==Plot==
==Plot==
Being 400 years old, the Countess has collected a stable of young men and women who accompany her on her centuries-old journey through eternal life and youth. Though she is immortal, she is required to drink the blood of a young male virgin three times by Halloween each year to keep her [[immortality]] and her youthful appearance. She finds this task increasingly difficult, since attractive young male virgins are almost impossible to find in the 1980s, particularly in [[hedonistic]] [[cities]], in this case, [[Los Angeles]].
old, has of young and who accompany her on her centuries-old journey through eternal life and youth. Though she is immortal, she is required to drink the blood of a male virgin three times by Halloween each year to her [[immortality]] and her youthful appearance. She finds this task increasingly difficult, since male virgins are impossible to find in the 1980s, particularly in [[hedonistic]] cities , Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, virgin high school student Mark Kendall wants to have sex but is being put off by his girlfriend Robin Pierce. One night, Mark and his best friends Jamie and Russ go into a singles bar in Hollywood. Mark meets the Countess, goes back to her mansion, and after she seduces him, passes out when she bites his thigh. When he wakes up, she pretends they have had sex and tells him that he is now hers. Mark does not know what she means and, over the next few days, begins showing strange behaviors: having strange dreams, avoiding direct sunlight, and even drinking blood (from raw meat). After the Countess gets a second bite, Robin notices Mark’s odd behavior and confronts the Countess during a dance-off at the high school’s Halloween dance.
Meanwhile, virgin high school student Mark Kendall to have sex but . One night, Mark a singles bar in Hollywood and , and him , . a , .
At school, Robin overhears Mark telling Russ and Jamie about how he presumably lost his virginity to another woman, and breaks up with him. Over the next few days, Mark begins exhibiting strange behavior, such as avoiding direct sunlight and drinking blood from raw meat, and dreams that the Countess sucks his blood. Mark eventually reconciles with Robin, and while visiting her at the clothing store where she works, he is surprised by the Countess in the fitting room. After Mark rejects the Countess’s advances, she bites him a second time and leaves.
While it appears that Robin has won back Mark, this is only temporary. The Countess kidnaps Robin to lure Mark to her mansion for a final bite before her deadline expires, and it is up to Robin, Jamie, and Russ to stop her. Eventually, to save Mark from the Countess’s clutches, Robin and Mark have sex in a coffin while being chased by the Countess’s minions, thereby taking Mark’s virginity, bringing him back to normal. This renders him useless to the Countess as she has to drink virgin blood. Defeated, the Countess then begins to grow old and decrepit before their eyes. The Countess’s assistant, Sebastian, tells her not to worry as there are other virgins in the world despite the fact that the Countess doubts she will find another virgin. The movie ends with Mark and Robin continuing to have sex in the coffin.
As Mark and Robin dance at the school’s Halloween dance, the Countess arrives and interrupts them. The women then have a dance-off, and the Countess leaves defeated. Afterward, Mark tells Robin that he believes the Countess is turning him into a vampire, before they both notice that he has no reflection in the mirror. While seeking information about vampires from a bookseller, Robin learns that, to drain the blood of a male virgin, female vampires bite their victims in the inner thigh.
One evening, the Countess kidnaps Robin to lure Mark to her mansion for the final bite. With Russ and Jamie in tow, Mark finds Robin in the Countess’s basement, and Robin informs Mark that the Countess did not have sex with him and only drained his blood. The four teenagers are soon captured, and Mark is strapped to a chair as the Countess prepares to bite him a third time. After Robin, Russ, and Jamie manage to free Mark, Robin flees with him through the mansion while being chased by the Countess’s minions. Meanwhile, Russ and Jamie are seduced by two of the Countess’s female minions.
Shortly after Mark and Robin discover a room filled with coffins, the Countess arrives to find the couple having sex inside a large coffin, rendering Mark’s blood useless to the Countess. As the clock strikes midnight, the Countess rapidly ages before their eyes, becoming an elderly woman. Her manservant, Sebastian, assures her that there are other virgins in the world, though the Countess doubts she will find another virgin. Mark and Robin continue to have sex in the coffin.
==Cast==
==Cast==
1985 film by Howard Storm
Once Bitten is a 1985 American teen horror comedy film, starring Lauren Hutton, Jim Carrey, and Karen Kopins.[3] Carrey has his first major lead role playing Mark Kendall, an innocent and naive high school student who is seduced in a Hollywood nightclub by a sultry blonde countess (Hutton), who unknown to him is a centuries-old vampire.[4] While the film underperformed at the box office, it has since become a cult classic.
The Countess, a 400-year-old vampire, has created an army of young male and female vampires who accompany her on her centuries-old journey through eternal life and youth. Though she is immortal, she is required to drink the blood of a male virgin three times by Halloween each year to retain her immortality and her youthful appearance. She finds this task increasingly difficult, since male virgins are nearly impossible to find in the 1980s, particularly in hedonistic cities. With just over a week until Halloween, the Countess sends three of her vampire minions into Los Angeles to find her a virgin.
