Based on Marvel Comics’ top-selling character, New Line Cinema’s movie Blade is the latest of several projects brought to the screen by David Goyer – a screenwriter who has worked consistently in the realms of Horror and dark Fantasy. With British director Stephen Norrington at the helm, Blade (already a number one in the North American box office, and a #2 in the UK - Ed.) stars Wesley Snipes as the vampire hunter of the title.

“Wesley loved the idea of portraying this brutal, stripped-down and completely uncompromising anti-hero,” says Goyer. “Blade is not a nice guy. He’s completely obsessed with his goal to eradicate every vampire on the face of the planet. But because he’s part human and part vampire, he has a massive self-loathing.”

Vampire's Curse
Blade is infected with the curse of vampirism while still in his mother’s womb. Although he is possessed of superhuman strength, he is a pariah to both societies. The vampires have a secret agreement with the highest authorities that means their undead underworld is left alone. Blade aims to stop this.

“Blade says that his life ended on the day he was born, so every time he kills one of these vampires, he believes that he’s retrieving a piece of that life. The film is about the ongoing conflict between his vampire and human sides. Instead of drinking blood, he shoots up with a haemoglobin substitute, but it’s never as good as the real thing. He feels that denial of his human side is the only key to his survival – and that is the thing that prevents him from establishing relationships.”

With his human helper Whistler (played by a grizzled Kris Kristofferson), Blade comes up against Deacon Frost, a young half-vampire entrepreneur who runs the Blood Bath disco. “Frost is played by Stephen Dorff who plays it very cool. I actually changed the character after Stephen was cast – we were originally going to go with a very Shakespearean villain. When Stephen came on board, Frost became this upstart punk. He’s given to sudden bursts of fury, especially when Blade thwarts his plans, he’s very crass, very over-the-top. Stephen is a very good foil for Wesley, who is very brooding and grim.”