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14 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
An accurate depiction, more or less., 9 March 2004
Author: Tenma from South Carolina, USA

I followed the "Vampire Clan" murder story through the years, mainly because I was the same age as the teens involved in the case and also played roleplaying games like Vampire: The Masquerade. I never believed I was a real vampire or got into actual bloodsucking, cutting or what have you, but still, the case struck close to home.

As a result I can attest that this movie has done a very good job of presenting the facts of the case in reasonable detail, right down to Jennifer Wendorf's red Saturn convertible. The most obvious changes were in the characterization, which someone probably thought would make the story flow better.

Missing was Rod Ferrell's massive mane of black hair, as well as Scott's somewhat less intrusive chin-length cut. They were given standard short haircuts, which kind of detracts from the weirdness of the original case. The characters of Charity Keesee and Dana Cooper should have been played by opposite actors. The actual Dana was overweight, which could have been pulled off more easily by the round-faced Alex Breckenridge. Marina Black looks absolutely nothing like Dana Cooper (who had short, curly hair at the time,) but wouldn't have been a far cry from Charity.

As far as the personalities go, there was no indication that Scott Anderson was a fidgety, shifty, nutball-type character. He had a hellish upbringing but was normally seen as calm and collected and was mostly a good student. Rod's characterization was reasonable, but I saw Charity as a less demonic force than the movie portrayed her as. She was a generally cheery girl who was grossly misled by her love of Rod, and she took the news of the deaths pretty hard. When it came down to it, she was one of the first to break down, and it was in fact Charity that made the call to her mother, not Dana.

I found it a bit ludicrous that they showed the Lake County Sherriff (who of course wasn't actually present at the questioning in Baton Rouge) just letting Heather go after hearing her story. In real life, Heather spent several months in jail waiting on the authorities to make up their minds before they finally decided to clear her of the charges. And Jennifer and Heather had bad blood between them in the interim due to some of Jennifer's comments to the media and Heather's responses. I highly doubt that they embraced like that when they reunited.

There was also a lot more dirt on Heather that never made it to the DVD. She just barely escaped charges, and there is still some question as to how much she actually had to do with the murders. Also, I wonder how long it took for somebody to come by and swipe the pearls she left on her mother's grave.

Another IMDB user had a good point in that they missed out on some interesting plot by not involving Rod's mother Sondra Gibson in the movie. There were aspects of that mother-son relationship that would have gone far to enhance Rod's insane image. They also ignored the entire role-playing issue, but it might have been better that they did. It's not that the game makes people insane, it's that Rod was already insane to begin with, but not everyone understands that.

All in all, though, the movie was well-done, although I think it's been grossly miscategorized. This is a True Crime story, and people looking for a good Horror flick are doubtlessly going to be disappointed. Yet, that's where you'll always find the movie, mainly because it has the word "Vampire" in the title.

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9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Violent and Weird Drama Based on a True Story, 30 April 2005
7/10
Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In 1996, in Eustis, Florida, the parents of two girls are found brutally murdered at their home by the oldest daughter, Jeni Wendorf (Stacy Hogue), and the other one, Heather Ann Wendorf (Kelly Krueger), is missing. A further investigation discloses to the police that a group of Gothic deranged teenagers that worships vampires were responsible for the slaughter of the Wendorf family. The former boyfriend of Heather and also very evil and sick Roderick Justin Farrell (Drew Fuller), the leader, has killed Rick and Ruth Wendorf trying to open the gates of hell for him.

"Vampire Clan" is a violent and weird drama, based on a true story, having a well developed screenplay and characters and an excellent soundtrack. The low user rating of this movie is caused by the wrong idea of the genre that the title gives to the viewer. My family and I were expecting to see a horror movie, but it is indeed a drama. Even the genre in IMDb need to be corrected. Therefore, the target viewer is not reached, and persons that expect to see a horror movie becomes frustrated. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Clã dos Vampiros" ("The Vampire Clan")

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Surprisingly good, 28 February 2003
9/10
Author: Mercury-4 from United States

I don't know what I expected with this one, probably a cheap low-budget exploitation horror movie with a lot of gore.

I was very surprised and liked this. It is somewhat documentary in feel, but overall I thought the story flowed well. I found the mini-cult very believable and watching these people slip into it was fascinating to me.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
great film, 11 July 2005
10/10
Author: kbritchford from United Kingdom

this has got to be one of the best films i've seen in a LONG time. it's not a horror film so don't watch and expect to be hiding behind the sofa. it take you on a fascinating ride about the down spiral of a group of kids. Drew Fuller played the Psycho, brilliantly, a huge change from his role of Chris the neurotic whitelighter from charmed. I especially like the way the story is told, working from the end backwards, leaving you to try work out what happened. i really recommend you watch this! 10 out of 10, i have NEVER given a film full marks i tend to be over critical. it's defintly a low budget film but i think that's what makes it great!there's no bug effects you have to actually act, not stare at pretty colours, or nurse a very fake injury!

