Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
UK Certification E | UK RRP £12.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 103 minutes
This double feature release from National Geographic contains two documentaries each shy of an hour long that explore the history of vampires throughout time, from the classic caricature made famous by the old Hollywood monster movies, to the exhumation of corpses in Romania, and real-life blood drinkers in the 21st century.
First up is Is It Real? Vampires, which takes a fairly detailed look at instances of vampirism around the world. The film tries to pinpoint exactly what inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula novel and delves deep into the history books to explain where the notion of vampires comes from. Everything from cooky goths in the present with fangs who have it nailed into their heads that they need to drink blood to survive, to families plagued by disease who, being none the wiser at the time, blamed their ailments on recently deceased loved ones becoming vampires and haunting them in the night. Grimly fascinating stuff.
The National Geographic special Vampires in Venice (though it should be called Vampire of Venice) tells the story not of vampires across the globe, but the investigation into how and why a single person died. In a mass grave in Italy full of victims of the bubonic plague, one body was discovered in peculiar fashion – with a brick wedged in between its jaws. Curious as to how this person met their demise, a doctor begins a journey across the country that would last him a year and countless hours of research in order to identify the remains. It's a journey full of twists and turns as the investigation becomes even more mysterious and all signs point to the skeleton belonging to a woman who was suspected of being a bloodsucker.
With both documentaries conveniently put on a single disc, Vampire Forensics is a worthy purchase if you're interested in such history. The facts are interesting and both films will give you the impulse to read further and investigate for yourself. It's also a bonus that they barely interconnect, so you're presented with two very different films for your money.
EXTRAS None.
• Reviews of National Geographic's Baby Tales, Africa's Lost Eden, Secret Yellowstone, The Jane Goodall Collection, Animal Impact, and Extreme Universe