jerronspencer Oh, the stink of a really bad movie just won't wash off. Gary Busy must have owed someone a favor. Why else would he make this, um, film.****SPOILER****When a mercenary is turned into a vampire, his lust for blood drives him to kill those closest to him. This is after he walks in the daylight, grows absurdly long hair and leaves a tome on vampire lore for his former commander. I know, I know–where's Gary? Well, he's telling this story, which is a flashback to events that took place ten years earlier. Gee, isn't that a compelling tale? Anyway, the former commander kills his vampiric buddy and just fades into the background. Then the story ends with a supposedly blind Busey pulling off his shades, revealing himself to be a vampire. One that can walk in the day, has absurdly tall hair and knows all about vampire lore. Hmm? Decent cinematography, shot on digital, good music–the rest is crap. This is a film to be avoided, unless you just have to watch vampire flicks. And if so, just remember that you were warned. Sniff. Do you smell that?

coyote13 you'll probably pass on seeing this movie, as I nearly did. That may be a mistake. This is not a bad movie. It's not perfect (what is?), and it's definitely low budget with some so-so acting. But it does what it sets out to do, and my be the only movie to draw parallels between vampirism and post traumatic stress syndrome. Charles Lister as Nat, who goes from human to vamp in the course of this does an excellent job. The direction, staging, and composition of many of the shots are also above par, with careful thought given to them. It does have too many locations, but the jumps are easily followed by anyone who's half awake. Not a standard "vampire horror movie" (what exactly is that, any way?) by any means, but an interesting juxtaposition of vampires and war--a worthwhile addition to that small category (see also Lost Platoon, Deathdream, and Ghost Brigade for an instant vampire/war movie fest). If you're looking for something different, give Frost a try.

Theo Robertson I think there`s a straight to video film called OCTOPUS which spends the first half of its running time being an action packed thriller ( Or meekly tries to ) then all of a sudden turns into a horror movie about a giant octopus . Well it`s the same with PORTRAIT OF A VAMPIRE which opens with a very brief scene with a Jerry Springer lookalike examining a body drained of blood then the film flashes back to Afghanistan in August 1989 ( Hadn`t the red army pulled out of there before then ? )which resembles the Nex Mexico desert . Not very convincing but it gets worse as we`re treated to a battle scene featuring CGI helicopters . How do I know they`re CGI ? Well it`s so obvious it`s impossible not to notice . It`s also impossible not to notice the pathetic standard of acting either and it`s at this point the script decides to meet the production`s dismal standards as it bores us ( No spoilers because you can see it coming a mile away ) with double and triple crosses in Mexico a year later . It`s at this point you find yourself asking what have I got to do to get an equity card ? , or how come film companies turn my scripts down when they finance crap like this ? and most importantly if this movie is called PORTRAIT OF A VAMPIRE then shouldn`t it be a horror film and not a crap action thriller similar to something Cannon used to produce in the mid 1980s ? It does turn into a horror movie about halfway through but the horror aspects are as badly done as the action adventure bits . I was going to feel sorry for Gary Busey appearing in this but it`s not like someone stuck a gun to head and made him do it . If you decide to appear in a film like this it`s your own fault and you deserve no sympathy So just to sum up if you enjoy horror films you won`t want to see this because it`s not a horror film , it`s a horrible film . And if you enjoy action films you won`t want to see it either due to the laughable production values

DeadSalesman Well where do i start?Frankly i wish i didnt have to, but i caught a bit of this film the other night, and feel that i have to share it with others, in the vain hope of realeasing the burden put upon me for having seen it!I wont take long, but i will take long enough to mention the fact that Gary Busey looks like he belongs in a nursing home, and the so-called 'good guy' is some bear-like manakin, with the acting prowess of a slice of carrot cake. Also, the mere fact that he wears a pair of 1980's brown-tint pilot glasses throughout the entirety of the film made it almost unbearable to watch, in retrospect.The CGI employed in this film was clearly put together on a Sinclair Spectrum, and the only person it seems to fool, is bear-man, who probably cant see it, because even whilst searching almost pitch-black sewer areas, he STILL keeps his shades on, and expects me to believe that he is going to find his way in complete darkness, with the aid of a AA pocket maglite.The script is laughable and was probably written on toilet paper, to spare budget, seeing as this film was clearly made after the sale of a small selection of second hand shoes, which just about covered Busey's costs, to 'act' as a blind man.God, i cant even continue, i have to stop myself right here. Its that bad.