The Little Vampire Parent Guide

Rudolph Sackville-Bagg (Rasmus Hardiker) is celebrating his 13^th birthday (for the 300^th time!) when his family is threatened by feared vampire-hunter Rookery (Jim Carter). On the run, Rudolph meets Tony (Amy Saville), a mortal American boy on a holiday with his parents. Together they must find a way to defeat Rookery and save Rudolph’s family, while also overcoming prejudices against vampires and mortals alike.

The Little Vampire is a bit of a mystery to me. I spent most of the runtime trying to figure out who the intended audience is. It is far too childish for the older elementary/middle school crowd, but also too scary for preschoolers. I want to be clear, this movie is not actually scary, but it does have enough jump scares and creepy moments that I think the very young will not enjoy it. The only audience that I could see enjoying it are around age 5 to 8, give or take a year depending on maturity. I’m no marketing major, but that seems to be a very small window.

The story is mostly nonsensical; characters make decisions based on nothing, the plot moves without motivation, and the details remain fuzzy throughout. The writers seem to have wanted to play with vampire lore, but they never actually explain it, so I was just confused. Apparently, these vampires can have children, but then those children get stuck at a certain age? It’s unclear. Am I over analyzing a children’s movie? Probably, but I was a teenager at the height of the Twilight craze, so forgive me if I nitpick a vampire story.

The best part about this film is the short runtime; clocking in at just under the usual 90 minutes. Even so, I did spend the last 30 minutes checking how much time was left. The message about overcoming biases and making friends who are different from you is sweet, though it only really comes in at the end, and might be too subtle for such a young audience.

The Little Vampire is the type of thing to throw on when you want the kids to be quiet, but you don’t plan to be in the same room. Adults will find it painful to sit through, but children of a certain age will most likely be entertained enough to stay occupied