Synopsis for
Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) More at IMDbPro »

A ship of dead men steers into Brooklyn harbor. It keeps going until it runs aground. A large wolf jumps from the ship. The wolf is the vampire Maximilian [Eddie Murphy], the sole survivor of the massacre of a tribe of vampires living on an island in the Bermuda Triangle. Max has come to Brooklyn to find Rita Veder Angela Bassett], the half-vampire daughter born to a human and a vampire from his tribe.

Meanwhile, Julius Jones [Kadeem Hardison] isn't having a good night. First, there was that ship that ran aground and plowed right through the building where he and Silas Green [John Witherspoon] were working. Then his woman kicked him out of the house for snoring while otherwise engaged. Now, two thugs are after him for his money or his blood. Then, just as Julius is about to meet his maker, the vampire Maximilian shows up, neatly kills off the two thugs, and informs Julius that he is to become his renfield and that the first thing he must do is retrieve Max's coffin from the ship.

Ship and dock are crawling with the law, one of whom is Detective Rita Veder. Rita and her partner Justice [Allen Payne] have been sent to investigate the accident in the harbor and the 18 bodies aboard that were found drained of blood. While checking out the ship, Rita falls through a rotten floorboard and lands in the cargohold where she finds a coffin and gets a glimpse of Max, who recognizes her immediately. Rita chases him, but he disappears. When she returns to the cargohold, the coffin is gone, a human ear remaining in its place. Max and Julius take the coffin to Julius's house, an apartment he rents from Silas.

The ship's log is retrieved, but it is written in some obscure language that no one at the university can decipher, so it is sent to Dr Zeko for translation. Zeko's turns out to be a nightclub, but Zeko [Zakes Mokae] is able to tell that the log speaks about a nosferatu on board. As Rita sits at a table, waiting for Justice to return from a phone call, she doesn't notice that a cobra in a nearby terrarium has escaped and is crawling toward her. Fortunately, Max is seated nearby and catches the cobra just in time, giving Max the perfect opportunity to introduce himself to Rita. He asks her to dance, believing that one dance with him will make her his, but Justice returns and Julius butts in with his jive talk, so Rita splits, not at all enthralled with Max.

Rita and Justice go back to the apartment Rita shares with roommate Nikki [Simbi Khali]. Nikki comes on to Justice but he turns her down and leaves. Instead, Nikki picks up Max and brings him home. Rita overhears the bumping and screaming in Nikki's bedroom. The next morning, Rita finds that Nikki has split with all her belongings, and there's a note saying that she's getting an apartment with a man she just met. Rita assumes it is Justice, and she becomes very jealous.

Time is growing short. Max has to start using drastic measures, like taking on the personas of other people, such as Preacher Pauly and stupid Guido in order to get closer to Rita. But Max's plans seem to backfire, so he takes the direct route and saves her from being run over by a speeding taxi. In gratitude, Rita accepts a dinner date with him. Max hurries back to Julius's apartment and casts every spell he knows to change it from a pigsty to an elegant lovenest, complete with candelabras, fireplace, and a baby grand piano. He finally manages to get his dance with Rita as well as a bite on her neck.

Julius is enjoying the benefits of working for a vampire, e.g., driving the black limo with vanity plates that say 'RIP'. He is also having to adjust to the side-effects, e.g., acquiring a taste for bugs and losing parts of his body. First his ear, then his right hand, then his hair, then an eye, then his whole right arm.

Meanwhile, Justice is following up a lead that suggests Julius might have been involved in the killing of the two thugs a few nights ago. The next morning, Justice pays a visit to Julius's apartment where he meets Silas Green who tells him that Rita was there all night with the new tenant, some suave guy. Just then, Justice receives a call from the dispatcher sending him to investigate a DOA at Brooklyn City Hall. It turns out to be Nikki.

Justice goes to Rita's apartment to tell her about Nikki. As he is holding her, Rita's tears turn into fangs and she tries to bite his neck. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices that her reflection in the mirror is fading. She runs to Max, who tells her of her father, the vampire. Justice goes to see Dr Zeko, who tells him the story of Rita's mother, a researcher who was studying the vampires on his island and who succumbed to the powers of the "dark one." Rita is the result, he says. He warns Justice that he must kill Max and do it before Rita loses all of her humanity.

Max attempts to teach Rita how to feed, but she refuses. When she tries to run away, Max retrieves her and brings her to his apartment, intending to leave for the island in the morning. He brings Silas to her, but Justice and Zeko arrive just in time to stop her from feeding on him. A fight breaks out, of course, but Max is easily able to dodge their fists and stakes. Justice searches out Max's coffin and opens it, prepared to stake him, but he finds Rita laying there. Rita begins to advance on Justice, her fangs showing. She stops long enough to share a kiss with Max and then stakes him, claiming that this part of her must die. Rita and Justice end up in each others' arms.

Epiloque: Max is dead, and Julius doesn't have much left in the way of limbs, skin, arms, etc., but Silas reminds him that he does have the limo, and they decide to go for a ride. In the backseat, Julius finds a ring left behind by Max and places it on his finger. POOF! Julius has back all his parts (and then some). There's a new vampire in Brooklyn, and his name is Julius Jones. [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl.]