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Vampire Clan, 16 March 2007
8/10
Author: shaman1969 from Australia

I remember hearing about this case at the time.The case generated a lot of publicity because of its bizarre nature.It also reignited the debate about whether certain types of movies, games and music inspire real life crimes.This was because the teenagers had apparently been playing a fantasy role playing game called Vampire:The Masquerade and they took the fantasy too far.They started to actually believe that they really were vampires with special powers and they would drink each others blood.I really enjoyed the movie although their were some inaccuracies and they left out some things that I thought they shouldn't have.Like in his confession Rod Ferrell said that he beat both of Heathers parents to death with a crowbar.He beat the father to death with a crowbar but the mother was stabbed to death.I also thought they should have mentioned the role playing game.It was not mentioned once which was surprising seeing as how it was one of the main features of the case. Also I thought they should have had more about Rods relationship with his mother which was only mentioned very briefly.I thought that the acting from the main characters was excellent especially Drew Fuller who played the part of the groups psychotic leader Rod Ferrell.I love movies based on true crimes and this one is well worth checking out.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
The actual true story is more interesting to Read., 1 September 2009
3/10
Author: Skunda from United States

I found this movie lacking and above all sad. It has all the necessary elements(like the darkness and crazy teens)for a decent movie but if the SCREENPLAY is as bad as it was, then this movie is just a bunch of hot boys and girls talking to each other in scenes that last longer than my mind can keep up.

In a nutshell...screenplay bad, scenes to long that end up coming back to bore you again...Not watchable. Do Not Recommend.

By the way, I blame the bad acting on the directors and producers because I know Drew Fuller to be a decent actor. I do however recommend to read an article of the true story...far more interesting.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Vampire Clan, 18 January 2005
10/10
Author: jaredsgal6002 from Australia

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This movie shows the life of these 5 teenagers, Rod, Charity, Howard, Dana and Heather in 1996. They believe themselves to be vampires and are on there way to a meeting from New Orleans, Louisiana to Tallahasse, Florida where a big ritual will take place. Charity is pregnant with Rod's child yet is still going out with Heather. Rod invites Heather to Florida yet her parents won't let her, so Rod takes it upon himself to make it possible by murdering Mr and Mrs Wendorf with a crowbar. At first Rod and Howard wanted to steal there car yet the keys were inside the house and Rod looks for a weapon which finds to be a crowbar in the garage and enters the house and kills Mr Wendorf first while he is watching t.v while waiting for Mrs Wendorf to come downstairs. In a dispute Mrs Wendorf throws hot coffee onto Rod and he smack her across the head with the crowbar. They get the car, some money and valubles. Later on Rod confesses to Heather he murdered her parents and she brakes down cries. Towards the end of the movie they run out of money and asks Dana's mom to wire them some money but in the process the ploice track them down and arrest them and the rest is history. So it is a good movie all round and shows when people are taking things too far....

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
This movie rocks no matter what others say!, 9 August 2004
10/10
Author: (suicidaldragnfly@yahoo.com) from USA

I loved this movie! Drew Fuller has become one of my favorite actors now, all of them have. It wasn't put out to become #1, it's based on a true story. If they had added more then what they did it probably WOULD have made #1, but then people would complain about how it wasn't accurate. What more do you want? The acting was like real teenagers are, and people like those 'vampires' DO exist. Believe what you want but I will continue to love this movie no matter what the ratings are and I urge everyone to see it. The music was good and the way they told what they knew was dead-on. I give this movie a 9/10. I do see why you don't like it, because you expected more. Seen with an open mind this movie rocks!

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3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
the truth, 25 October 2006
9/10
Author: anelouise2 from Portugal

Well, vampire clan is one of my favorite movies! most people find the movie silly, but that's normal... not many people can understand a movie like vampire clan, because the people are used to a different type of vampire movies... the fake ones!! But Vampire Clan is based on a true story (as you can see if you see the film or the trailer)so is perfectly normal that not many people like this movie... there's no blood, no big teeth and no horrible faces... so is a normal movie who shows "normal" kids and their lives... that's my opinion... See the movie, think of it, try to understand and at last come here and give your opinion!!

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This film was GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, 28 July 2009
10/10
Author: ShannonCharmedone from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

If I could rate it over 10, I would. The roles were very difficult to play. Drew Fuller did an amazing job, as he's more known for his roles in Charmed and the ultimate gift. This character is much, much darker than both of those. When I first saw the film I thought, impossible. This can't be based on a true story, not that it seems fake, it's just the theme, vampires and the gore of what happened to Heather's parents. I loved the role of Rod and found him ice cool, even for a villain he was my favourite. The swearing didn't bother me at all, although I was surprised to hear the F word slip so much from Drew, as I knew him as Chris in Charmed and had to rewind the film twice before I could get it into my brain. I would recommend this film to anyone. It's an amazing story line, and it's all round fabulous to watch. Well done to the casting! You've done well.

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