In the same way that there's no such thing as too much chocolate, there's no such thing as too many vampire movies. Just when you might think that you've had enough, another tasty-looking tidbit comes along and you figure one more bite won't hurt. Which is why we're mildly intrigued by the premise behind new bloodsucker project Already Dead, based on the novel by Charlie Huston.
The story follows a vampire private investigator, Joe Pitt, who takes on a job for a New York City socialite whose daughter has gone missing. Pitt is something of a maverick, a loner in a world where most of the "vampyres", humans infected with a virus that requires them to drink blood, roam the city in clans. And his job is complicated by the fact that a new strain of the virus has come to light, turning people into carnivorous zombies. Don't cha just hate it when that happens?
The book is the first of five, with the sequel, No Dominion, just released, and nicely mixes pulpy, noir-y roots with some nice touches of Gothic horror - sort of like Brick, only with, er, vampyres instead of a high school. Producer Mike DeLuca who, along with Phoenix Pictures, optioned the book, previously worked on the Blade films and is hoping to turn this into a similar franchise (only, we're guessing, without the lacklustre third instalment).
The screen adaptation will be written by Scott Rosenberg, the man behind Con Air and High Fidelity, who may not have worked on too many supernatural themes before, but who was responsible for Kangaroo Jack and will therefore find vampires a good deal less scary. We'll keep you up to date as we learn more, but in the meantime, watch your neck.