Welcome back to Rotten Ink as we continue our countdown to Halloween 2025, and as you can see, we are about to dive deep into another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update as I am sure many of you readers are like me and really enjoy reading Horror Comics and really enjoy them when they are based on a film. Today’s topic is an odd one as we will be looking at the 1989 erotic horror film To Die For and the comic adaptation done by Blackthorne Publishing to promote it, yeah it’s an odd one for them to make into a comic for sure but I feel it’s very cool that they did as I love when comic companies take chances on these smaller indie Horror Films to make comics based on them. But with that, let’s get ready to see what this version of Dracula is all about and what makes him different from the pack.
Let’s first start by taking a look at Vlad Tepish, the killer vampire from this film that not only drinks blood but also breaks hearts. Vlad, who is also known as Dracula, is a vampire so his main way of killing his victims is using his mind control and then drinking their blood by biting them on the neck with his razor sharp teeth that he can also use to rip flesh. His charm is also very dangerous as he can use it to bring his victims in closer and give them a sense of safety. He can also use it to make them spill their life story to him in order to use it to manipulate them. Vlad also has telepathic abilities and can lift and throw people around with but a glance. When a full vampire he takes on more of a monster appearance compete with demonic eyes, lots of long sharp teeth, claws and he makes animalistic growls and this as well can freeze his victims in fear. He is also strong and can manhandle those humans he wishes to. With Vlad Tepish as well comes lots of wealth and power over females that he charms who fall for his spell and will do whatever he wants, and let’s also not forget with him also comes Tom, a fellow Vampire that hates him and will kill people that are near Vlad in order to be a pain in his neck makes him even more dangerous to humans. Also let’s not forget that Vlad can turn humans into fellow vampires! But Vlad Tepish while immortal is not truly un-killable as a stake to his heart and sunlight can seal his doom, making him scary strong but can be defeated. I also feel that Vlad has a weakness for love as when he falls for a woman he kind of can turn into a softy and this can lead to his own death by leaving himself open for attacks or even with thoughts of suicide. Over all Vlad Tepish is a very deadly vampire and can deal death to those who cross him, but I will also say that he might not be the deadliest monster we have talked about on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update, he still is very powerful and can kill with speed if he chooses.
So as you can see, Vlad Tepish is a vampire who has charm but can also turn into a monster in order to get what he wants from the mere mortals of the world. And now that we have taken a look at Vlad and his death dealing ways, I think we should take a look at the film he is from To Die For! Like always we will be taking the film’s plot from IMDB and then I will write a little about the films production as well as my thoughts about the film. So if you are ready, let’s head to L.A. and see what is causing this vampire outbreak.
To Die For (1988)
“L.A. real estate agent Kate Wooten gets a new lease on life when she learns that her new client, a mysterious and handsome man named Vlad, is looking for a house isolated in the Hollywood Hills where he wants to live and doesn’t want to be disturbed. It doesn’t take long for Kate to fall in love with her new client and to learn that he’s a real vampire.”
Back in the 1980’s the video rental market was booming as were paid cable movie stations like HBO, Showtime, Movie Channel and Cinemax that were popular for movie lovers. And during this time erotic films were very popular in both ways of enjoying movies and ones with a dash of Horror were very much in demand and from this the world got To Die For, a Dracula film that was part horror and part erotic and was made fast and cheap. To Die For was produced by Brian Kumar and Lee Caplin as they wanted to make a profit off the Erotic Horror genre and they focused on Dracula and vampires and hired Leslie King to do the script and brought on Deran Sarafian who would go on to direct the film Death Warrant in 1990 and Terminal Velocity in 1994. When casting started they hired Brendan Hughes to play Vald Tepes aka Dracula and other actors hired included Sydney Walsh, Scott Jacoby, Amanda Wyss and Duane Jones of Night Of The Living Dead fame in his final film role. The film would be shot quickly with some cool practical special effects and would be distributed by Skouras Pictures and Cliff Eidelman was brought in to score it. When done the film had to be trimmed as it was on the verge of getting a X rating and this would have derailed the film from playing in theaters and even could have caused some issues with it airing on the paid cable movie stations. When completed the film would end up getting a very limited theatrical run in 1989 and would find its cult fan base on home media and cable. The film was released along side such other Horror Films in 1989 as Halloween 5, A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Puppet Master, Warlock, Friday The 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan, The Dead Next Door and Silent Night Deadly Night 3 to name a few. While over the years this film is pretty much been forgotten by most, it still does have a small following and even spawned a sequel in 1991 that was called “Son Of Darkness: To Die For II”. I should also say that for some reason To Die For has other titles it goes by like “Bram Stoker’s To Die For” and “Dracula The Love Story To Die For” to name a few.
