''The Familiar'' is a 2009 comedy horror

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

starring Torrance Coombs, Paul Hubbard and Rachel Sehl. It tells the story of a naive

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 creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

fan who becomes the

personal assistant A personal assistant, also referred to as personal aide (PA) or personal secretary (PS), is a job title describing a person who assists a specific person with their daily business or personal task,. it is a sub-specialty of secretarial duties ...

to a belligerent vampire. It won awards at the

Sitges Film Festival The Sitges Film Festival ( ca, Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, links=no) is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Spain, specialized in fantasy and horror films, of which it is considered one of the world's foremost in ...

, Bram Stoker International Film Festival,

Charleston International Film Festival Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundl ...

, the

Rincon International Film Festival Rincon or Rincón (Spanish for ''corner'') may refer to: * Rincon (meadow) * Rincon (abandoned meander) People * Rincon (surname) * Rincón (footballer, born 1977), born Gilvan Santos Souza, Brazilian football striker * Rincón (footballer, 1 ...

, the Seattle True Independent Film Festival and the River Bend Film Festival. It has been nominated for several Leo Awards as well as Best Short Film at the DGC Awards.

Plot

Sam ( Torrance Coombs) has always been obsessed with vampires from the time he was a child watching them on children's programs to when he was a college student reading horror novels on the side. On Sam's 21st birthday, a mysterious gentleman offers him a peculiar career choice: become an assistant to a real-life Vampire. Intrigued and enthusiastic, Sam takes the job and meets Simon Bolivar (Paul Hubbard), a 400-year-old Vampire. Everything about the Vampire does hold some truth to it; a truth followed by a dose of hard-reality. Sam soon realizes that it is not so cool or pleasant to serve his corrupt and neurotic behavior.

Cast

Inspiration

Kody Zimmermann Kody Seti Kimbulu (born 23 January 1978), known professionally as Kody or Kody Kim, is a Belgian television host, comedian, and radio personality. Kody was born in Schaerbeek, Belgium to a Congolese family. He attended the Université catholique ...

came up with the idea reading

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

while working as an actor's assistant: "I felt like...the vampire was a metaphor for the boss from hell. I was always interested in the Renfield character in Dracula, and no one ever really did his story – that I know of. What kind of a person would devote himself to this sinister, Satanic agent and still call himself a human being? I thought that was the connection – you are crazy for being part of this world, but you are not exactly the main character, either. I wanted to bridge those two things, and I think it fit well while I was writing it: serving this greater being while being caught up in this insanity. A lot of us go into these jobs where we ask ourselves, 'why are we doing this'".

Awards

Wins

*2010: HorrorQuest Film Festival for Best Short Film *2010:

Official Fantastic Competition Panorama for Best Short Film *2010:

Vampire Film Festival A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or death ...

for Outstanding Vampire Short *2010:

Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival Buffalo most commonly refers to: * Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to: Animals * Bubalina, a subtribe of the tr ...

for Best Horror Short Film *2010:

for Best Screenplay *2010:

Mile High Horror Film Festival The Mile High Horror Film Festival was a film festival that took place in the Denver metro area of Colorado from 2010-2015. It had a brief return as an online festival in 2020 and 2021. The festival showcased horror, thriller, and sci-fi films ...

Audience Award for Best Short Film *2010: Thriller! Chiller! Film Festival Best Short Film *2010: Bram Stoker International Film Festival for Best Short Film *2010:

Maelstrom International Fantasy Film Festival Maelstrom may refer to: * Maelstrom (whirlpool), a powerful whirlpool ** originally the Moskstraumen in English Amusement rides * Maelstrom (ride), a former log flume dark ride attraction in the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World Resort i ...

for Audience Favorite Best Horror Short Film *2010: Action/Cut Short Film Competition for Best Fiction Film *2010:

Seattle's True Independent Film Festival (STIFF) Seattle True Independent Film Festival (STIFF) was started in 2005 by a group of filmmakers whose feature film Swamper was rejected by the Seattle International Film Festival. STIFF was modeled after the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City UT as ...

Fangbanger Award *2010: River Bend International Film Festival Hight Point Award *2010: Rincón International Film Festival for Best Horror Short *2010:

for Best Short Thriller

Nominations

*2011: Killer Film Festival for Best Screenplay (

) *2011: New Orleans Horror Film Festival for Best Screenplay (

) *2011: New Orleans Horror Film Festival for Best Horror Short *2010:

for Best Director (

) *2010:

for Best Cinematography (George Campbell) *2010:

for Best Actor ( Torrance Coombs) *2010:

for Best Actor (Paul Hubbard) *2010:

Terror Film Festival Terror(s) or The Terror may refer to: Politics * Reign of Terror, commonly known as The Terror, a period of violence (1793–1794) after the onset of the French Revolution * Terror (politics), a policy of political repression and violence Emotio ...

for Best Horror Short Film *2010:

Action On Film International Film Festival The Action On Film International Film Festival, also known as the Action On Film Festival, was founded in 2004. It was held in California until 2017 when it moved to the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. As a hub for many returning filmmakers ...

for Best Make-Up *2010: Directors Guild of Canada Award for Best Short Film *2010: Leo Award for Best Screenplay in a Short Drama (

) *2010: Leo Award for Best Overall Sound in a Short Drama ( Hugo Dela Cerda, Kevin Belen, David Green) *2010: Leo Award for Best Sound Editing in a Short Drama (

Kelly Cole Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * Kelly (Kelly Price album) * Kelly (Andrea Faustini album) * Kelly (musical), ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap * Kelly (song), "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland * Kell ...

, Bill Mellow, Kevin Belen, Graeme Hughes, David Green) *2010: Leo Award for Best Performance Male Lead in a Short Drama ( Torrance Coombs)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Familiar 2009 short films 2009 films English-language Canadian films 2009 horror films Canadian comedy short films Vampire comedy films Cultural depictions of Simón Bolívar Canadian vampire films 2000s English-language films Canadian horror short films 2000s Canadian films