Meanwhile, virgin high school student Mark Kendall tries to convince his girlfriend, Robin Pierce, to have sex with him, but she wants her first time to be special. One night, Mark ventures to a singles bar in Hollywood with his best friends Russ and Jamie to try his luck with local women. Once her minions sense Mark’s virginity, the Countess lures Mark to the bar and takes him to her mansion, where she seduces him and bites his thigh, rendering him unconscious. When Mark wakes up with no memory of their encounter, the Countess convinces him that they have had sex. Although he confesses that he has a girlfriend, she asks to see him again before he leaves.
At school, Robin overhears Mark telling Russ and Jamie about how he presumably lost his virginity to another woman, and breaks up with him. Over the next few days, Mark begins exhibiting strange behavior, such as avoiding direct sunlight and drinking blood from raw meat, and dreams that the Countess sucks his blood. Mark eventually reconciles with Robin, and while visiting her at the clothing store where she works, he is surprised by the Countess in the fitting room. After Mark rejects the Countess’s advances, she bites him a second time and leaves.
As Mark and Robin dance at the school’s Halloween dance, the Countess arrives and interrupts them. The women then have a dance-off, and the Countess leaves defeated. Afterward, Mark tells Robin that he believes the Countess is turning him into a vampire, before they both notice that he has no reflection in the mirror. While seeking information about vampires from a bookseller, Robin learns that, to drain the blood of a male virgin, female vampires bite their victims in the inner thigh.
One evening, the Countess kidnaps Robin to lure Mark to her mansion for the final bite. With Russ and Jamie in tow, Mark finds Robin in the Countess’s basement, and Robin informs Mark that the Countess did not have sex with him and only drained his blood. The four teenagers are soon captured, and Mark is strapped to a chair as the Countess prepares to bite him a third time. After Robin, Russ, and Jamie manage to free Mark, Robin flees with him through the mansion while being chased by the Countess’s minions. Meanwhile, Russ and Jamie are seduced by two of the Countess’s female minions.
Shortly after Mark and Robin discover a room filled with coffins, the Countess arrives to find the couple having sex inside a large coffin, rendering Mark’s blood useless to the Countess. As the clock strikes midnight, the Countess rapidly ages before their eyes, becoming an elderly woman. Her manservant, Sebastian, assures her that there are other virgins in the world, though the Countess doubts she will find another virgin. Mark and Robin continue to have sex in the coffin.
The Countess’s Vampires
[edit]
- Joseph Brutsman as Confederate Vampire
- Jeb Stuart Adams as World War I Ace Vampire
- Stuart Charno as Cabin Boy Vampire
- Robin Klein as 1960s Flower Child Vampire
- Carey More as Moll Flanders Vampire
- Glen Mauro as Twin Vampire #1
- Gary Mauro as Twin Vampire #2
Once Bitten is the directorial debut of Howard Storm.[1] The movie was filmed over the course of 45 days in and around Los Angeles.[1]
The film was released on November 15, 1985, on 1,095 screens, and opened at number one at the U.S. box office, grossing $4,025,657 for the weekend.[5][2] It eventually earned around $10 million in the United States and Canada.[2]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 10% based on 10 reviews, with an average score of 3.3/10.[6] On Metacritic, the film received a score of 64 out of 100 based on 4 reviews, indicating “generally favorable reviews”.[7]
Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that it “has a lot more stylishness than wit.”[8] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it an “extreme rarity” for its subtle and hilarious sexual humor in a teen film.[9] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post described it as “a sappy, sophomoric sex farce” that uses dated humor.[10]
The film was first released on VHS in 1986 and on DVD on August 26, 2003. Scream Factory released the film on Blu-Ray on February 10, 2015.[11]
- ^ a b c Shapiro, Marc (January 1989). “Once Bitten”. Cinefantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
- ^ a b c “Once Bitten”. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (November 15, 1985). “Once Bitten (1985) FILM: ‘ONCE BITTEN,’ VAMPIRE HUMOR”. The New York Times.
- ^ “B-Sides: Hands Off Jim Carrey, He Belongs to Me”. Dread Central. 10 July 2014.
- ^ Greenberg, James (November 20, 1985). “B.O. Starves; ‘Once’ Bows In 1st Place”. Variety. p. 3.
- ^ “Once Bitten (1985)”. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ “Once Bitten Reviews”. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (1985-11-15). “FILM: ‘ONCE BITTEN,’ VAMPIRE HUMOR”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (1985-11-15). “Movie Review : ‘Once Bitten’: Vampire Puts On Vamp”. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
- ^ Kempley, Rita (1985-11-15). “‘Once Bitten’? No Fangs”. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ^ Scream Factory: Spirits, Vamps and New Year’s Classics On Blu-ray!
