Midnight Anime: VAMPIRE HUNTER D & BLOODLUST @ The SMC Theater

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SECRET MOVIE CLUB presents

Part of our SEEING DOUBLE Series, Saturday, October 15, 2022

LOCATION: The Secret Movie Club Theater, 1917 Bay Street, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90021

*Please note entrance/parking is actually in the back of the building. Make a right on Wilson Street, then a right behind the building. We’re the first set of black steps after the big gate.

11:30pm VAMPIRE HUNTER D (1985, dir. Toyoo Ashida, AMC Networks, Japan, 80mns, DCP)

1am VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST (2000, dir. Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Discotek, Japan, 102mns, DCP)

This installment of our Seeing Double series finds us watching one of the greatest anime movies of all time and its equally stunning sequel (fifteen years in the making).

The interesting thing here is that artist Hideyuki Kikuchi always felt the original 1985 Vampire Hunter D (made exclusively for the then-just exploding home video market for teens and college students) was made on the cheap and actively championed for a kind of re-do with Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.

Even more interesting is that BOTH movies are classics in their own right. The first Vampire Hunter D, while potentially lacking the polish and finesse of a higher budget, nevertheless still stuns and captivates almost 40 years later with its near R-rated genre mashing eroticism, thrills, and just damn good storytelling.

In the original Vampire Hunter D, we find ourselves in a very distant future (like 8000 years distant), where the world, while bearing some resemblance to our own, has reverted to a kind of 19th century apocalyptic landscape where 10,000 year old vampires actively terrorize small towns and stealing beautiful women.

Enter our hero D, a dhampir, who is part human, part vampire, but all vampire hunter. Here D is hired by a terrified family to find a way to stop bitten daughter Doris from marrying the powerful, smug Count Lee.

What stands out about the original Vampire Hunter D is how brilliantly it mashes horror, sci fi, 19th century gothic novels, just the right hint of sexuality/eroticism, and action to create a world utterly unique and fascinating.

Fifteen years later, fans got what they had been asking for: a sequel. Now with a better budget, the much more polished Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust graced screens in 2000. Re-jiggering the original formula (so that it feels like a kind of hybrid between sequel and reboot), our favorite Dhampir D is hired to Charlotte, a noblewoman abducted by vampiric Count Baron Meier Link. But D knows how strange and tough this assignment will be and demands the reward be doubled before accepting.

Whereas the original Vampire Hunter D surprised everyone with its strong narrative spine, Bloodlust leans into surrealist visuals, stunning set pieces, and horrific moments. D is a fascinating semi-tragic anti-hero and Bloodlust fully explores his struggles.

So join us for some Halloween anime delight. And see double!

Best always,

Craig Hammill

Secret Movie Club Founder.Programmer

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

REFUNDS:

We can offer refunds up to 24 hours before showtime. Please request a refund through Eventbrite and we will process ASAP. After that, no refunds. Sorry.

However if something last minute comes up and you can’t make the screening, for whatever reason, just write to us before showtime: [email protected] and we’ll offer you complimentary tickets to a future screening, good for 90 days. (Disclaimer: Future screening must have available tickets, cannot be a fundraiser, and must be comparably priced)

HELPFUL SECRET MOVIE CLUB (1917 Bay Street, 2nd Floor, LA, CA 90021) THEATER PARKING TIPS:

We recommend that you park just outside our theater. Remember our theater is actually in a beautiful street art alleyway in the back of the 1917 Bay Street building. You get to our entrance by taking a right on Wilson, then a right behind the building. We are the first set of black steps on the right after the big gate.

There is also a parking lot at the corner of Mateo and Violet Street, just 2 blocks from our theater, which costs $7 per car.

HOW CAN WE STAY ON TOP OF NEWLY ANNOUNCED 35MM SCREENINGS, EVENTS, ETC?

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HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU IF I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS:

You can always email us at [email protected] with any other questions, concerns, thoughts, recommendations.

Event Host

Secret Movie Club