For those hording toilet paper

Embrace of the Vampire (2013)

Sometimes I don’t know what to expect from a movie. I never thought I would see I Spit on Your Grave at Walmart (the original) for dvd (this never seemed like a film you would see side by side with a mainstream movie), but when I was watching Embrace of the Vampire, I certainly didn’t think I would see some erotic lesbian action. I just don’t know what else the vampire genre has to offer, to be honest. I believe I had mentioned this in Kiss of the Damned, not long ago. So we resign to just watch these films and expect the expected. Embrace of the Vampire is about seduction. These movies, vampires and erotica, often feature seduction of an “innocent”, and the blood drains and bodies moan. This scene in Embrace of the Vampire is a fantasy sequence that touches on sexual awakening and the oncoming vampirism, the convergence of seduction and the bite.

This is one of those scenes fit for titillation and will primarily appeal to softcore fans accustomed to two minute sex scenes. If it works I guess depends on whether or not the build up to the fantasy, the women involved, and the closing moment with the fangs.

Charlotte & Sarah

 

 

What I found arousing about this scene is that interestingly the film’s heroine, Charlotte Hawthorne (Sharon Hinnendael), notices Sarah (Chelsey Marie Reist) banging some college stud and this kind of activity might repel some “innocents”, but not her.  Keys are dropped to the floor as Charlotte seems frozen and clueless from arriving at such an awkward time. She eventually scurries away to the bathroom to pop a chill pill. Charlotte wants to become part of a sorority, but someone of her timidity is the perfect target of ridicule and bullying.  Sarah is one of those sisters, but she's not exactly a hellacious bitch. If she was so repulsed by Sarah's sexually active and open lifestyle, then the fantasy would never have materialized. But instead what she had noticed left its mark and the fantasy afterward comments on this.

 

 

While I have had my fill of sorority bitches bullying freshman girls, this film has the shy Charlotte walking on eggshells around seniors using their “seniority” to authoritatively weaken their wannabe sisters into obedience and fear. Can’t stand this shit, but oh well. Why I mention this is because Sarah is the proponent of Charlotte becoming inadvertently/unexpectedly attracted to a woman perhaps for the first time and that manifests itself. Sarah as a vampire may symbolize fear of what lies ahead. That danger that will present itself later in regards to the professor (and possibly the boyfriend) takes precedence over her seemingly little insignificant side-plot (just a minor part of the entire film) with the sorority sister she harbors desire for is an interesting inclusion to me. Perhaps it is simply just to attract the softcore audience, but I have to say I was startled to see it go from kiss into cunnilingus.

 

 

The thing about the scene is that appears to be the real deal. A man who sees Charlotte and Sarah, hand in hand, playful and giggling, gets mutilated with a trash spike while tending to the grounds as they flirt and eventually kiss. Then comes to the rest of the seduction (not one-sided, with Charlotte just as interested and willing as her seductress) which leads to her awakening--after seeing this potential lover with blood and fangs--and state of shock and disbelief.

Of course, the inexperience of Charlotte and the gung-ho experience of Sarah shows as the latter takes control while the former awkwardly allows her to do the undressing and oral stimulation. I guess brand new experiences have a tendency to go this way. One, who enjoys sex and likes to take charge/command, and the second succumbing to latent urges but unsure of how to participate exactly, letting the first do the work while she reaps the pleasurable benefits of the encounter.

I admit I love the look on a woman’s face as ecstasy sets in and she is in leave of her typical taciturn reserved nature. In Embrace of the Vampire, she enters the sorority after Catholic School wrapped in a timid reluctance to address people with strong personalities by looking them in the face. Seemingly clammy and aloof, she gradually escapes from her shell but not without a little restraint.

Does this all basically resemble the male lesbian fantasy? Yes, I would say so. When Sarah, in the locker room, attempts to kiss Charlotte, she’s rejected. This tells us that Charlotte, despite the dream, has recoiled from the previous urges, and has accepted she prefers the male crush (both the boyfriend and a little later the professor) instead. Sarah “gets it”, and she takes off with a rather disappointment in the rejection. End subplot. There’s a whole other movie that might have taken off by this blip in the movie. Sarah’s the vampire, while Charlotte attempts throughout the movie to avoid what she secretly feels. There’s this dance that occurs, with Charlotte eventually either giving in or resisting fully her vampire pursuer. This I could get behind. Honestly, though, this film plays it safe and folds into predictability.

Charlotte awakens.

If you were to ask me if Embrace of the Vampire rises above basic vampire smut, the one scene I have detailed between Charlotte and Sarah kind of indicates it is. We all have fantasies. Even the most restrained and less brazen among us don’t parade it on the surface have like passions yearning inside. This scene was Charlotte’s. She doesn’t capitalize on it. She lets it go away. Eventually she has other matters far more troublesome.