Bliss – review

Director: Joe Begos

Release date: 2019

Contains spoilers

Whilst the blurb I read for this movie didn’t mention vampirism, there are reviews out in the wide-open spaces of the internet that do mention this as a vampire film and so the fact that I am reviewing this doesn’t overly spoil what is to come.

I have seen parallels drawn between this and the Addiction but whilst the earlier film and this touch upon the pain and need of addiction they are very different beasts. This is a much more neon affair (the Addiction being a black and white film, of course) and had a psychedelic quality that reminded me a little of Mandy (2018).

Clive and Dezzy

The film starts (after a warning about the use of flashing lights in the film) with Dezzy (Dora Madison) stood before a canvas. Her boyfriend, Clive (Jeremy Gardner), is there and she admits she has been stood before it for an hour – she has, we discover, been suffering an artistic block for 3-months. She has an appointment but Clive needs a lift and makes her late, she also has a run in with her building manager – she is behind with the rent.

using Diablo

The appointment is with her agent (Chris McKenna), who informs her that gallery owner Nikki (Rachel Avery) hasn’t sold any of the paintings she has for some time and, with the new piece behind schedule (having paid a large advance for it), she is considering dropping her. He then drops her as a client himself. A desperate Dezzy contacts Hadrian (Graham Skipper), a friendly drug dealer, despite having been clean through the creatively dry period. He shows her three drugs – one of them, Diablo, is described as Cocaine cut with DMT. She takes a sample and is floored, literally.

meeting Courtney

By the time she comes round there is a party going on and she indulges in more drugs and alcohol before bumping into an old friend, Courtney (Tru Collins) and her boyfriend. Courtney persuades Dezzy to stay at the party and there is copious drug and alcohol consumption until they end up having a drug fuelled threesome. During this we see Courtney with blood at her mouth and Dezzy with blood on her neck, though it is a glimpse and the film doesn’t concentrate on it.

Courtney attacks

Dezzy goes home the next day and actually paints – though she doesn’t remember doing so, describing it like being possessed. She becomes convinced through the film that the drugs (she describes them as Bliss, not Diablo) are giving her the inspiration. She meets up with Courtney again but becomes ill and throws up blood in a toilet, before witnessing Courtney attack a woman, and then two dancing together and then waking naked on the floor before the painting that she has done more work on.

suicide attempt

It becomes clear as the film moves on that it is blood that is motivating her, not the drugs, and there is quite a trail of bodies. So, with the vampirism, a bite turns (there is an inference that Courtney has been cleaning up after Dizzy and using her friend for her blood, rich in alcohol and drugs as it is) and the vampire is eternal unless the heart is destroyed. If the heart is destroyed the vampire essentially melts away. Other injuries are quickly repaired – such as Dezzy trying to commit suicide, blowing a hole in the side of her head with a gun and her face quickly repairing.

Dora Madison as Dezzy

So the film's biggest negative is the actual characters. Dezzy is the best drawn and she is two dimensional, we get little character development and she is simply a queen bitch to everyone – so we have little sympathy for her. The other characters are substantially thinner. That’s not to say that the performances are bad. On the contrary, the performances are strong despite the thin characterisation, especially Dora Madison’s decent into paranoia. The film captures a real feel of anxiety and pain and that is its strength. The film draws this through performance, through camera work and through hallucinations (such as Dezzy believing the shower is covering her in blood rather than water and seeing herself in the mirror bleeding and moving independently of her real self).

the mirror lies

There is a fair amount of gore and those effects are well done, or the lighting and camerawork are clever enough to hide the joins. The melting is perhaps not as well done but such scenes are briefly done. This is a ride, and it isn’t a pleasant one – taking you into realms of apprehension, hurt and nightmares. This is perhaps why Dezzy is not drawn sympathetically and I can respect the decision to draw her like that but it does mean that the viewer is indifferent to her fate. 6 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On DVD @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Honourable Mention: Devil’s Vendetta

This Hoi-Ching Cheung directed film was an action/comedy hailing from Hong Kong and released in 1991. The basic story was set around a devil or demon named Twiggy (Mondi Yau, the Romance of the Vampires) who is cursed by Buddha after tricking a priest into giving his heart (literally) and drinking the blood from it – turning from a male looking, rotting demon to the female-appearing demon we see later in the film.

