even worse than Meridan. Scott Valentine's performance makes David Boreanaz; Angel looks Oscar worthy. Even James Marsters does a better performance as a vampire, and he had to bleach he's hair and speak with a British accent.

This is a remake of another good vampire movie

[incubustl · 22 February 2003]

This movie is a remake of the movie "Dance of the Damned," which came out a mere 5 years prior, only this one is available on DVD. Both movies are about a vampire who is hiding his desire (not very well, mind you) to be human (to feel the sun, to be close to others, to end his hunger for blood), who must feed tonight. He chooses an at-the-end-of-her-rope stripper as his teacher/meal, due to a dark, suicidal quality he senses in her soul. She thus is able to act as a "bridge" between his world and that of a normal human, while discovering she has a lot more to live for than she thought. Overall, this is a good movie. One can tell the acting is quite scripted at times, but the overall theme doesn't suffer for it. *** out of ****

Nice vampire horror mood piece

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 21 September 2020]

Hungry, but lonely and curious vampire Jacob (a fine and credible performance by Scott Valentine) abducts troubled stripper Nina (gorgeous brunette knockout Charlie Spradling, who's excellent and affecting in a rare meaty lead role). Jacob promises to kill Nina prior to sunrise, but until then he wants her to tell him all about what being human entails.

Director Adam Freedman relates the absorbing story at a deliberate pace as well as ably crafts a low-key reflective and melancholy atmosphere. Patricia Harrington's thoughtful script offers a poignant and provocative exploration on the pros and cons of the human condition with especially good insights on the the basic human will to live and how people generally take life for granted. Valentine and Spradling both astutely nail the torment of their anguished characters. Richard Zobel contributes an amusing turn as a flaky cab driver. Michael Crain's sharp cinematography boasts some snazzy stylistic flourishes. Nigel Holton's mournful score further adds to the overall brooding tone. Recommended viewing for those seeking something different in the vampire horror genre.

it's not that bad

[stimpy-13 · 12 May 2001]

to be honest this movie wasn't that bad. for a low budget movie it was a better movie than Roger's Corman's Club Vampire that was terrible. but sleeping with a Vampire wasn't that bad true the acting could have been better an the special effects could have too. as well as the story and they should have put more into the story than they did. but all in all it's better than some Corman's movie's he's done

Set the timer on VCR

[zaur-2 · 19 October 2000]

Tape this one late at night from Showtime or Cinemax and then fast forward to the Charlie Spradling Dance\lovemaking scene towards the end. Charlie is the only redeeming quality of this flix. I wish the scene at the beach had Charlie laid out in the tiger thong instead of that lame crybaby vampire, played by that guy who played Nick, idiot boyfriend of Mallory from Family Ties. Charlie rules though, I wish she made more films.

Inexcusable ripoff of a fine film

[angelynx-2 · 15 October 2003]

There's just no excuse for this. It takes the script of "Dance of the Damned" and remakes it virtually line-for-line and scene-for-scene, with much worse actors (Charlie Spradling doesn't even approach the vulnerability and desperation of Starr Andreeff in the same role, nor is she as good a dancer), with gratuitous fight scenes pasted in and the best touches pointlessly removed, and gives the original --to which it is 90% identical-- no credit whatsoever. Shameful in the extreme.

If you like this one, you need to see the far superior original (it is available on VHS) and experience what this movie is really supposed to be. If you don't like this one, you have taste, and I imagine you've seen "Dance of the Damned" already. Good for you.

(p.s.--I applaud kipper-2 who recommends Denise Duff's performance in "Subspecies 4" as a superior portrayal of the suffering vampire. I second that recommendation and add a rave for Duff's work in ALL the Subspecies films. She is a gem.)

This has been done twice before.

[alphawolfprod · 28 October 2003]

This film has been remade three times, and original is still the best. I think it was called "Night Dance", but by far "To Sleep with a Vampire" is the worst of the three. Scott Valentine is decent, but other than his mediocre performance this Film has no redeeming qualities. What do you expect FROM A REMAKE OF A FILM THAT DIDN'T MAKE ANY MONEY FROM THE BEGINNING.

ERIC-