FULL WATCHALONG ~ VAMPIRE IN BROOKLYN

Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) is one of those oddities that could only have happened in the mid-’90s—a horror-comedy hybrid starring Eddie Murphy, directed by Wes Craven, with tone swings so wild it feels like two different movies sharing one coffin. And somehow, it’s still weirdly entertaining.

Murphy plays Maximillian, a suave, centuries-old vampire who arrives in Brooklyn looking for the reincarnation of his dead lover—naturally found in Angela Bassett, who’s playing an NYPD detective with a tragic past and the kind of presence that makes you wonder how she kept a straight face through some of these scenes. Murphy plays it straight (well, mostly), but he also pulls triple duty under prosthetics as a sleazy preacher and a racist Italian mobster—because this was peak Eddie Murphy “let me play everyone” era.

Tonally, it’s all over the place. You can feel Wes Craven trying to make a stylish Gothic horror flick, while Murphy keeps yanking it toward absurdist comedy. The result is this bizarre but kind of wonderful clash—equal parts spooky atmosphere, goofy gags, and Angela Bassett looking way too good to be in a movie where Eddie Murphy eats people in slow motion.

The supporting cast adds to the madness—Kadeem Hardison as the decaying ghoul sidekick is legitimately funny, John Witherspoon steals every scene he’s in (“Evil is good!” remains immortal), and even when the jokes miss, the charisma carries it.

We loved it, honestly. It’s flawed, messy, and totally inconsistent, but there’s something magnetic about it. The production design drips with Gothic style, the makeup effects are great, and when it hits that sweet spot between horror and absurdity, it’s genuinely fun.

It’s not the best Eddie Murphy movie, and it’s definitely not the best Wes Craven movie—but it’s the most fascinating middle ground between Coming to America and A Nightmare on Elm Street you’ll ever see. A wild, stylish, spooky comedy that deserved better than it got.