The demon is ordered not to kill but her plan is to defeat the curse and take over the earth by having a daughter who will join in power with her. The daughter (born from an egg) is Tracy (Vivian Chow) and is unaware of her heritage. Watching over her is Mandy (Man Cheung) who is the leader of an all-female Taoist school, situated next to an all-male school run by Principal You Tse-Nam (Stanley Sui-Fan Fung). Tracy is having to go through an arranged marriage with Liu Chun (Joe Nieh) as intercourse with him (and his special energy due to his birth date) before a given astrological point will dispel the propensity to be evil. Unfortunately he runs away, as he wishes to be a Taoist, and, on hearing this, she runs back to her school.

child kyonsi

So, vampires… Well we have kyonsi – both child ones and an adult one, plus someone pretending to be a vampire. First of all, Chun comes across students from the male school trying to “fish” for vampires (in order to torment them) from a cave, which we know contains vampires because we can see the red glow of their eyes. The leader, Dawn (Billy Lau), forcibly sends one of his gang into the cave on the end of a rope and pulls him out with a child kyonsi on him – which they subdue with the traditional talisman. He then pushes a bigger guy in, who is pulled out with several on him. They then have the kyonsi hop into each other until Tracy comes along and releases them.

acting as a vampire

Later Mandy and Tse-Nam compete to gain control of the other’s school – and the competition is vampires (control of one to play a variant of capture the flag). Mandy summons a vampire's coffin, which flies with lightning in an impressive entrance. Unfortunately, Tse-Nam knows nothing about controlling vampires and so Dawn is dressed up as the female kyonsi the coffin is meant to contain. Thus, as the female students use various traditional methods to stop it (talismans, black dog’s blood and sticky rice) he continues towards the flag.

the real deal

This, of course, ends up going wrong and Dawn ends up finding the real kyonsi out in the woods. She wants to take a bite out of him but it is just a passing moment in the grander scheme of the film. Indeed all this adds up to a couple of fleeting visitations as an aside from the main story about Twiggy. There is another fanged woman in the film but she is the human form of a giant demon cockroach and not a vampire at all. Some moments within the film are genuinely funny – some dated and/or that odd level of Chinese body orientated humour common in Hong Kong films from this era.

The imdb page is here.

Saving You, Saving Me – review

Directors: Tina Jetter*

Release date: 2019

Contains spoilers

*The IMDb page shows the film to have been co-directed between Tina Jetter and Marc I. Daniels, the film credits listed Jetter only.

I have said a few times that often it would be better to ensure a divide between artists responsible for films. Though there are actor/directors who work very well, too often if a person writes the screenplay and directs and stars in a film there is no creative check and balance. No voice of critique. In this case, unfortunately, the film comes across as a wish fulfilment fantasy for Tina Jetter and it leaves the checks and balances by the door.

Not that this is totally flawed, as I’ll mention later there are positives and we will look at those as well as the negatives.

dumped

The opening sequence is black and white as we hear the parents of Amber (played young by Meeah Bryant and played older by Tina Jetter) talking, arguing might be a better description. As Amber cowers in the back ground we hear much about a prophecy, a ritual, a way to keep her safe until she is 21 and her building in power. We hear that “the Scandals” will want her. Cutting forward 14 years, and into colour, Amber gets a messenger message from Brandon (Taylor Cowan) saying its over. Amber says that she has a purpose.

