This is what happens when the Greenwich Village crowd tries to remake and rewrite a classic. The B&W adds a nostalgic touch, but even Peter Fonda, or the lesbian love scene, can't save this one from the bottom of the heap. The ONLY redeeming quality the film has, is that it is a Non-Christmas Christmas movie and makes one of my lists, albeit it's now the last place movie of that list.

Entertaining art house remake of vampire classics. The use of 90s NY video artists favorite low res video cassette tape recorder is funny and quite effective in conveying that retro undead vibe when in contrast with sharp b&w film footage. The soundtrack has not aged well though and spoils the otherwise timeless atmosphere. A bit slow in the middle but then again it is also quite common for the templated originals. But it also has Peter Fonda as a bicycling Van Helsing in a scene romanticising the menstrual cycle so there is that.

The movie begins, and "Soon" by My Bloody Valentine plays. At that point, I knew I was going to like this. While _Nadja_ has some parts that drag, overall it's pretty good. What worked for me about the film is that it feels like a modern day _Dracula's Daughter_ (1936). The similarities aren't superficial, either: Nadja is a Dracula - so, in that sense, she is literally Dracula's daughter - we get a Van Helsing, and a Renfield, not to mention a Lucy - her last name is never said, but it may as well be Westenra. We even get a quick shot of Lugosi from _White Zombie_ (1932) - oddly enough, one of the few films where Bela did not play a vampire. All that aside, this is less a horror movie and more of an indie drama. The movie is shot in beautiful black and white; a mistake, I feel, is that at times it dives into an ultra-gritty, soft-focus look; those are the moments that will lose many people. There is also a heavy reliance on the music, to the degree that it feels more like a music video, and less a feature film - although, seeing as how twice the music choice is Portishead, I can't complain. Since 1995 was the year for artsy, black and white vampire movies, I have to mention _The Addiction_; this is by far the superior film. I'd recommend this to fans of vampire movies, especially the old classics.