HAUNTED CHARLIE HALL reminisces on her vampiric life and speaks with film director Jake West, creator of cult classic vampire horror Razor Blade Smile
Vampires have fascinated people around the world for centuries.
They’ve always been there, lurking in the shadows and capturing our imaginations with their seductive allure.
Whether reality or myth, they appear in countless historical and folkloric tales passed down through generations, telling of unholy, blood-lusting fiends causing mayhem in towns and villages.
As a child, I was obsessed with these immortal creatures.
I ran about with my black bin-liner cape, hissing and baring my imaginary fangs, and was ecstatic when my mum gave me a large suitcase to use as my coffin.
I was later captivated by stories such as Elizabeth Báthory, who allegedly bathed in the blood of virgins to maintain her eternal youth, and the Highgate Vampire that prowled one of London’s most beautiful Victorian cemeteries.
Vampires became a big part of my life. I attended events such as Vampyria and Myth and even featured on a German TV show as a vampire, on a stunning set complete with large cemetery gates and a wooden cross.
Film director and writer Jake West was also on the programme, discussing his then-new vampire movie Razor Blade Smile, starring scream queen and Big Brother housemate Eileen Daly as lead vampstress Lilith Silver.
Who is Jake West?
Jake is a passionate film connoisseur who has worked extensively in the film and television industry for more than 30 years and is well known for his work in the horror, fantasy and sci-fi genres.
With a vivid imagination and wealth of folkloric knowledge, Jake has made films including Doghouse, featuring Danny Dyer, Evil Aliens with Emily Booth, and Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes.
From the blood-sucking undead to aliens and zombies, he captures the essence of these characters and their stories through his creative vision.
His highly acclaimed cult horror film Razor Blade Smile was originally released in 1998 and tells the story of revenge vampire Lilith Silver.
Wounded in her past but saved by death, she’s part seductress, part assassin… all vampire.
I watched it in awe at the cinema as it’s sensual, rebellious and pretty damn cool. I was therefore excited to see in 2024 that it had been revived with a 4K restoration and was screening around the UK.
Watching Razor Blade Smile at Darkfest brought back many great memories for me and it was just as fantastic as it was years ago, but with much sharper and brighter visuals.
The film was being re-released on Blu-ray as a limited-edition collection and I was thrilled to be asked to appear in Jake’s Vampires Forever documentary on the extras disc.
I caught up with Jake to find out more about this and his love of vampires.
HAUNTED CHARLIE HALL: What is it that fascinates you about vampires?
JAKE WEST: We’re all trapped in time and don’t know how long we’ve got.
There’s something universally seductive about having a level of immortality far beyond a natural human lifetime, with the added bonus of staying the same age as when you were turned.
The conquering of death and staying physically young forever is a very powerful idea that gives a vampire the ability to experience time across centuries.
Think of all the things you could see, do and learn, and the relationships you could have. That’s very appealing.
From a creative perspective, that makes vampires the most wonderful fictional characters, as you can place them in any part of the past or future and they can have lifetimes of knowledge and skills.
Where do you think the stories of vampires came from?
Most vampire reports are born of superstition, such as burying murderers at crossroads and staking them through the heart.
Or from a lack of medical knowledge, including conditions such as porphyria, or cases where people were thought dead, mistakenly buried alive and appeared to be resurrected in their coffins.
It’s easy to see how superstitions flourish when there’s an exciting and dramatic event attached to the initial story.
Crime, murder and death are always the core ingredients needed to get a riveting tale started. A good storyteller was pretty much the origin of all our myths, legends and superstitions. As humans, we love to hear tales and scare ourselves around the campfire.
What inspired you for Razor Blade Smile and lead character Lilith?
I was under the spell of the vampire since childhood, so when I came to make my first feature, I was drawn to creating my own vampire tale and having fun with the established mythology.
I was aware of the active London vampire scene in the early 1990s.
I first went to a Vampire Society event in 1993 after picking up copies of The Velvet Vampire magazine in Forbidden Planet and later attended London Vampyre Group (LVG) events after graduating from film school.
Vampires are by far the most stylish of all supernatural creatures and enjoy dressing in the most extravagant materials. In the past this would have been silk, velvet and lace.
In the 1990s I was going to fetish clubs and rubber clothing was not in the mainstream, so I thought that’s exactly what a vampire would wear. It’s so aesthetically pleasing.
In terms of Lilith being a paid assassin, I loved the notion that in modern society a vampire would still need to earn money and, as she has to kill to live anyway, it would be the perfect job.
It takes away all the hassle of deciding who to kill while also getting paid to do it.
What makes Lilith Silver stand out from other vampires?
It rarely ends well for the vampire in most films, but Lilith is having a blast and doing it right. She’s all about understanding what it is to be a vampire, embracing it and going all in. She’s rebellion personified.
When human in 1850, we see she comes from a traditional background. Then she’s turned into a vampire and has to start all over again. Her existence becomes a wild journey of self-discovery, figuring out who she is, what she wants and how far she’s willing to go.
Think eternal life meets teenage angst… with significantly more bloodshed! She’s not trying to survive eternity; she’s trying to experience it. She’s the real deal and owns it. That’s what makes her stand out from other vampires and why people love her.
What can the current generation of horror and vampire fans expect from your re-release?
It’s a strange collision of time. You’ve got a film rooted in the 1990s, with its texture, attitude and imperfections, now presented with a level of clarity that didn’t even exist when it was made.
So it becomes this paradox: something old that feels newly alive.
For older audiences, it’s a temporal echo. For new viewers, it’s almost anthropological, but still visceral, and gives them the opportunity to experience a fantastic cultural period they will never get to live through.
There’s a rawness to it that hasn’t been sanded down, and that rawness still has teeth, which I think both returning viewers and new audiences will relish.
What films have inspired you in your work?
I’ve always gravitated towards films that feel a bit dangerous, like they might come apart at any moment.
I have many inspirations, but here are a few: Blood and Roses, The Hunger, Evil Dead, Phantasm and The Thing.
They all have this sense of atmosphere and intent. They’re not just stories, they’re experiences. Fever dreams you step into.
What’s next for you?
I’m helping produce the zombie film Employee of the Dead with filmmaker and friend Aaron Truss. We’re launching a crowdfunding campaign shortly, and I am currently directing the shark thriller White with Kate Beckinsale, so watch this space!
The 4K restoration of Razor Blade Smile is out now in the UK through Nucleus Films and in the US through Severin Films on UHD and Blu-ray in an incredible three-disc special-edition collection featuring lots of new extras.
Find out more at the release of Razor Blade Smile here.
