A ‘familiar’ is the mortal servant who takes care of all his vampire master’s needs. They range from taking care of finances and bringing them fresh ‘harlots’, to bathing the centuries-old creatures and disposing of the victims. By ancient rules, they can never be turned into vampires and must commit to a lifetime of servitude.

The movie, The Familiar, is a 22 minute short written and directed by Kody Zimmermann and produced by Riley Walsh, Jennifer Nick and Zimmermann. Bolivar is the vampire played by thirty year acting veteran, Paul Hubbard, whose body of work includes ‘Sea Of Love’, ‘Physical Evidence’, ‘Look Who’s Talking Now’, ‘The X-Files’ and many more well known titles. Torrance Coombs stars as Bolivar’s familiar Sam, whose passion for vampire flicks and the undead lifestyle somehow lead him down this unusual career path. Mr. Coombs can be seen in the popular television series, ‘jPod’ and Showtime’s ‘The Tudors’. Some more of his past work includes ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and ‘Supernatural’.

The Familiar is a very entertaining mix of horror and humor, especially for it’s minimal running time and the monetary backing it must of had. The acting and production seem very professional, as well as believable, which most lower budget affairs seem to lack. There is also a true realism to the special effects and set design. This is a short that I would love to see get picked up by a large studio and made into a feature length film. Everyone’s doing the vampire thing nowadays but not from the perspective of the monster’s caretaker. What seems as a glamorous job at first turns into a disgusting, monotonous and thankless daily undertaking. Kudos to all involved.