''Vampires in Havana'' (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''¡Vampiros en La Habana!'') is a 1985 Spanish-language

adult animated An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and ...

comedy horror film Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...

directed by

Juan Padrón Juan Manuel Padrón Blanco (January 29, 1947 – March 24, 2020) was a Cuban animation director and comics artist, best known as the creator of the comic strip '' Elpidio Valdés''. He was born in Matanzas. From 1963 he published sketches and ...

and features trumpet performances by

Arturo Sandoval Arturo Sandoval (born November 6, 1949) is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, timbalero, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 ...

. It is an international co-production of Cuba, Spain and West Germany. The film is set in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

in Cuba is unaware of his actual nature as a day walking vampire. He is apparently

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...

's grandson, and has served as an unwilling test subject for the experiments of one of Dracula's sons. The musician finds himself targeted by both an American

crime syndicate The Crime Syndicate or Crime Syndicate of America (CSA, with America sometimes spelled Amerika) is a team of supervillains featured in DC Comics. The team is composed of evil Multiverse (DC Comics), parallel-universe counterparts of the Justice Le ...

from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and by a multinational group of European vampires. He desperately tries to escape their

manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive * Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies Social organisations * Manhun ...

. A sequel to the film, called ''Más vampiros en La Habana'' (English title: ''More Vampires in Havana!''), was released in 2003.

Plot

Joseph Amadeus von Dracula, known as Pepe or Pepito to his friends, is a trumpet player in 1930s Havana. He spends his time away from the bandstand dabbling in quasi-terrorist plots to overthrow the Cuban government of

Gerardo Machado Gerardo Machado y Morales (28 September 1869 – 29 March 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. Machado was elected president in 1924 as the leader of the Liberal Party, a moderate reform ...

. Von Dracula is unaware that he is really a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

, and that his uncle Werner Amadeus von Dracula, the son of

, has been using him as a test subject for a formula that negates the usually fatal effects of sunlight. A Chicago-based crime syndicate and a group of vampires with members from several countries in Europe have both learned of the formula and wish to possess it for different reasons—the Chicago group to suppress it and thus maintain their monopoly on indoor, artificial beach resorts, and the Europeans to market it as "Vampisol." When Pepe learns of his true heritage (and his uncle's wish to give the formula away to vampires everywhere) he becomes the target of a multi-pronged manhunt, leading all parties involved on a wild chase through some of the seediest neighborhoods of Havana. At the film's climax, Pepe and his girlfriend Lola find themselves cornered by the Chicago vampire cartel, led by vampire mobster Johnny Terrori. He tells Pepe to have some O positive blood as his last drink, the blood type which vampires consider to be the most delicious. However, when he spits it out in disgust, Terrori realizes that Pepe's dislike of drinking blood, the fact that he was harmed by a lead bullet earlier (vampires can only be harmed by silver bullets), and that he is completely impervious to sunlight (it instantly kills vampires) means that Pepe has stopped being a vampire. Terrori loses interest in the Vampisol formula, realizing that its effect is to turn vampires into humans. However, the leader of the European vampires suggests a deal with his counterparts from Chicago, whereby they can encourage vampires to take small amounts of Vampisol in the summer and visit the mobsters' artificial beaches in the winter. Both groups believe that they are going to make a fortune from Vampisol but, as a final resolution, Pepe sings instructions on how to prepare the formula over the radio to vampires worldwide, instructing them to use it sparingly to avoid becoming human. The Vampisol formula becomes financially worthless and both vampire cartels find themselves defeated. At the very end of the film, a vampire addresses the audience and says, "Be careful, because that guy next to you on the beach... might just be a vampire!"

Voice cast

* Frank González as Joseph Amadeus von Dracula (Pepito), Smiley, Al Tapone * Manuel Marín as Johnny Terrori, Black Vampire * Irela Bravo as Lola * Carlos González as Tio Werner Amadeus Von Dracula

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vampiros en La Habana 1985 films 1985 animated films 1985 comedy horror films Animated films set in the 1930s Films set in Havana Cuban animated films Spanish adult animated films Cuban comedy films Spanish comedy horror films West German films West German comedy films 1980s Spanish-language films Animated films about vampires Adult animated comedy films 1980s Spanish films Animated films about music and musicians Dracula films Films about organized crime in the United States Animated films set in the Caribbean Spanish animated feature films German animated feature films Spanish-language comedy horror films

Plot

Voice cast

See also

References

External links