If I Was Your Vampire: SUCK Plays NXNE

Rock & roll is both vicious and ridiculous.

It’s vicious in its dark undertones that permeate through the chord changes and vile words that have long been called The Devil’s Music. This darkness doesn’t just get prophesied to thousands of worshipping fans, it becomes ingrained into the very musicians chiming it out from their instruments. They have tasted the promise of a better life, and might certainly sell their souls for more fame, more money more hits.

As for its ridiculousness…well, have you seen what they wear on stage? if you’re still unconvinced, ask yourself this: Just what is a “Baba O’Riley” anyway?

One movie that brings together the violence and humour of rock & roll quite nicely is SUCK, a comedy by Rob Stefaniuk playing NXNE this week. And if you just have to be trendy, it’s also about vampires. The story is that of The Winners, a low level band on the wrong side of their best-before-date still searching for their big break. Their break seems to arrive without reflection as their bassist Jennifer (Jessica Paré) is sired as a vampire one night.

This increases their popularity, but the band leader Joey (Stefaniuk) wonders if they are succeeding at too high of a cost. He sees himself at a crossroads – literally. Jennifer’s allure over the crowd might be their ticket to the big show, but it raises the notion of “selling out” to a whole new level. He wants to lead his band down another road, but can’t seem to turn his back once and for all on this devil’s bargain – a bargain he doesn’t even entirely understand.

When the band makes a stop at a studio to cut a few new songs, Joey is called out by his producer Victor (Iggy Pop). In a moment that questions the very nature of rock & roll, Victor wonders aloud whether the band has gone too far in its quest for fame. Joey responds that dancing with The Devil isn’t about fame, but likewise that he doesn’t know what it is about. “You don’t know…but you’re willing to go to hell for it.” Victor sums up.

When Iggy Pop is your moral compass, you know you’ve gone wrong.

SUCK has a lot of truly funny moments, including casting über-vegan Moby as a shock rocker named Beef Bellows who entices his rowdy fans to throw raw meat at him and his band. Likewise, it wouldn’t be rock & roll without the requisite drummer joke. These moments of cleverness dot a pretty clever parable of striving for notoriety while sacrificing one’s integrity.

SUCK isn’t about to go down as one of the greatest rock movies ever made, nor will it rank high on lists of the greatest vampire movies ever made. However, like a zippo held aloft during a power ballad, SUCK recognizes that what it honours is both silly and profound, and that self-awareness is ultimately what makes this movie a lot of fun.

SUCK plays North by Northeast on Friday June 18th – 9:45pm at The Bloor Cinema (506 Bloor Street West).