Tina Jetter as Amber

So, we cut to Ruth (Cassandra Ogbozor) in a car with Brandon and he’s not happy that 1) she mentions Amber and 2) she tries to smoke in his car. Later Ruth, Claudia (Katie Butler Major) and Natalie (Nicole Simone Backus) are making plans to get Amber when Brandon stumbles in. When Ruth tries to light a cigarette, he punches her with some force and then asks the other two about the plan. This ‘gang’ are problematic, despite a plot important aspect. Accepting that they would want to physically get Amber just because she became boy obsessed and ignored them takes a leap, and his involvement (both because he dumped her, and because he attacked Ruth but they still work with him) seems less than believable. The eventual coda of the gang – Brandon attacking Ruth and her shooting him – is not a spoiler as it has no plot significance whatsoever and seems superfluous.

back as a 'force ghost'

Getting back to the plot Robert (Jon Reisch), a vampire, is with Tom (Connor Keegan Dosch) – who has just observed the deaths of his mortal parents (it sounds like). Robert sees Tom as his brother. He is called to the Boss (Marc I. Daniels, Vamperifica) who gives Robert an assignment, find Amber and train her – she will be the new boss as he is going to the Scandals. This makes little sense as he simply goes there, walks in and has his noggin knocked off. Robert will later tell Amber that the Boss was clairvoyant, and he says in this scene that is he doesn’t go to them, they will come to their base. As the Scandals want to destroy all over vampires (for reasons unexplored) then one wonders why they didn’t come anyway. Later the Boss will return like a red glowing force ghost.

Jon Reisch as Robert

Robert goes and finds Amber in a club, chats her up and dances with her. She refuses his further company, when he offers to walk her home, and subsequently gets chased down and then beaten by Ruth et al (until Robert shows up and rescues her). He takes her back to his where he suggests, when she comes round, that she looks in the mirror. Her irises are red. How did she turn? Was it the beating? Did she die? Did he turn her? The film is silent. He gives her some blood, convinces her that he is a vampire too, confesses that he was looking for her and they end up in bed (his first apparently – despite him having been turned for thirty years). He takes her off to be trained (cue unconvincing training montage) but the Scandals are on their trail.

beheaded

So, I won’t spoil any more but it is fairly obvious that she’ll end up trying to convince the others to trust her and follow her – they were much more convinced than I was – and they’ll end up fighting the Scandals. There isn’t much lore given: they have red eyes when hungry (or angry), they drink blood but animal blood will do, they have fangs and are killed by beheading (though a post credit scene suggests they can survive this). Sunlight is not an issue and they appear in mirrors.

exterior shot

The thing is, so much of the narrative relied on shorthand and much of the film was held together by being a wish fulfilment fantasy rather than having a thought through plot. I did say not all was bad. Whilst the dialogue was unrealistic often the actual delivery thereof was earnest and sometimes quite well done. You could see that Jetter and Reisch were trying their damnedest and they actually generated some chemistry (that ham-fisted plotting threatened to overwhelm). There are some nice locations used and the photography was actually very well done.

the vampires

But the good bits don’t overcome the issues and what this desperately needed was a thorough script edit, with some major work done to it and Jetter choosing whether she wanted to star or direct but not both – perhaps in that way she would be able to divorce herself from the fact that she was way too close to it all and allow herself to shine. As it stands, I feel quite churlish giving this just 3.5 out of 10 but can’t allow myself to give it more.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Savagery of the Rebel King – review

Author: Nancy Kilpatrick

First Published: 2019

Contains spoilers

The Blurb: Necros, the most rebellious of the vampir kings, has carried a burning hatred for the one who forced him into this undead existence centuries ago. Abused, betrayed, cheated, he trusts none of any species, especially Guin, a dethroned mortal queen who appears out of nowhere and feeds his paranoia, and his darkest fantasies. At best she attempts to control him, at worst she tries to kill him. For some reason he does not understand, Necros is compelled to let her live. But he believes she is manipulative, and a liar; Guin sees him as brutal, stubborn, impossible! Encounters turn ugly as violence, bitterness and haunting memories drive both of them. Guin has her own agendas, and the more she struggles to actualize them, the further away her goals recede. A few vampirii endeavor to build a bridge between the two combatants, but others with sinister plans are bent on hindering a truce. This downward-spiralling dynamic reels towards a dire conclusion that neither Necros nor Guin seem able to halt.

