Literature

• I Am Legend
• Let the Right One In

Films

• Black Blood Brothers

I Am Legend

"I Am Legend" - these words rise to different (usually totally opposite) emotions in people with who I'm talking. Why it's like that? Hmm... - usually for those people this title is associated with a movie, which was produced in 2007, and which is... average.

I don't want to write here about movie, because in my opinion it's very, very low. Same film can be good, maybe very good but when we look on a book (on which it is based) we come to conclusion that we have read totally different book (because it is like that, book is totally different than the movie).

It's why I'm saying few words about this - movie is good, but only as a typical movie - when we think about it like about interpretation of a book - it is falling in it's task.

I will allow myself to quote myself from a talk, which I presented and in which I said something about this book and movie:

"The only thing which book and film have in common is the fact that the main character is alone on the Earth and he dies at the end."

Perhaps it's a bit brutal summary but in some area it's true and accurate. I don't want to spoil book / movie too much, so I won't write much about that. Please (people who read the book) - don't write what it's incorrect in my opinion because I know very well that it's not exactly true.

I intend to write a film review separately... with such genious book I think that the comparison is a good idea. Until then, let's back to the book which yes - it is brilliant.

Authors name of the 'Legend' is Richard Matheson about what I didn't write at the beggining, the book is a classic, good horror.

The story presented in the book takes place in 1976, the main character - Robert Neville - is the last man on Earth. What happened to the rest of people? Well... plague has struck mankind, which in a very short time was everywhere on the globe and changed people into vampires.

Robert doesn't have idea why his body is resistant to infection, he is focused on how to survive.

The vampires in the novel are very close to that who we all know from stereotypes. They are afraid of garlic, they avoid sacred symbols - sun is deadly for them.

Every day is based on a schedule... Robert is getting up and literally 'collect' dead vampires from his garden (those who couldn't live longer without blood). He take them 'somewhere' and burn them. Then he starts repairing his 'bunker-house'. Then he go for some food supplements for next few days, he prepare and hang some garlic around the house, etc.

In contrast to the movie, in book Robert is totally alone - he doesn't have any dog, who could be always next to him from the very beginning. Another difference  on the occasion of which I would like to mention is the appearance of vampires - in the film they are deformed and usually just ugly - in novel, infected person weren't physically changed.

But, what I want to say... vampires were attacking Robert house every night (in the film they didn't event knew where was his flat... forgive me! I won't grumble any longer), but they couldn't reach even walls of his house because of the garlic - so they were just throwing stones and scream his name. Women, however, simple get naked and starts to show themselfs in diffrent positions just to force our hero to go outside.

This is a fairly important issue in the book - deals with human weakness with which Robert had to fight all the time - in this case it comes to sexual urge.

This is not the end of the weakness of our main character - he is lives on the edge of insanity, he can't cope with the situation in which he is. The whole time he is motivating himself just to surrender again, again and again. He regularly melts his despair in alcohol... this list could be being written for a long time. Matheson deal very well with the presentation of longing and loneliness of the last man on Earth. Who wasn't created for another, powerful super hero but he chose just a simple person, who isn't perfect and who have many, different we weaknesses.

The main plot in the book beyond the survival... is killing vampires. During the day Robert walks in the abandoned buildings and kill the sleeping vampires. After some time, he makes some kind of list on which he writes some characteristics of the vampires. He makes two sections, one for the things which can be scientifically explained and the second one - which still remain a myth for him. I must admit that this theme (?) is awesome idea in my opinion and I really love this section of the book. 

Subsequent applications, conjecture - even the experiments, why some vampire are walking backward when they see a holy cross and others not? Why they are afraid of garlic? And what with flowing water? Will they be afraid of it also?  Like it is written in legends? These and similar questions (and answers!) are in this book.

There is also a series of comics. I want to write separate notes about movie and those comics, and also compare the film with a book because sometimes some people just watch the film and often come to conclusion that this must be a similar story to the book.

What in my opinion is a offense, according to the book.

Black Blood Brothers

Director: Hiroaki Yoshikawa

Release: 2006

I don't know why it's like that but for now I'm writing a lot about anime (although I wrote that I'll concentrate on books). Ech... nvmd. Let's say the reason is my free time (or that I don't have any). It's definitely easier to write something about movie / anime which I saw in near / far past than trying to remember the atmosphere in book and write something important about it.

It's why we prefer books than movies, right? :)

Black Blood Brothers it's another anime TV Series (it has 12 episodes) which is connected with vampires (more or less). Of course BBB have more than less connections because main characters are two vampires (who are brothers): Jiro Mochizuki (a.k.a. Silver Blade) and Kotaro.