I want to start off by saying To Die For is one of those sleazy horror films that I feel like housewives in the late 1980’s would watch on late night cable and then tell their friends that they like horror and would use it as an example of the type of horror they like. And keep in mind, there is nothing wrong with that as erotic horror has its place on the Horror Family Tree. I first saw this film as a teenager when I bought a copy of it on VHS from a second hand store called Replay Media and was expecting a Dracula tale and got more of a Vlad in love with a real estate agent and a odd vampire fight between two long time enemies. While the film tries to be erotic, it’s pretty tame by today’s standards and it’s crazy to think that it was on the verge of getting a X-Rating. The film is very cheesy and I have to say that when Vlad Tepish is in human form, he is the most un-intimidating vampire I have seen in cinema! The film has great monster effects by the late great John Carl Buechler are great and kind of out of place for this style of film, but are very much a big welcome to add some spice to it. The film’s plot of having two vampires for over a hundred years fighting over the same woman every time she comes back to life is an interesting concept, it just is not fleshed out all that well here in this film. Most people who have seen this film gives big praise to actress Amanda Wyss that plays the character of Celia Kett as she is prefect in her roll, but I also feel that actor Steve Bond who plays Tom, the other vampire, is really good as he plays himself charming and also very cold blooded when needed. The odd thing about this film as well as it’s sequel is that in the modern age they kind of have disappeared with the first film having a very small release on DVD that is long out of print and now can only be found on a bootleg double feature release that is a terrible print, and the sequel I have yet to find on DVD or Blu-Ray besides copies on the grey market. Over all I have to say that I enjoy this film and while it’s very cheesy and fails at all levels at being erotic it does make for a good b-movie vampire film. If you like Dracula films, try and track this down and give it a watch as it will not change your life, but you might find yourself enjoying it.
To Die For is a interesting vampire film from the late 80’s that since released has gained a fan base from its limited theatrical run, home media release and of course cable airings. And now that we have talked about Vlad and the film he is from To Die For its time that we now take a look at the comic book based on the film that was released to help promote it. And I would like to thank Lone Star Comics for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I also would like to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready, let’s head to the castle of Vlad and see what horrors he has in store for us.