Savagery of the Rebel King—Vol 4 in the exciting Thrones of Blood series—is a fast-paced rollercoaster ride in a plot that twists and turns and threatens to spin out of control. Readers will be glued to their seats!

The Review: As the blurb says this is vol 4 of a series. My review of the first book of the series is hosted at Vamped. I have read volumes 2 and 3 but, unfortunately, at the time of writing I cannot link to those reviews as they were done for Vamped, who have not published them as of yet. I am sure they will be posted eventually but until then trust that I rated book 2 as highly as book 1 and thought book 3 the best of the series thus far when I wrote the review.

The books are set in an Earth that I assume is in the future. Split into Sapiens cities and Vampirii strongholds, the feel is medieval as though a great deal of science has been lost. The vampirii are blood drinkers who will perish in sunlight but have permanent, black feathered wings and expressionless, though beautiful, faces. Through the volumes we have had the birth of several hybrids and, again, hybrid children are at the centre of this story and the volume makes it clear that they are very possibly the key to the overarching plot.

Where the third volume perhaps let us see a wider vista of plots and intrigue at a kingdom level, this volume narrows once more with a focus on the smallest of the vampirii kingdoms we have seen and its king, Necros. The book tightens in on him and his captured Sapiens’ Queen, now slave, Guin. It has its share of sexual violence portrayed, which more sensitive readers should be warned about – that said, if you are at book 4 then this will neither be a surprise or shock.

With regards the wider story, we get a little revealed as these two characters dance around the prose with a relationship perhaps more dysfunctional than any shown in the other volumes. Indeed I think we have received our biggest clue regarding the ghosts that haunt the mountain caverns and just what they want. This is boiled down into one word… that I won’t spoil… A worthy addition to the series, book 3 remains my favourite volume thus far but this adds a key ingredient to the series. 8 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

Use of Tropes: Killers Within

There are many films that touch tropes from the vampire genre but, I’d guess, many do so accidentally or unconsciously. Other films do so absolutely knowingly and a single line in this 2018 Irish film directed by Paul Bushe and Brian O'Neill indicates to me that the filmmakers were deliberately playing with those tropes.

So, rather than vampires we have members of the Reptilian Elite, darlings of wacked out conspiracy theories. Now in some of these theories the reptilians do drink blood, in others they are flesh eaters – and in this we get the second type and that might be enough to say vampire… but in this case I think the filmmakers were taking the tropes and projecting them, rather than make a separate species variant of the vampire.

attack on Amanda

It starts off with member of the Garda Amanda (Sue Walsh), who is in a park with her son Kevin (Cormac Melia) ignoring calls from her ex, and Kevin’s dad, Rick (Jeff Doyle). When she does answer it is about the time when four balaclava wearing criminals beat her and grab Kevin – they want payback from Rick. She awakens at Rick’s place and he confesses they are members of an Eastern European gang who want €600,000 they say he owes them. Despite younger brother Sam (Sam Lucas Smith) defending him, the story comes out that he stole, as a member of the Garda, €600K of drugs from evidence, sold them to the Eastern Europeans, arrested them, testified to have them put away and kept the money.

sinlings

Not to worry he has a plan to get the money and get Kevin back. With military veteran Jack (Johnny Elliott) and the help of Amanda’s brother Neville (Patrick Murphy) they are going to perform a tiger kidnapping on the CEO of the bank where Neville is a security guard and steal a cool six million. Amanda is against it but quickly persuaded that it is the only way to get the money – even using her computer access in the Garda to get details of the man and his family.

Andrew Murray as Philip

The CEO is Philip (Andrew Murray) and he lives in a large country manor (actually Springfield Castle in County Limerick) with his son Carl (Tom Naughten), daughter Claire (Saoirse Long) and wife Sarah (Sinead O'Riordan). That evening, when he gets home, Carl is doing homework – second world war, but the details the teacher knows are wrong according to Philip, they are just what people believe. Claire is getting ready for an important night out (where Philip has chosen the boy) and Sarah is preparing dinner. They sit down to dinner when there is a ring of the doorbell. No one seems to be there but then the gang are in, all wearing masks.

