VampsMovie Reviews


So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 57 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 OK for kids 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 88
    Slant Magazine | Andrew Schenker

    A sense of anachronism is what provides the film with its melancholy heart. Read full review

  • 83
    indieWIRE | Eric Kohn

    A surprisingly enjoyable tongue-in-cheek New York comedy from "Clueless" director Amy Heckerling, Vamps teeters on the brink of not quite working and yet still routinely lands its laughs. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety |

    Heckerling always manages to get her finger firmly on the pulse of the contemporary moment, and while her club-hopping heroines may be undead, they serve as adorable metaphors for what the filmmaker sees as a zombified moment in cultural history. Read full review

  • 67
    The A.V. Club | Scott Tobias

    Heckerling also struggles woefully with special effects, but even then, she's capable of pulling off a beautiful sequence where Silverstone remembers a specific city block as it's evolved through the ages. Her shambling little comedy never finds a consistent groove, but it's eager to please, and has the ancient gags to do it. Read full review

  • 60
    The Hollywood Reporter | John DeFore

    Charming at times but surprisingly cheap-feeling given the cast Heckerling has assembled. Read full review

  • 60
    Los Angeles Times |

    Make no mistake, Vamps is mostly a misfire, but Heckerling still shows enough flashes of wit and wisdom that she remains hard to entirely dismiss. Don't bury that coffin just yet. Read full review

  • 50
    Village Voice | Melissa Anderson

    Reteaming with Silverstone, the alpha matchmaker of "Clueless," for Vamps, Heckerling uses the actress as the mouthpiece for her complaints about how dumb everyone is today. The writer-director's nostalgia feeds the laziest type of cultural critique: never piercing, just grumpy. Read full review

  • 40
    Time Out New York | Eric Hynes

    Vamps is commendable, even moving, as a raw-nerve confession of anachronism - but it's also what keeps this strained satire from drawing any real blood. Read full review

  • 40
    The New York Times | Rachel Saltz

    Aging is probably the real theme here, but it's approached sidelong and has no punch. Still, only the nostalgia has any real conviction. Read full review

View more reviews for Vamps on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 14+ Vampire comedy has cute moments but lacks bite.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Vamps is a paranormal comedy about twentysomething vampire BFFs who must navigate the challenges of being young decade after decade. Gen X parents will be drawn to director Amy Heckerling's reunion with her Clueless star Alicia Silverstone, but teens into the whole vampire genre might be interested, too. Expect occasional strong language (one "f--k," plus "s--t," "a--hole," "bitch," etc.) and several kissing scenes -- one that leads to a love scene and a pregnancy. The violence is mostly comical, but there are a couple of decapitations and some cringe-inducing scenes of the vamps drinking rats' and pigeons' blood. Adults drink at clubs, and one guy does cocaine (off camera) on a date.
  • Families can talk about the popularity of vampire tales. How is Vamps different than others? Will it appeal to teens?
  • What does Goody observe about the differences between current times and years gone by? Why is she so critical about the ubiquity of phones, gadgets, and social media? Do you agree?
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: Vamps seems to be obsessed with the topic of aging and how it can bring wisdom, along with nostalgia. Unconditional friendship and love despite age differences are also explored.
  • rolemodels true2 Positive role models: Goody has been alive for two centuries and makes candid observations about how life has changed -- for the worse. But she also makes a point of helping humans and drinks animals' blood to avoid feeding on humans. Both Goody and Stacy put love and friendship over eternal life.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Most of the violence is comical but cringe-inducing -- like when the girls drink the blood of rats and pigeons (they squeeze them like juiceboxes or stick straws in them). A man's dismembered body (including his decapitated head) is revealed, but it's not really scary (it's very fake looking). A vampire is killed, decapitated, comes back to life, and then is finally killed once and for all.
  • sex false3 Sexy stuff: One love scene in which a couple makes out on a bed, takes off their shirts, and are then shown in the "afterglow." Also several kissing scenes.
  • language false3 Language: Occasional profanity includes "bitch," "s--t," "a--hole," and one "f--k."
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: Apple products are mentioned, but otherwise, no overt product placements.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: A guy snorts coke (off camera, but viewers see him pinching his nostril, and he later has a nosebleed); people in bars drink cocktails and smoke cigarettes.
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