VAMPIRE HUNTER D (2000)
Description: 10,000 years in the future, the world has become a very different place; monsters roam the land freely, and people, although equipped with high tech weapons and cybernetic horses, live a humble life more suited to centuries past. The story focuses on a small hamlet plagued by monster attacks and living under the shadow of rule by Count Magnus Lee, a powerful vampire lord who has ruled the land for thousands of years. When a young girl is bitten by the Count and chosen as his current plaything, she seeks out help of a quiet wandering stranger, D. It so happens that D is one of the world’s best vampire hunters, and he takes it upon himself to cut through Magnus Lee’s many minions, and put an end to the Count’s rule.
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Writers: Hideyuki Kikuchi (novel), Yoshiaki Kawajiri (screenplay)
Stars: Andrew Philpot, John Rafter Lee, Pamela Adlon
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Best quotes
[D discovers Leila is next to him, taking refuge from the rain]
Leila: [points a gun at him] Don’t get any ideas!… Hey, I’m just trying to stay dry here. If there was any other place to go, believe me, I’d be there. As soon as the rain lets up, I’ll be gone from here and from you.
D: I think I can guess your problem. Your family was the victim of vampires.
Leila: You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know anything about it.
D: All right. Perhaps I don’t.
Leila: [removes her earpiece] This stupid thing, it bothers me… You really are a weird one, you know that? In spite of being a dunpeal hunter and all that that entails. How did you know about my mother?
D: You called her name, remember?
Leila: She was kidnapped by vampires. My father went after her and was trying to rescue her, so they killed him. And after a while my mother returned, but she wasn’t my mother anymore; she’d been changed. The people in the village stoned her to death while I watched. After that I left home. I met the Marcus brothers and joined with them. I wanted to be a hunter to avenge my parents’ deaths. I’ve seen many terrible things since then: lives destroyed, families devastated, hopes crushed… everytime, it seems avampire is to blame.
D: I can understand why you’d choose to do it. But the life of a hunter is no kind of life.
Leila: It’s the only life I’m any good for now. And it looks like it’s the only life you’ve ever known. So I suggest we make a pact, since we’re both in it for the long haul: whoever dies first, the other one can come and bring flowers to their grave. How’s that?… It’s the rain, makes me sentimental. I don’t know why I should care about that – it’s just I love flowers. And I don’t think I’ll be getting any, I’m all alone after all. We have that much in common, don’t we? That we’re both hunters and we’re both alone. Oh well, I’m being silly, doesn’t really matter…
D: I’ll do it. I’ll bring you flowers if I survive this… but I don’t expect to.
Leila: Stop, I didn’t really mean it when I said that. And anyway, I don’t really understand why you should keep on doing this.
D: Because I’m a dunpeal. I don’t get to have a life, not like you.
[last lines]
[at a funeral, a young girl spots a stranger]
Girl: Hey, mister! Wait! Mister, wait! Um, excuse me, sir, but I was wondering if you knew my grandmother Leila… Yes. It’s you, isn’t it? My grandmother told me about you. So, I’d be honoured if you could come to our house. My father would be so happy…
D: I appreciate the kindness.
Girl: Oh, come on, we don’t live very far…
D: I just came to keep a promise I made to an old friend. She was afraid no one would mourn her death. I’m glad she was so wrong.
Girl: Okay, I guess I see… anyway, thank you for coming.
[D smiles at her, and rides out]
Girl: Goodbye. Goodbye!
Left Hand: Well, that was nice. You’re not so bad after all… you just dress bad.
Meier Link: [looks at Charlotte] When the last vampire is extinct, who will mourn our passing? Will she? Will anyone? Can anyone understand this pain, this loneliness?