throat out

They zip tie the adults and Claire but Amanda intervenes when it comes to Carl and suggests that he can be left to play with his game. She is meant to go with Rick and Phillip to the bank but Philip persuades them that it is best to go in his two-seater Aston Martin as it will look less suspicious. We do not see the robbery side (just scenes in the car) but it goes to plan. However Carl, eventually, asks to go to the toilet and Neville takes him. A scream is heard and on investigation Neville is found dead, his throat ripped out, and Carl has gone missing. At first they think there is someone else in the house but eventually it is seen to be the family who are the aggressors and they aren’t as human as they look.

fangs

So, as we see them change, we get changing eyes at first (to golden eyes with elliptical pupils) and fangs. When the humans find a photo of them later (which we don’t see) Sam asks if they are vampires and Jack says they are lizard people from the conspiracies. It is this line that makes me think that the use of tropes was deliberate. So what do we have. Fangs and changing eyes have been mentioned and they feed on humans. We see that neville’s throat has been ripped out and Claire bites Sam’s neck when she gets over excited (having seduced him).

reptilian form

The seduction is down to an idea that although these are a separate species (that pre-dates humanity and had mighty cities before the cataclysm) and a different genus (reptile rather than mammal) they can interbreed (and do, to widen the gene pool) but the reptilians can only breed in certain very rare windows of opportunity (hence Claire going out that night, it was specifically to breed). They are very strong (so there is no answer as to why they didn’t just break their bonds but have to have them cut, other than not revealing themselves) and very fast. When I say very fast, we are talking True Blood fast, and each run ends in a ‘power stance’. Indeed, they are so strong and fast that one wonders how the humans could hold their own at all.

Baphomet worship

This point is especially pertinent as they seem able to shrug off bullet wounds (there isn’t rapid healing that I can tell, the wounds just don’t seem to bother them). Killing them is down to a ‘nothing lives without a head’ line. For a pre-human/pre-mammal species one wonders at why they worship Baphomet in a goat form. They can take on their natural reptile form or emulate humans at will and are telepathic. Philip admits later on (during an exposition piece to Rick, in a nearby pub where all the humans know what they are and fear/serve them) that he recognised Neville’s ‘stench’ as soon as he walked in the house.

bitten

So there is a definitive use of tropes here and a tie in to those tropes by asking if they are vampires. Even the idea of a robbery leaving the thieves trapped with (a) vampire(s) has been done in the genre. The film itself is ok if you don’t look too close but becomes problematic if you do scrutinise it; with the creatures being over powered and the robbers' desperate plan making little sense (especially for an active member of the police who left her partner due to his corruption) but it at least lets us sympathise with the home invaders.

The imdb page is here.

On DVD @ Amazon US

On DVD @ Amazon UK

Theresa & Allison – review

Director: Jeremiah Kipp

Release date: 2019

Contains spoilers

This feature length story is set in the same world as the web-serial 21st Century Demon Hunter. After watching this I am now watching the web-series and am aware that there is at least 1 vampire episode.

In this, however, whilst demons and werewolves are mentioned it is all vampire, all the way. Whilst it is clearly of a low budget the film shows a huge amount of heart and this primarily is down to some fine performances and not scrimping on the blood.

vampire bureaucracy 

We start with Theresa (Arielle Hope) in an office facing Mary Solenz (Sarah Kraus). Theresa is confused, she was raided by the NYPD and knows they found the body in her bathtub but Solenz seems unconcerned with that. What we eventually discover is that Solenz is part of the Hierarchy – the vampire ruling body – and Theresa, a new vampire, has been brought in for orientation. It is clear that they are unconcerned with the dead bodies she has left in her wake.

attack

The film takes us through Theresa’s turning – her being with a friend and very drunk, being put in a cab but waking up and the cabbie being gone, of meeting a mysterious woman (Pooya Mohseni) being picked up, going back to her place, sex and the attack. In this the vampire will get drunk if alcohol is in the blood stream and whilst her talking to the dying Theresa seems for the sake of cruelty at first, it becomes clear it is the drink talking… to the point that she decides to save the girl by turning her. In the morning Theresa awakens with her elbow burning in sunlight, the mysterious woman awakens with a hangover, regrets and a dawning realisation that she turned Theresa.

