The Hollywood legend has a blast showing his darker side in his new film The Intruder, and admits to some set-life secrets.
Title: Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Eddie Murphy | ... | Maximillian / Preacher Pauly / Guido | |
| Angela Bassett | ... | Det. Rita Veder | |
| Allen Payne | ... | Detective Justice | |
| Kadeem Hardison | ... | Julius Jones | |
| John Witherspoon | ... | Silas Green | |
| Zakes Mokae | ... | Dr. Zeko | |
| Joanna Cassidy | ... | Capt. Dewey | |
| Simbi Kali | ... | Nikki, Rita's Roomate (as Simbi Khali) | |
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Messiri Freeman | ... | Eva, Julius' Girl |
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Kelly Cinnante | ... | Policewoman Photographer |
| Jsu Garcia | ... | Anthony (as Nick Corri) | |
| W. Earl Brown | ... | Thrasher | |
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Ayo Adeyemi | ... | Bartender |
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Troy Curvey Jr. | ... | Choir Leader |
| Vickilyn Reynolds | ... | Mrs. Brown | |
Maximillian is the only survivor from a race of vampires on a Caribbean Island, and, as a vampire, he must find a mate to keep the line from ending. He knows that a child had been born to a woman who had a vampire father, and he searches for her in Brooklyn. Rita's mother, who has died in an asylum, was that woman and Rita has nightmares that she does not understand. Not knowing that she is part-vampire, Max woos her and attempts to bring her to her bloodsucking destiny. Even though Rita has strange dreams and actions, Justice, her partner, has feelings for her and does not want her involved with this stranger Max. But it is Rita who must decide her destiny. Written by Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>
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Continuing my plan to watch every Eddie Murphy movie in order, I come to Vampire In Brooklyn (1995)
Plot In A Paragraph: Maximillian (Murphy) is the only surviving vampire, he must find a mate to keep the line from ending. He knows that a child had been born to a woman who had a vampire father, and he searches for her in Brooklyn.
Playing a vampire worked for Cruise in 1994, why not Eddie Murphy a year later. This was Eddie Murphy's last movie for Paramount, and he is on record as saying he only made it, to get out of his contract with them. He also said the reason this movie failed, was because of the wig he wore.
I had never seen this movie before, my local video store never even had a copy of it, and he got almost everything ("no demand for it son") in his store. Yet I know a few people who call this under rated. With comments ranging from "It's not bad" and "I liked it" to "It's actually a really good horror"
It didn't really work for me on any level. The comedy is slapstick and out of place with the rest of the movie. Played 100% straight or as an outright comedy, I may have enjoyed it more. As it is, it's neither really scary or very funny. It had potential on both fronts, as it is, it settles in the middle and fails on all grounds!! I'm not even sure if I was meant to root for Murphy or not. We do get a first for a Murphy character here.
30 mins in, I could have turned it off, but it did get more interesting as it went on. With the exception of the "Bad is Good" Preacher scene, I didn't really enjoy any of it though. Angela Basset was pretty solid and John Witherspoon (so great in Boomerang) brings a smile too. But they seem to be acting in different movies, and that's the problem.
In an interview, Wes Craven stated that the movie was difficult to make because Murphy did not want to be funny, instead aiming to play his character straight. He also said in a different interview "Eddie didn't want to be really evil, which i think hampered it massively, because it really needed somebody who could be evil but he kind of wanted to do a horror film but he didn't want to be a bad guy and he wanted to look kind of buff all the time".
If Murphy wanted to be taken seriously, playing multiple characters including his Guido character from RAW was the wrong way to go about it.
Vampire In Brooklyn was the third Murphy movie in a row to lose money, as it only grossed $19 million (a few thousand more than Best Defence) to end the year the 82nd highest grossing movie of the year.