To Die For # 1 ***
Released in 1989 Cover Price $2.50 Blackthorne # 1 of 1
Katie is at a boat party in L.A with her friend Martin when she notices a man with long black hair that catches her eye, but he is gone just as fast. As Katie leaves the party for the night a friend of hers and Martin’s goes to his car to do a little drugs but instead is killed by a vampire. The next morning Katie goes to work, as she is a realtor and she finds out from her best friend and roommate Celia that she has a late night how showing scheduled for her and that Celia’s boyfriend Mike as asked her to marry him. As Katie leaves to the castle that she will be showing for sale, a homeless man asks her for change only for her to not have any and after she pulls out that homeless man is killed by a crazed vampire. Once at the castle Katie meets Vlad Tepish who is the man from the boat party she seen who ends up buying the castle, and seduces her and almost bites her as he is a vampire but because he feels a connection to her he does not drink her blood. Katie heads home and breaks the heart of Martin who has a crush on her, and alerts Celia that Vlad is buying the house and is looking for a security, and Celia takes the job and is quickly charmed by Vlad who bites her and has sex with her. Vlad also finds out that Tom a fellow vampire is in town and has his eyes set on Katie as well she looks like a woman the two have fought over on the past. Days later Vlad is holding a party at his castle and sends Katie a dress and an invite and this makes Celia jealous who has as well fallen in love with Vlad, and while at the party Tom appears and tries to scare Katie and argues with Vlad over who will turn her into one of them, Tom also bites and kills Celia and leaves her body to be found in a park and Martin who attends the party finds and steals a book from Vlad that tells of his history and that he is a vampire….and Katie is unaware of all of this and all she knows is that she is in love with Vlad. The next day the body of Celia is found and Katie meets with Mike and Martin to mourn the loss of their friend, and when Martin starts talking of Vlad being a vampire Katie storms out as Martin and Mike head to the morgue and have to fight and then kill Celia who is now a vampire with a wooden stake. Katie heads to Vlad’s castle and he alerts her to his true nature and she wants to become one of his so the pair have sex and he bites her, just as they finish Tom appears and the two vampires fight and Tom is killed when Vlad drops him onto a wooden spear bedpost. In the end Vlad takes Katie down the stairs and to end he nightmare and not make her become of the undead he walks out into the sun and dies just as Martin and Mike come to their friends side as she is heartbroken.
The Horror Comic version of To Die For is a pretty great read and while most of the elements of the film are there it also makes some changes to speed up the read and even removes some of the characters and scenes from the issue to achieve it. Like sadly I feel the comic downplays Celia who is one of the best side characters in the film as they have her die and turned by the hands of Tom way to early and they remove her venom laced speech that she gives to Katie and Mike when she feels she has lost the love of Vlad. Also it would have been nice to see Simon, the owner of the real estate company that Katie works for as in the film that was Duane Jones, the actor who played Ben in Night Of The Living Dead. The comic also at times moves past the gruesome kills and violence to fast and the final fight between Vlad and Tom is way to quick. The plot can be summed up really quickly as its this two vampires continue their blood feud in L.A during the 80’s when they both fall for the same woman who looks like a female from both of their pasts. Vlad while a vampire is fighting the urge to turn a mortal woman he has fallen for, he does however still has his killer and cold instincts as he kills Tom and plays with the heart and mind of Celia and when he gets closed to Katie he throws her to the side that leads to her death and turn. Katie seems lost through the whole issue as she is looking for love and falls for a stranger and once she meets him falls even more for him and even wants to be turned into a vampire in order to be with him, even after what he and his foe have done to her friends (Rich and Celia). Tom is super evil in this one and loves killing humans to drink their blood, has fun messing with Vlad and does his best to try and be the one to get Katie as a way for revenge. Martin and Mike are around and pretty much are used in the issue to kill Celia as well as figure out that Vlad is a vampire. The comic is filled with blood and nudity and my favorite kill of the issue has to be the death of Rich, who was their friend who is killed in his car after sniffing cocaine. The cover for this issue is really cool and eye catching for the time as it has that Indie Horror Comic appeal. The interior art is done by Edgar Martiarena and is really cool as I like the way he draws the vampires when they take their more monster looks. Over all this is a pretty quick and fun read and while it does change lots from the film it makes it feel kind of like a new tale for those characters, I would say if you enjoy the film its based on or just like vampire comics give this one a read. Check out the art below to see the style of Edgar Martiarena used for this comic.
To Die For is a late 80’s vampire film that is not a ground breaking and has a very micro cult following and it’s crazy to think that a publisher like Blackthorne Publishing that was a pretty big player in those days took the chance to make this comic in both 2D and 3D! That’s right, you can also find this comic in 3D as that was one of Blackthorne’s big gimmicks back then as they loved being the ones to do comics in 3D. But as you can see, this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update is over and that means it’s time for me to tell you that out next update will be as it will continue in the Horror theme as we will be taking a look at the film Arachnophobia and the comic adaptation based around it. So until next time ,read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as I hope you don’t have a fear of spiders as they are the creepy crawly baddies that are looking for a quick bite.
