The Kiss of a Vampire
December 15th, 2025
MOVIE: THE KISS OF A VAMPIRE
STARRING: PHILIP HULFORD, SAPORAH BONNETTE, RICHARD DOUGLAS JENSEN
DIRECTED BY: RICHARD DOUGLAS JENSEN
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 1 STAR (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 96 MINUTES
As a member of the audience, I’m always down to watch a vampire film—from Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu to the crackling sexual tension between Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire. It’s a subgenre that rarely misses. When it does, however, it’s a loss for everyone, because vampire movies always feel like missed opportunities. The Kiss of a Vampire, a low-budget independent film written and directed by Richard Douglas Jensen, has all the good intentions but none of the results. It feels closer to a Tommy Wiseau–style Nosferatu, failing to shock or thrill and delivering a vampire film that made me want to sleep.
The narrative begins abruptly with Carol (Saporah Bonnette) and Wessex (Philip Hulford) standing at the altar, about to be married, while a priest trembles at the thought of completing the ceremony. Based on his all-black attire, sharp pointed haircut, and devilish smile, it’s immediately clear that Wessex is a vampire. Carol, however, has spent her life diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, and her marriage to Wessex represents her dream come true. She never suspects her new husband is a vampire—until a local fortune teller and several townsmen end up dead, making it increasingly obvious that Wessex is controlling the village.
For a low-budget film, The Kiss of a Vampire is self-aware of its limitations. The set designs are sparse, the costumes resemble Goodwill purchases, and the cinematography offers little sense of place or time. Where Jensen succeeds as a director is in the sporadic moments of vampire blood makeup and the intercutting of bats, blood, and demonic visions, which briefly make Carol’s life with a vampire unsettling. Were it not for these flashes—and the film’s earnest desire to exist at all—this would be a total failure.
The first half focuses on the romance between Carol and her vampire husband. The second introduces Bambi Everson as a vampire hunter searching for Wessex, joined by local hunter Petrov (also played by Jensen). While this setup promises a rise in energy- a Van Helsing–style confrontation- it ultimately goes nowhere, bogged down by more repetitive sequences of Wessex seducing his victims into a vampire trance.
Overall, The Kiss of a Vampire leaves much to be desired, squandering its good intentions. Richard Douglas Jensen clearly has a grasp on vampire mythology, but lacks the ingenuity to elevate the story beyond standard genre tropes. Vampires can be the coolest creatures of the night. When they aren’t done well, they lose all the teeth from what should be a sharp bite.
1 STAR
THE KISS OF A VAMPIRE IS NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON TUBI
Written by: Leo Brady
