Another Jossverse Vampire Question...

[fenderlove]

Do you find Jossverse vampires ugly? I mean, wasn't that Whedon's point was that vampires were supposed to be hideous, be metaphors for all the evil and sinful things people do? The more evil and ancient a vampire was, the more grotesque they were supposed to become, as though the demon was a consuming disease. However, for all the Balthazars and Princes of Lies and Masters and Kakistoses (... Kakistosi?), there are more pretty vampires who are not only physically attractive in their human features but their vampiric features, to me, are somewhat aesthetically pleasing. It's not just the Fanged Four, but the Gorches weren't too bad looking. Spike and Harmony's vamp-faces are even sort of cute. It might just depend on the facial structure of the person wearing the make-up that determines whether or not their vamp-face is weird or off-putting. What are your thoughts? Is a Jossverse vampire's game-face ugly to you?

Comments

[lilithbint.livejournal.com]

I think the whole idea of vampires=evil=ugly went out the window when Angel became the love interest because heroes can't be ugly you know. His and Darla's game faces underwent a bit of change through the seasons. Once an actor became a fixture on the show their vamp face was a lot nicer than the big evils (and of course the full makeup is too much for a quickly dusted vamp)
and of course cheekbones help to carry off the look.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

Spike's cheekbones are made of god-dust and fix everything. :D

[rahirah]

I think vamp-face can be damn sexy on the right vamp. I write a fic series where for tl;dr reasons Spike is still a vampire, but ages like a human. He eventually ends up looking somewhat like Angel's Pylean demon form when he vamps out. I take it as a writerly challenge to describe that accurately, but in a way that comes off as, well, hot, in a demony sort of way.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

During a one-shot fic, I wrote where Angel and Spike were getting to the point where they were beginning to look like a Nosferatu type of vampire like the Master- they were losing their hair, eyes were turning red, ears were getting pointy, their noses were turning up on the tips, they were unable to get out of vamp-face, etc. etc. Of course, Angel is about 100+ into his vampirehood compared to Spike, so Spike was looking a tad bit better. I could only get them to be hot together... because they are schmoopy adorkable manpires. XD

[rahirah]

That sounds familiar! I think I read that one and intended to comment, because it was thematically similar to a ficlet I'd written, but in a mirror image kind of way, if that makes any sense. But I didn't do it right away, so it slipped through the cracks. I am such a failure at feedback.

(Actually I think the Master is a good example of a vampire who's quite handsome if you judge him by vampire standards of attractiveness.)

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree about the Master, especially when compared to the other ancient-y vampires. He's held up very well. :D Plus, if he could unvamp, he'd be Mark Metcalf, which is awesome. I just keep imagining him screaming at Angelus, "What are you gonna do with your unlife?!" XD

My fic was called Vanity (http://fenderlove.livejournal.com/301008.html). I'd like to read your fic if you have a link. I'm so out of the fanfic-loop. I always seem to miss everyone's postings!

[rahirah]

Yes, that was the one! Mine's here. It's schmoopy Spuffy, but it's short. *g*

[museofspeed.livejournal.com]

I've always found Drusilla's vampire face to be kind of adorable.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

Me too. XD

[lusciousxander.livejournal.com]

The hottest vampire in vamp face IMO is Willow. I think as the show went on, Angel and Spike are made to look pleasing in their vampire faces.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

Something about AH's face really worked well with the vamp make-up. Angel's vamp-face had to grow on me, but Spike's was just always cute to me (I blame JM's magical cheekbones). :D

I just realized that probably the most non-threatening of all the vamp faces is Buffy's. She looked like some kind of adorable gargoyle. XD

[bookishwench.livejournal.com]

Here from su_herald.

I'm not so sure that Angel, Spike, and some of the others are less horrific in vamp face as the viewers got more accustomed to the look in general and began to see the sort of artistry in it. The Master and Darla were straight up horrific in vamp face (and were also the oldest recurring characters in vamp age, so that may be part of it). As for Angel, Spike, and Harmony, they're interesting and cool to look at, but in the way that a piranha is. I don't find them actual attractive, just sort of neat. Drusilla's seems to have been more based on a snake than a cat, as the others were, so she kind of freaks me out, though again, the look is still awesome. With Willow, though, I kind of have to agree with lusciousxander; something in her vamp makeup was different in the sense she appeared both dangerous and highly sexual at the same time.

Regardless, it's a crime the show's make-up team never got an Emmy.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

S1 Angel's vamp-face wasn't all that great to me, but by the Angelus arc in S2, it looked pretty good, especially in profile (I think because they allowed more of his eyes to show). Spike's vamp ridges were always just... well, adorable. He seemed less like a big scary thing and more like a cat. I also thought Darla's turned out too cutesy, but that was probably because her nose turns up at the tip and she has a teeny bit of a lisp with the fangs. XD

The make-up team definitely created interesting visuals, and they deserved more than a nomination.

[quinara]

*appears through the magic of Petzi*

I quite like the Buffyverse vampires - I think all the lion roar effects really make the make up work in a way to have a beastlike charm, with a kind of warm quality (sorry, useless description for a visual there, but it's what I've got) that a lot of other vampire shows/films don't have. I find a lot of the prettier vampire effects, like on Being Human and (IIRC - might be thinking of something else) the Buffy movie, a little bit slimy-feeling visually. Some of the Buffy vampires are definitely better looking than others, but the lumpy brows and jagged teeth have a vitality that's more attractive to me than the more delicate stuff you get.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

I concur! I enjoy the sound effects as well. Plus, sometimes they purr. Okay, that's not really a sound effect and more-or-less James Marsters and Juliet Landau being weirdos, but I like that they are all sort of cat-like. XD

[samsom.livejournal.com]

I think some of them can be ugly - the Master never struck me as especially un-ugly. But I've always thought if vampires were done right, they could be very attractive in a demony way. I've always loved Angel's vamp face especially. There's something about it, especially during Eternity, that attracts me in a 'repulsive-yet-compelling' way. Spike also, but a little less so. :)

I thought Darla and Dru were both menacingly hot in vamp face. Willow was scorching - I found her vamp face far more attractive than her real face, as terrible as that sounds. The Gorchs weren't all that bad either. When I was sixteen, I watched the Lost Boys for the first time and I always thought Michael's and David's vamp face in that movie was very attractive in a demony way,. although they were less ridged. So I think I have a type - I find that I don't really like just sharp teeth, like in True Blood. I gotta have the rippled face and yellow/gold eyes and mouth full of nearly jagged teeth.

So no, I don't think Jossverse vamps are ugly. :)