Allison and Theresa

Solenz outlines the rules their society live by and the truths of vampirism (sunlight, fire, beheading, stakes all kill), as well as some of the falsehoods (lack of reflections, garlic, needing invitations, holy items harming them). One thing that does get to Theresa is the idea of feeding on children (it is banned) but Solenz does reminisce about the good old days when children weren’t as likely to be missed and how good they taste – especially babies. Having left the orientation Theresa is found by Allison (Sarah Schoofs) who saw her at the centre, having been receiving a wrist slap herself along with her erstwhile lover Tony (Charles D. Lincoln).

with Tony

Allison gets her to open up. In her first month she has killed five people and is unhappy with her lot. Allison pronounces herself Theresa’s guide to their world but actually wants somewhat more of an intimate relationship. This goes wrong when Theresa realises that Tony was a guy and becomes concerned that Allison is using her as a lesbian rebound from her heterosexual norm. She later meets Tony, who teaches her to control her senses – until his predatory actions becomes too much for her (psychologically torturing a victim to make the blood taste nicer).

feeding

She is drawn, briefly, into the politics of the vampire families and eventually goes to a ‘party’ hosted by Tony and Allison’s (vampire) mother, Sakkara (Amy Jo Jackson), where Theresa's morality is tested to the core. Allison remains a dark temptation a hedonist with a good dose of nihilism and the film is, essentially, a view of Theresa’s moral struggle, with the well-built world an interesting background to that struggle. It is carried very much by the two primary actresses who both give believable performances, especially Arielle Hope who carries a range of emotions through the two-hour running time.

about to bite

Though low budget the film plays on the New York setting, offering a grotty vista and it does not shy away from nudity, sex and lots of blood – the blurb on Amazon suggests the film is “dark and depraved” and it is, and its appeal is in that depravity. These vampires are, at heart, monsters and revel in it. I worried as I put this on but I really enjoyed it and it is well worth a watch – 7 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Nosferatu’s Crush – review

Director: Mike M. Burke

Release date: 2006

Contains spoilers


I knew about this micro-budget film but hadn’t seen it to review. When it came up on Amazon Prime I felt a wee bit of dread as I really thought I’d struggle. And true; it’s micro-budget, it was recorded over a couple of weekends, the photography is poor… I could go on, but surprisingly I didn’t struggle as much as I thought – I’ll explain as we go on.

Katie Kyle Roche as victim #1

It starts with an obvious day for night shot (we get plenty of those and they are blooming obvious). One wonders how the young woman (Katie Kyle Roche) out in the woods could see to do her sketching had it actually been night? Anyway, she notices something out there. We see Dracula (Mike M. Burke) lurking and then a fanged female, Electra (Angalisha Marie), lunges towards her. She is found alive by the FBI and has fang wounds on her neck but can’t give them much information.

the funeral home

The FBI agents are Special Agents Green (Lady Altovise) and Kelly (Kristy White). Green is convinced she knows who the perp is. It just so happens that Vladimir Dracula III, direct descendent of Vlad Ţepeş, lives and works from the Three Brides Funeral Home. Of course she has no evidence and so, to fend her off, Vlad engages the services of attorney Rebekah Smart (Malissa Longo). When she comes to see him, Vlad develops a crush on her – despite boyfriend Tony (John Gaydos) being an aggressive idiot.

Angalisha Marie as Electra

Eventually one of the victims is killed – this is because another, evil, vampire (also played by Angalisha Marie) has moved into the area. Vlad’s three brides (the aforementioned Electra, plus Serena (Xaviera Desgrottes) and Eliza (Sylvia Kovacs)) attack victims but do not kill. Vlad then feeds from the brides as he no longer likes to bite people himself. Despite being called ‘brides’, feeding him and referring to him as Master, the three are generally disparaging to him – reminding him that he is repulsive and therefore a hotty like Rebekah could never like him.

vampire or klingon?

