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Kindred the Embraced - The Complete Vampire Collection Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 14 Reviews)
I is dumber for watching this.
After being a huge fan of the White Wolf genre, this was enough for me to quit just so White Wolf would not have the money to authorize anything like this ever again. If you want to bring a story as complex as the World of Darkness to life you do not hand it over to the idiot who made 90210.
Any White Wolf fan out there should cringe in horror that this was ever aired. DO NOT BUY IT, it is a waste of money. The Buffy series stayed closer to the Masqurade than this ever did.
I am serious, I had to drink heavily with other WW players just to make it through..........that way I could attribute the memories to druken hallucinations and a really bad hangover.
Glad I now own it!
Wanting something new in the vampire genre, I went on a search for films and came across Kindred: The Embraced. It seemed vaguely familiar. After viewing it, I realized that I had seen the initial episode when it originally aired, but when I purchased it I did so thinking I was doing it sight unseen.
I've since watched all eight episodes and can say that I am not disappointed. The fact that this series was based on sets of role playing novels is a mark in its favor. I say this because the series is not about the blood aspect of vampires or, as they are here, the Kindred. There is indeed action, tame violence, but if you're looking for gore and aggression, if that's what you want out of your vampire film experience, Kindred: The Embraced is not the place you'll find it.
What this series focuses on is the community that the clans of the Kindred have made for themselves, the peace they have forged to live without fear amongst humans. They have a set of laws designed to guard the Masquerade, a grand scheme to hide their identity from the world, and they have a prince to enforce those laws. That prince is Julian Luna, played by Mark Frankel, and he is the ultimate strength of the series.
The character of Julian Luna is a complex one. His sense of humanity has the potential to clash dangerously with his responsibility towards the clans. He is aware of what he must do, but knows that it comes with a price, whether it be for his people or for himself specifically. And his struggle to tread that line is where the emotion lies for the viewer. Frankel was a wonderful choice for the role of Julian Luna. He is, in many respects, the quintessential vampire--beautiful, charismatic, elegant and lethal.
My favorite episode is the last, "Cabin in the Woods." Therein lies the potential of the show. Julian's character has started to peak, we begin to see what he is capable of, and it is bittersweet to know that nothing will follow. It would have been remarkable to see what direction this show would have taken.
Certain aspects are not entirely realistic, such as the premise behind C. Thomas Howell's character, but it is easy to take that as a first season fault. And, really, it may also be because of the depth they were aiming for, which, if that is the case, is most forgivable.
The only thing that I did not appreciate was how the DVDs were put together. Credits run before and after every episode. Within each you get long pauses where commercials no doubt were and they are preceded with the name of the show against a black backdrop. I don't see the necessity of keeping the shows in the original format, but since I own no other TV series to DVD set perhaps this is not so specific to Kindred.
If you are thinking about buying Kindred: The Embraced without having seen it, with little knowledge of the background or the series in general, there is, in my opinion, scarce need for debating the matter. I bought it on impulse (a rarity, actually, for me) and it paid off. It's not all I've ever looked for in the vampire genre, but it fulfills some of my requirements and I not only enjoy it, but am most glad I now own it.
Vampire Drama
First of all, the series is loosely based on a series of books AND the rpg's that are so popular. (Yes, there were actually novels that didn't involve how to convert rpg characters)I say "loosely" because although the clan names and characters are similar, the tv series has it's differences. Those that enjoy watching Buffy will enjoy watching this mini-series. It's got some action, drama and romance all mixed together. It can be a bit gruesome at times, but it is tolerable. The cliffhanger at the end still bugs me, but in all honesty, it would have been hard to continue production without Mark Frankel(?) aka Julian Luna, the main character, who had died unexpectedly in a motorcycle crash. It's a shame really, because I believe this series could have really taken off with a little more work. Nonetheless, the story is good and is a beautiful tribute to his memory.
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