Jiro is an old and powerful vampire, he is strong enough to use for example telekineze. Kotaro is a some kind of contrast to his older brother. He is 'newborn', he doesn't have any special abilities (probably yet, but check it yourself ;)).

Why I decided to write sth about BBB (except the fact that there are vampires)? It's a siblings story - story of two brothers, vampires. I'm not sure if it's only me who notes such things so strongly but one of the most important 'sides' of this anime is brotherly love recital. This anime is full of such moments, when we can see (or even feel) how strong connection is between main characters and what they can sacrafice for each other.

Straight after I finished whole episodes (I watched it during one night) and I wanted to show it (and watch again) with my younger brother. Sadly he is so scared with vampiric topic that he refused me (although I can't remember any brutal / bloody scenes - I belive it isn't the idea of BBB).

We can find here some nice, vampiric details. For example how (in authors vision) will react vampire in contact with sunlight (yeah, it isn't anything new but belive me that it is very funny to see an old, respected vampire with umbrella). Or what will happens when old vampire (like Jiro) will jump into the water.

I recommend it mainly due to brotherly love, the way how it's presented in this anime. There are moments when You can become moved (or maybe it was just one of those days (nights)).

IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0878230/

Let the Right One In

"Let the right one in" is a book which was written by swedish writer John Ajvide. It presents us a story of two kids - Eli and Oscar.

Oscar is twelve years old boy, who is living alone with mother in Stockholm. He is being bulled all the time by people in his live. Because of his shyness and low self-opinion he can't do anything with his life to make it better. He is living with mother, but she doesn't know anything about son's problems - Oskar is lonely in his world. Day after day he spends his free time on his own hobby, but he lives alone - he doesn't have any friends, he have nobody. 

One day two new 'people': older man - Hakan, and young girl - Eli starts to live in a flat next to Oscar. Girl starts her relationship with Oscar, they are meeting at the playground on they settlement. But Eli isn't the same creature as Oscar - what Oscar is going to discover in near future...

"Let the right one in" is a book about friendship and love - it is some kind of comparison of two worlds, men - so well known to us and the second one, vampiric - about which people doesn't know much. Everything is presented to us from the children points of view, who have usually characteristic way of thinking.

It's difficult to decide what is the genre of this book... it is horror for sure (sometimes) but it's also drama and psychological novel. It's a story of love between two kids - so different to each other - what makes this book so special.

In 2008, Tomas Alfredson made a movie which shows us this story, You can read a review about it on a Taliesins blog exactly here.

To be honest I'm really shocked with this movie. It has wonderful atmosphere, both bohaters (Eli and Oscar) were choosed right and played on really high level. The plot is really close to the book (what is very nice, but remember that we all know that it's impossible to put into the movie whole book).

I really recommend this book and movie.

IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/

Blood: the Last Vampire

Director: Chris Nahon

Release: 2009 (july)

Do You remember manga / anime called Blood+? Or maybe animated movie Blood: The Last Vampire?

There is being made a movie, which is going to show us history of main character from the blood series - a girl named - Saya Otonashi.

I just want to recall that Saya is a half-blood vampire (she doesn't remember her past), who's blood is deadly in contact with Chiropterans (monsters which need human blood to live, vampires). Equipped in characteristic for her sword (katana), Saya is chasing monsters on whole world and trying to find a way to discover her past. 

On the net there is available a trailer of this movie, which I'm giving You below.

IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0806027/

First...

...post. Exactly - this is my first note in this place and I think it's right to write something about it.

Idea of this place is to keep some informations about vampire things. I don't want to limit myself to one kind of stuff, for example movies. There isn't nothing wrong in it but there is enough good sites about it (I recommend my friend blog called "Taliesin meets the vampires", link is available on the right)  but on the other hand every new opinion can be interesting - uch, we'll see.

I'm interested in vampires since I remember and it's strong enough to call it my passion - something what is more important than any other hobby.

Who I am? Hmm...

"I closed my eyes and heard the wind and the sound of water flowing softly, swiftly in the river. It was enough, for one moment. And I knew that it would not endure, that it would fly away from me like something torn out of my arms, and I would By after it, more desperately lonely than any creature under God, to get it back."

Moments are making bigger moments, and that bigger moments - even bigger, as long as our whole life is closed in one, big moment.

Sens of this quote is still this same... it doesn't matter how big this moment is - that's who I am.