This film is very much a product of its time. There are a bunch of things that don't really make sense and are confusing by today's standards, but that generally just adds to the wacky 80s fun.This also works against the film however depending on how you look at it since throwaway jokes now seem like cutting-edge risqué humour, which will either offend or delight.Overall this film is nothing special, but it is fun and definitely worth watching if you are looking for some classic 80s film making.

Jim Carrey plays frustrated teenage virgin Mark Kendall, who is unable to talk his long-time girlfriend Robin (the lovely Karen Kopins) into going all the way. Mark is convinced by two friends—even bigger losers in the love department—to pay a visit to West Hollywood where they believe they might be able to score with a woman. In a dating bar, Mark meets the sexy Countess (Lauren Hutton) who invites him back to her place, unaware that his new acquaintance is a vampire who needs to feed three times from a virgin before Halloween to retain her youthfulness.Everybody has to start somewhere. For Jim Carrey, an illustrious career as a leading comedy star started with Once Bitten, a not-particularly-funny vampire comedy that displays little evidence of the performer's trademark madcap style. Fortunately, despite very few genuine laughs, the film's amiable approach and 80s trappings still make it a reasonably fun viewing—harmless nonsense for when there's nothing better to watch. Helping to pass the time less painfully: a fun dance sequence at the High School Halloween Hop, and a scene in the school shower that is actually pretty amusing just so long as you're not bothered by un-PC humour.

Superstar comedian Jim Carrey probably wishes this 1985 movie would quietly vanish in the sunlight. "Once Bitten" pairs the "Ace Ventura" star with the 400 year old Countess (sexy Lauren Hutton of "Gator") who is seeking a virgin to maintain her vampire immortality. More than anything else in the world, Mark Kendall (Jim Carrey) wants to get laid. The late Roger Ebert would probably have classified this disposable comedy as a horny teenager movie. Since Mark attends high school then this would be a correct classification. Before he runs into the delectable Countess at a speed dial dating bar in Hollywood, Mark struggles to get his high school sweetheart, Robin Pearce (Karen Kopins of "Creator"), to spread them and grin. She is deeply in love with her boyfriend Mark and prefers their dual deflowering to be a special occasion. The Countess employs a gay butler, Sebastian (Cleavon Little of "Blazing Saddles"), who tries to keep her as well as all the other former lovers in her house, on the straight-and-narrow. Meantime, Mark and his two pals, Jamie (Thomas Ballatore of "Detenator") and Russ (Skip Lackey of "Mindbenders"), hang tight with him as he tries to get his ashes hauled. Eventually, our heroine visits an old book store and learns female vampires like to sink their fangs in the spot closest to the genitalia. Robin ask Jamie and Russ to see if Mark has bite marks on his upper thigh. The guys try to do this in the gym shower and botch things so badly that somebody yells "Fags in the shower" and everybody panics. The nude scenes are as chaste as you can imagine. Nothing reproductive is shown except for the bottom curves of buttocks. Our heroine Robin uses the F-word once. After Robin begins to take Mark seriously, she decides to end the affair that Mark is having against his will with the Countess by having sex with him. They wind up using an available coffin as the vampires pursue them through the Countess's abode. This cute but disposable comedy is okay for one viewing. Director Howard Storm keeps things light and breezy; he has confined is directorial talents largely with television situation comedies. Scenarist Dimitri Villard wrote one other movie, director Richard Attenborough's "In Love and War," while co-scenarist David Hines penned the screenplay for "BachelorMan."

This is the first film in which I ever saw Jim Carrey. I told all my friends they just had to see it (back in '86).... I said, "Pay attention to the guy who plays Mark Kendall. He's the only one who could act in the whole film, and he's gonna go places." Boy, did he ever! Carrey plays the innocent Mark Kendall with charm and sweetness. His virginal girlfriend, who has been stringing him along for quite some time, is just not ready for "going all the way". What's a young, red-blooded, American teen supposed to do?? Well, Mark's friends have the answer: go to a single's bar, of course! Not only does Mark meet one hot woman, he goes home with her. Strange, though, he can't seem to remember it at all... He's changing, and not for the better. What's gotten into this sweet, naive fellow? It's a typical 80's movie. Watch out for big hair and dancing. And Carrey was sweet in this role. Don't expect the wild and crazy guy many have come to know and love on screen. (This is pre-"In Living Color"/"Ace Ventura".) Look on it as a retrospective! (and if you don't find the movie itself funny, it's also easy to make fun of...) Enjoy!