PopSyndicate.com

A vampiric twist on a very old tale.

An Off-Broadway theatre is working on a production of Hamlet.  This version of Shakespeare’s classic has a bit of a twist to it - vampires.  Jordan Galland’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead is a comedic look into the world of theatre, conspiracies and the immortal.  The film is making the festival rounds currently but with such an interesting take on all subjects involved it should not be long before you see it in your town.

Julian (Jake Hoffman) has been in quite a sad state since his girlfriend, Anna (Devon Aoki), dumped him and shacked up with a very mob-like guy.  He takes a job as the director of an Off-Broadway production of Hamlet which involves vampires.  His producer, and Horatio, Theo Horace (John Ventimiglia) is a bit eccentric but unbeknownst to Julian he actually is a vampire.  After their Hamlet is killed Julian finds out though the secret society Rosicrucian and Goldenstonian there is a Shakespiracy involving the real Hamlet, Horatio and the Holy Grail.  Now Julian must take the initiative to stop Theo before he continues with his plan to turn Anna into his bride and recover the Holy Grail.

This is not a horror movie by any means.  Sure there are some scenes of bloodsucking, but in reality the main focus is romantic comedy.  Most of this genre includes chick flicks boyfriends and/or husbands do not want to watch, luckily this movie will keep their interest too.  There are solid funny moments throughout and they are only augmented by the great cast.  Aside from oddly resembling Robert Downey, Jr at times, Ventimiglia is wonderfully creepy in the role of Theo/Horatio, and Hoffman’s deadpan antics fit him perfectly.  Two highlights of the film have to be the “wiseguy” character who is played by Ralph Macchio, and Waris Ahluwalia the hypochondriac Hugo Pepper. 

At one point in the film, Julian watches a DVD about the Rosicrucian and Goldenstonian secret society and the whole thing is this awesome animated tale. Definitely one of the shining points, but that is not to say the rest of the movie is lacking.  There is a Di Vinci Code aspect to the Shakespeare-meets-Stoker play which works on every level.  Most would probably hear the premise and dismiss it, but you should definitely give Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead a chance, it makes a wonderful “date movie.” 

Director Jordan Galland answered a few questions we had about the film:

Pop Syndicate: What gave you the idea for the film?
Jordan Galland: I love to twist and mix genres. These things magically all fit together: vampires, hamlet, the holy grail and the romantic comedy aspect. I drew upon my love for vampires which started when I read Dracula, when I was eleven, my love for Hamlet and Shakespeare which came from high school, and my interest in conspiracies which came from a wonderful professor I had at NYU: Scott McPartland.
PS: Are you a fan of Shakespeare and Vampires and thought they should be together at last?
JG: I felt that since all vampire tales make up a historical backstory (since vampires have potentially lived for centuries) I wanted to give this vampire’s backstory a REAL kind of history, grounded in famous historical events.
See:shakespiracy.blogspot.com
PS: Love the film title puns throughout the film, did they come after the title of the movie was the same way, or were they always going to be there?
JG: A little of both.
PS: I heard you were one of the first features to use the Red camera.  Were there any problems with using such a new piece of technology on your feature? 
JG: It went very smoothly.
PS: Were you pleased with the overall look the Red captures?
JG: Love it.
PS: The Rosicrucian and Goldenstonian DVD was great, what made you decide to go with animation?
JG: When I found out a few weeks before shooting that we could not afford licensing old images (a la the history channel) I began furiously drawing everything I wanted in that sequence to show to an illustrator, then I realized we couldn’t hire an illustrator, and brought my original drawings to Michael Collins who had already worked on the opening titles, and he animated the whole sequence. Phew.
PS: Have you any desire to produce the play from the film Off-Broadway, or otherwise?
JG: No. But I do have a burning desire to pitch an expanded version of the whole conspiracy to history Channel, HBO and Comedy Central.

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