Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Tale of a Vampire

Play trailer Poster for Tale of a Vampire R 1992 1h 33m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
Tomatometer 1 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Having lost his true love in the 19th century, vampire Alex (Julian Sands) is lonely. In the present, Alex spends his time working on a thesis about religious martyrs, only preying on animals and lowlifes for blood. His days of library research are brightened by Anne (Suzanna Hamilton), a new librarian with a striking resemblance to his old flame. The pair are drawn to each other, unaware that they have been brought together by Alex's old rival, Edgar (Kenneth Cranham), for sinister ends.

Where to Watch

Tale of a Vampire

Critics Reviews

View All (1) Critics Reviews
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Fangoria Sato's debut feature remains an intriguing slice of retro gothic camp. May 5, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (38) audience reviews
Solomon K Artsy, creepy and tragically beautiful vampire story. It can be slow at times but Julian Sands makes it worth it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/24/24 Full Review Audience Member As a vampire film aficionado, I have to say I really appreciated this one. No stupid breakneck, superhero pace, which is really what the genre should be. It's dark, artistic and mesmerizing. I STILL love the quiet stillness of Lugosi's Dracula, so it makes me happy to see it in this film. I felt Sands (whose acting can sometimes be uncomfortable to watch, but I always do) was absolute perfection. How does he manage to be so creepy and yet so sexy at the same time? Scary and vulnerable? Freaky and sympathetic? The 'Naive' script worked well for him, but left the other actors looking a bit wooden. Regardless, Sands carries it to the level of one of the loveliest vamp flicks. It was also kinda cool to see a heroine that looks pretty much like a normal person. By the way, Sands has managed to play a number of scary characters, including werewolf and warlock (and psycho and amputator). He's should definitely be in the horror hall of fame. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member (***): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member I have always loved gothic English films and this is one of them. Yes, the movie is slow paced but I enjoyed the atmosphere and the relationship between Alex and Anne/Virginia. Julian Sands always brings his unique acting abilities to any character he plays and this is one of them. This is one of the first movies that I saw Suzanna Hamilton in and I absolutely love her. She has a uniqueness about her that makes her stand out and she is fantastic with playing characters with great emotion. The simplicity of the story made it all the more enjoyable. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member At times ridiculous art house vampire film that occasionally ventures into "Angel" backstory territory. I would recommend people watch "The Wisdom of Crocodiles" instead if they wanted a much better albeit similar plotted art house vampire film. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member This was better than I thought it would be. Definitely not the typical vampire movie. It is a bit slow, and there is a tragic element to its love story. I did not rate it higher mostly for the slow pace, and I did wish the ending had been different. An additional appeal to me, as a librarian, were the scenes in the library. I would not mind working in a place like that. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Tale of a Vampire

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Having lost his true love in the 19th century, vampire Alex (Julian Sands) is lonely. In the present, Alex spends his time working on a thesis about religious martyrs, only preying on animals and lowlifes for blood. His days of library research are brightened by Anne (Suzanna Hamilton), a new librarian with a striking resemblance to his old flame. The pair are drawn to each other, unaware that they have been brought together by Alex's old rival, Edgar (Kenneth Cranham), for sinister ends.
Director
Shimako Sato
Producer
Simon Johnson
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 1, 2016
Runtime
1h 33m
Sound Mix
Stereo
Most Popular at Home Now