So let’s look at Vlad. Modelled on Orlock from Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens he is a pale blue/grey with large ears and bald. The bald cap used ridges up consistently, giving an impression of a Klingon vampire rather than the feature of a German expressionism film. This opens up a discussion on effects – they are rubbish almost consistently and the locations are no better (the FBI office has a pay phone only). But back to Vlad specifically, there is little in the way of dialogue (as the trivia on the Amazon X-ray suggests, “Dracula doesn't say much as Nosferatu didn't say much either.”) However, Burke does a nice line in gesturing and facial expressions.

Agent Kelly loses it

As well as the effects and locations, the lighting is dire and the photography poor, with shaky camera work at several points. However, I suggested it wasn’t a chore. The film is a comedy (though the purposeful comedy lines didn’t tickle me that much) and it is a couple of the performances that kept me drawn in – namely the two FBI agents. Lady Altovise ran a fine line in over the top, offering an amusing performance that juxtaposed nicely with Kristy White, who appeared to be having a whale of a time, was barely able to keep her face straight at times and was infectious when her amusement overcame her.

Vlad and the brides

The film might have been painful but these two made it worth the wade through the mire of low budget filmmaking. Burke himself became more and more endearing as the misunderstood vampire (who actually had more in common with Nosferatu’s Knock than Orlock at times). This is not a great film but it could have been so much worse. Altovise and White almost single-handedly drag the score up to an unexpected 3.5 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Short Film: From Dusk till Dad

Technically part of a short anthology series by Cracked, called Tales to get Scared To, and renamed I'm Worried My Step Dad's A Vampire on their YouTube Channel, this is a 2016 short film directed by Abe Epperson.

Roy and Will

Starting in a counsellor’s office, we meet Will (Philip Labes) whose parents have gone through a divorce. The counsellor, Clint (Nate Eco), seems more intent on lining Will’s current dilemma with his own adolescent experiences and is dismissive of the idea that Will’s Mom (Debbie Zaltman) might now be dating a monster…

lots of bats

Not just a monster, Will retorts, but a vampire named Roy (Hal Rudnick)… a literal vampire. We soon realise that Will is not there alone but Roy has come to the session also. He wears casual clothing and a Dracula-esque pendant, he is pale of skin, has an Eastern European accent and fangs… It seems Will might be right but Clint is having none of it. However, could common ground be found with a vampire, for the sake of his mom…

Well the answer is in the short, embedded below, which has a rather gruesome attack on a cat. The imdb page is here.

Short Film: Lilith

A 22-minute long Belgium short that was directed by Maxim Stollenwerk and released in 2013, this is a stylish little short that follows the fortunes of a young (looking) vampire named Lilith (Renée Vervaet) – though in film we never hear her named.

Starting in a hospital we see her looking at an injured patient before she pushes a needle into a vein and starts to draw blood. The patient convulses, startling Lilith and causing a vase of flowers to fall and smash. A security guard enters the room but Lilith has escaped through a window.

on the tube

She gets the tube home and is about to enter her flat when approached by her landlord – she owes him money but refuses his offer to work something out. She squeezes a small amount of blood from the blood bag she had tried to fill. Later she considers attacking the landlord – but his son is sleeping on his lap – and goes out. She finds a prostitute, Charlot (Inge van Bruystegem), being attacked and rescues her. Charlot takes her home.

romance

Home is a brothel and we hear that, the night before, she displeased a regular called Horny Hans (Wim Willaert) after he hit her. The two women get on, go out to a club together and a romance begins to bloom. Unfortunately, at the club, Hans takes a liking to Lilith. After she is caught in a medical supply van, but told she can have blood if she has money, she needs to make money but finding work with Charlot will bring her into Hans path…

Hans and Lilith

This one really did work for me, there was a nice narrative painted and you felt for the two women – especially Lilith. This is helped by the fact that the male characters are generally painted negatively but also is carried nicely by the two leads, especially Inge van Bruystegem. There is some really nice framing and use of lighting – especially in the brothel. Worth checking out.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK