10/31 – review

Directors: Justin M. Seaman & Zane Hershberger

Release date: 2017

Contains spoilers

So, I stumbled over this one on YouTube (the Kings of Horror channel) and as far as I knew it was just a Halloween themed horror anthology (there is a horror host but she appears at the beginning and end only).

It just so happened that segment 1 contained a ‘world’ vampire type and segment 2 had a vampire (and an unusually situated one at that). They also happened to be two of the better segments. So, what are we waiting for, let’s look at them…

Tyler and Kevin

Segment 1 was directed by Justin M. Seaman and is called Old Hag. Now the hag (Jedediah Giacchino) is definitely seen as a vampire type (often crossing into witch/vampire) in the Circum-Caribbean and African diaspora but also appears within European folklores (and gave her name to the psychic vampirism of being hagridden). In this, when eventually described, there is a portrayal of her sitting on her victim’s chest and strangling them – tying into the Nightmare and folkloric vampirism.

Cindy Maples as Kathy

The segment sees us at a bed and breakfast on Halloween. Tyler (Nickolaus Joshua) and Kevin (Mitchell Musolino) are aspiring filmmakers who have answered a Craigslist ad to make an advert for the guest house. As requested, they have brought a proposed script and their equipment. Owner Kathy (Cindy Maples) suggests they film straight away – they can always stay over. As things go on Tyler keeps seeing the Hag, at first thinking her a guest. Kevin, dismissive, takes up the offer of the bed for a night.

chest sit

Kathy keeps on yawning through and one might suspect that she has been drained of energy. She admits that she never sleeps properly (bar one night of the year) and it is not a stretch to believe that the activity that prevents her sleep can be described as an energy vampire attack – as though she is the year-round sustenance and the boys are due to be gorged on. We do get a proper chest sit and throttle…

Jeff and Stephanie

Segment 2 was Zane Hershberger’s Trespassers. It starts with a couple, Jeff (Chad Bruns) and Stephanie (Sable Griedel), who leave a Halloween night film early because it was rubbish. He is new to the town and she still wants to be scared so she takes him to the old Martin place. This place, she tells him, was the land belonging to some gypsy people who were run off and the land bought out by a Mr Martin (Dave Joseph). However, a scarecrow (Jedediah Giacchino) appeared and Mr Martin went mad and killed his family.

the scarecrow

The abandoned house is still there but Stephanie wants to see the scarecrow. More, she wants to answer the mystery of what that scarecrow was and so cuts it down. Under the sackcloth, however, is a rotten face – a face that awakens and bites her neck… It then reforms into a horrific vampire form. But, you may ask, is it a vampire… beyond the neck bite and the fact that it seems to produce mist and is called vampire in the credits, Jeff works out that it was attached to a cross and that Mr Martin killed his family because they had been turned… but… it is still there of course, and Stephanie has been bitten…

vampire

These were great fun little shorts (and probably the best in the whole anthology). I liked the putting the vampire as a scarecrow thing, it was really fun and the denouement is satisfying. The photography was well done and all in all this had a lot going for it if you like your anthologies. The score is for the two vampire segments, which are unusual and deserve 6 out of 10. As I write you can find the film here.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Chills Down Your Spine – review

Director: Mathew Kister

Release date: 2020

Contains spoilers

The portmanteau Shivers Down Your Spine was a good fun, obviously budget restricted, indie horror anthology (with the score being let down as the vampire segment was one of the weaker in the film).

It was also lengthy, coming in at around the 2-hour mark, this apparently set a challenge and this sequel comes in at round about the 2-hours and fifty-minutes mark. It is also a quality step-up from the previous film and whilst it does have its moments (a tendency to gratuitous nudity and a toilet gag opening) it is a worthwhile anthology with some nice fourth wall breaks and even advertising its own, un-shot as of yet, third part.

the killer and the genie

The opening sees a serial killer (Benito Garcia) on the toilet. The audience is offered a view of tp stuck between his cheeks when the toilet doesn’t flush and he investigates to find a lamp in the cistern. He takes it, rubs it and summons genie Sabihah (Megan Shepard) and manages to imobilise her with the first wish. Meanwhile Jeff (Steve Eaton), who had the wishes in the first film, has won enough tickets via an arcade to get another genie lamp. When he rubs it, however, he doesn’t get Sabihah but her sister Mahktoonah (also Megan Shepard). His wish for her to cover her boobs (echoing the first film) fails as something can only ever be wished for once. They go on a road trip to find (and rescue) Sabihah.

June and Tiffany

In this there are two tales that grab our attention. The first being Bed and Breakfast, which sees a woman, June (Anastasia August), arriving at a bed and breakfast hotel in a storm. The place is a sumptuous, gothic building and the butler (Simon Lovell) is full of charm. She has broken down and the storm has taken out the hotel’s phoneline. So, having given her a towel, he offers her a bed for the night – free of charge – and a lift to town in the morning. He mentions that he is preparing dinner for the other guests.

turn in shock

She enters a room but walks in on a woman, Tiffany (Roxcy Rowen), leaving the bathroom in just her panties, and realises it is the wrong room. A brief conversation indicates that she has also broken down – though the butler has charged her for the room – and dinner is to be lobster. June goes to her room and we see her putting a ribbon in her hair, whilst otherwise naked. She thinks she hears a noise behind her, once, twice and then sees a cadaverous visage behind her in the mirror. Turning, nothing is there and, putting it down to tiredness, she goes to bed.

a Tiffany cocktail

On waking, however, there is no water in the pitcher by the bed and so she goes out to find some, wearing an open lacy robe and nothing else – as you do (the nudity in this piece is fairly gratuitous). On finding the butler, sat with his back to her at the dinner table, he eventually says they have no water – the only thing to drink is blood. On turning he is the cadaverous creature and he is holding Tiffany’s severed head with a straw in it. How will June escape…

hunting the thief

Whilst he is not definitively a vampire, we do have a face-changing aspect and drinking of blood and, so, it is as likely as otherwise. The other segment of interest, The Whirlpool of Night, is definitely vampire and shot in black and white, in a way that brings films like Sin City to mind. A thief, Nora (Hannah Dolezal), is being hunted by a gunwoman with a cowl and a cross shaped face-piece. The assassin has been called by a mob boss (Michelle Schrage) in case Nora reneged on a job she had no choice but do.

Julia Farrell as Payne

The job involved stealing something from a politician’s wife, Veronica Payne (Julia Farrell). Unfortunately the grounds are heavily guarded, the security tight and Nora has a tight deadline. She decides therefore to stroll through the front door, applying for a position with the woman despite (or perhaps due to) knowing her predilection for debauchery – with a view to getting into her bed and thus close to the object. Payne, however, is not only debauched but a vampire.

vampire victim

The two shorts we are interested in are strong in a field of strong shorts. Bed and Breakfast is simply sumptuously shot and beautiful to look at, with some great lighting used. It isn’t complicated and does employ an overused trope at the end but it all works rather well. The Whirlpool of Night’s biggest issue is that there was scope for so much more within it. I really liked the idea of the all-female cast in this one and the mob boss, the vampire and Norah herself all deserved further exploration within a longer story. Be that as it may, these were good shorts in an anthology that certainly upped its game. In close to three hours I wasn’t bored and happily give the two vampire shorts 7 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Ma Petite Sophie – review

Director: Rubén Bautista

Release date: 2018

Contains spoilers

This Spanish film was based on a short film of the same name from a few years before and came somewhat from leftfield, appearing on UK Amazon Prime Videos in time for Halloween 2020 but with nothing within the description to suggest it was a vampire genre film.

Rather it talked about primary characters Sophie (Natasha Nejla) and Julio (Fernando Cano) celebrating their 5th anniversary when a person knocks on the door and the visitation impacts Sophie’s life forever.

Dream

So not a lot to go on and we actually do not start there. Rather we see rooftops and go down into a city where, in black and white we see a woman – whose head scarf is colourised – and we see her get a train. Within that montage we get moments where we see an old doll. Sophie is with her therapist, Violeta (Alba Santalla Fonte), who is also a friend of Julio’s family. Mention is made of five years and her picking up Spanish perfectly. Sophie talks about the dream (the opening montage) and suggests she is taking her medication (she isn’t). She is due to take a train to meet Julio.

hitchhiker

Violeta texts Julio – this is of course a professional failing and I felt that although it was touched on later thematically not enough was done with this. We see some of Sophie’s paintings and then she is on a beach, enjoying the sun, until clouds swarm above and it looks like a storm is drawing in. Meanwhile Julio, a dentist, is driving to meet Sophie. He spots a hitchhiker and picks her up. She gives her name as Diana (Laura García), claims her car broke down and is low level flirty. Julio misses a series of calls from Sophie, who is locked outside the house, but eventually realises and rather than take Diana to a garage drops her off nearby and gives her directions.

romantic meal

So Julio arrives at the house and Sophie is annoyed that he didn’t pick up her calls and she does seem rather neurotic at times – she is happy to help him with his French but becomes annoyed at French music playing, for instance. She also becomes annoyed when he makes a toast to another year much the same and, eventually, admits she has put in for an art scholarship in Italy. The disagreement is interrupted by a knock at the door.

doubting

Julio goes and it is Diana. She claims it to be a coincidence, that his was the only house with lights on and she is after charging her phone. We get a moment with her feet at the threshold, him inviting her in and her crossing it, the motion slowed. It is clearly a genre moment played out for the audience. She plugs her phone in but Sophie isn’t in the living room and so he goes to look for her. When he’s out of the room Sophie sneaks up behind Diana and bashes her with a statue. He comes in and Sophie forces him to help tie her up – claiming he broke the rules by inviting her in.

delusion or reality?

As she comes round she appears only to be a fearful victim of Sophie’s neurosis. For her part Sophie indicates she knows her and then claims she is her mother – something she is clearly not old enough to be. The woman appears to not know the French Sophie questions her in and, eventually, Sophie tells Julio that Diana (not her name, she claims) is a vampire. However, is she actually a vampire or is Sophie, off her meds, having a psychotic break? It becomes apparent that, if it is the latter, it is not a new thing, when she removes a large stake from an art case.

Natasha Nejla as Sophie

Well, I won’t spoil the truth or otherwise of the belief, but the film is interesting. With limited cast and location there has to be much done with little and for the most part the actors carry this well. The Sophie character can be a tad annoying with her neurotic moments – deliberately so, one feels, as those moments making us wonder at her perception of truth. However, though they carry it well there is room for more and another cast might have carried this to greater heights again. The sfx are limited, one assumes due to budget. 6 out of 10. The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Short Film: Mutant Virus

A college effort, by the looks of it, and a budget of just $65, this is a 5-minute short directed by Jonah Henrickson and there isn’t a huge amount to say about it. A man (A.J. Brady) with a strange skin tone looks down on a group of people. A girl (Morgan Aranda) is nearby and he tells her not to worry – he’s a good guy.

The three below are vampires and are discussing the merits, or otherwise, of student blood. The girl, on request, gives him a ball to distract them (actually probably more get their attention) and he throws it. They notice him, now wearing a gas mask.

A.J. Brady as Blue Walker

One of them (Manuel Hernandez) knows of a vampire hunter known as Blue Walker, who is said to wear a gas mask. He is truly an immortal, and hunts vampires for fun, apparently. The other vampires are dismissive of this until he is suddenly down by them and fights them… It is in the fight choreography we see the greatest evidence of the amateur nature of the short for it is very unrealistic – but as I assume this to be a student film I can’t criticise too much.

Mickey on display

He calls himself a mutant virus, what this means is unclear. The fact that this immortal vampire killer wears a gasmask is an affectation, but the Mickey Mouse gloves, clearly on display, verges on genius. This isn’t going to be the best thing you’ll ever see, quite likely the opposite, but as an attempt to cut film-making teeth, it is what it is.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Mimesis Nosferatu – review

Director: Douglas Schulze

Release date: 2018

Contains spoilers

The 2011 film Mimesis, which was subtitled Night of the Living Dead, was a fantastic concept. Mimesis means to imitate reality in art, though in the case of the film it took the concept to imitate art in reality. The story saw a group of people at a horror con tricked to an exclusive party, drugged and waking up in a recreation of the Night of the Living Dead. Those that did it were recreating the film, and acting as the zombies, in a deadly way.

This film is a sequel to that film, using Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens as the film at the heart of this film. We also meet the mastermind behind the cultish group perpetrating the murderous scenario – a mysterious director (for want of a better description) known as the Auteur (Lance Henriksen).

Orlock min the eye

Before we meet him, however, we get a prologue which sees a young boy, Max (Caden Miller), who is watching a projected version of Nosferatu, indeed we see Orlock reflected in his eye. He is shaving his hair off, and as we meet his mother (Kristy Swanson, Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Psych: This Episode Sucks) we discover that she is worried by him – his obsession over the film scares her. When she enters the room, she finds the cat hanging, bloodied, torn to shreds. Max attacks her…

Julie Kline as Tara

The film takes place ten years after that. Now, there is a thing to address now. We have had Lance Henrikson and Kirsty Swanson in the film already, both of whom have their place in the vampire genre. The film is generally extremely meta, however. In the vampire genre we are used to certain names being used. But when an Art Academy is due to put on a play of Dracula, which gets moved to a staged version of Nosferatu, it stretches credulity that there would be no notice of the fact that it is the Harker academy and that one of the pupils is called Quincy (Ezekiel Gordon). That Quincy's surname is Straker, ties him into Salem’s Lot…

Lance Henriksen as the Auteur

We have to suspend our disbelief at this point as the characters are named from the genre throughout and accept that the film has deliberately stepped through the normal referential naming that litters the genre and gone full on Meta. So, for instance we meet theatre teacher and play director Prof. Frederick Kinski (Joseph Scott Anthony) {named for FW Murnau and Klaus Kinski} when pupil Tara (Julie Kline, Blood Immortal) comes to see him {Named, I assume for Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, her surname is Brewster for Fright Night}. She protests that she has been cast as Lucy but is understudy to Mina – feeling that the actress who is Mina, Amy Peterson (Mandalynn Carlson) also named for Fright Night, got the role due to rich donating parents.

Morbius as Orlock

So the film sees Tara and her friends, Ben Mears (Derek Brandon) {Salem’s Lot} and Ed Glick (Jordan Campo) {Fright Night and Salem Lot}, are not the popular kids. Ed, in particular, bullied as he is gay. The new kid, Michael Morbius (Connor Alexander) {the Marvel Character} gravitates to them and also gets cast as Orlock in the play. It really wasn’t hidden from the audience that he would also be the primary character of the mimesis as well. The first part of the film plays like a school slasher, and is entertaining enough around that. But the mimesis aspect becomes stronger as the film progresses and makes the slasher format more interesting as does the manipulation of the situation.

homophobic revenge prank

There is the obligatory sideswipe at Twilight both in Kinski’s dialogue and in the revenge attack on one of the characters, named Jake Cullen (Jaron Gordon) for the very series, after his closeted homophobic attack on Ed. The revenge prank is equally as homophobic, however. There is also the return of Duane (Allen Maldonado) who has been following Morbius (revealing that Morbius also goes by the name Kurt Barlow, as in Salem's Lot) as he hunts down those belonging to the mimesis group, he being a survivor of the Night of the Living Dead. His presence is known though and he is drawn in as a Van Helsing. His character is given the surname Rice, tying in to Anne Rice.

multiple Nosferatu

I enjoyed this. There were moments of slasher stupidity – such as almost shrugging when an unordered crate, with a coffin in it, arrives in your locked garage. But these moments were deliberate I felt, with the film playing with the slasher genre, as well as drawing inspiration from Nosferatu and getting meta with the vampire references. As the auteur is sat a distance from the activity, a distant puppet master, the film can comfortably set us for a further mimesis and I can mention it without it being a spoiler, though the audience is not shown what it will involve. This one, however, sits nicely alongside film number 1. No vampires, of course, but people acting as vampires. 6.5 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On DVD @ Amazon US

On DVD @ Amazon UK

Carmilla (2019) – review

Director: Emily Harris

Release date: 2019

Contains spoilers

I always get excited when a new version of Carmilla is produced. The Sheridan Le Fanu story is a cornerstone of the genre; massively important in itself and in its influence on the genre, an influence that sometimes might be hidden under a bushel.

This version is not a horror film, rather it plays with the uncanny instead of terror (though it has a couple of bloody moments). Indeed it may actually be more a ‘belief in vampires’ film than an actual vampire film. What Carmilla is in this lies within viewer interpretation. As I explore this there will be spoilers.

Hannah Rae as Lara

In this version we are in England, rather than Styria and, as things begin, we hear splashes in water. Lara (Hannah Rae), rather than Laura, is throwing stones into the lake. It is boredom. A girl coming of age, her father (Greg Wise) seems less of a presence in her life than her governess, Miss Fontaine (Jessica Raine), who tries to imbue the properties of a lady as she sees them but is coloured with her own frustrations and superstitions.

left arm bound

We see that she regularly binds Lara’s left arm behind her back. Lara is left-handed and Miss Fontaine clearly believes in the superstition about the left-handed, she sees it as the devil’s hand and by binding it she is trying to force a right dominance on her charge. Lara is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Charlotte, a companion around her own age who is due to stay for an extended visit. However, she is disappointed to discover that the visit is called off due to illness.

Fontaine by the crash

One night there is a commotion and Lara sees an unconscious young lady (Devrim Lingnau) carried into the house. There has been a carriage crash and mention is made of keeping the lights on as the driver of the carriage may have gone for help. In the morning Lara sneaks to the crash sight and two men carry the driver off, he was impaled through the chest in the accident it appears (clearly carrying a vampire trope overtone for the viewer). Lara finds a silver necklace with a cross on the floor.

Carmilla awakens

The girl is still unconscious when the doctor (Tobias Menzies, Underworld: Blood Wars) sees her but, as he puts water to her lips, she awakens though she appears unable to speak. Lara is told not to disturb the girl. Later Fontaine finds a book in the carriage wreck that we see has a picture of a satyr/Pan in it - something scandalous for the religious governess. The Doctor sees her on the road and makes a comment about the girl being as pretty as an angel and Fontaine makes comment about looks turning a man’s head. The Doctor admits he sees the same devil as Fontaine does.

opening the magician

Earlier we saw Lara caught with what appears to be an anatomy book, copying pictures, and being chastised for it. She returns to her father’s study at night and retrieves the book and meets the girl, who asks why she is being kept in the house. When Lara asks her name, the girl asks Lara to name her and Lara suggests several names, Carmilla being one and the girl responding positively to it. As she leaves Lara carries the book to a fireplace where a man, later seen to be a travelling tinker/magician (Scott Silven), lies. She straddles him, which feels sexually daring, opens his coat and lifts his shirt. With the book opened to a certain page, as a guide, she digs her fingers into his torso and rips opens his stomach.

Jessica Raine as Miss Fontaine

She awakens in bed – this was clearly a dream and yet the girl is now speaking and says her name is Carmilla. The girls grow close and do become blood sisters – by putting blood on their lips and kissing – but it is Lara who tastes Carmilla’s blood first. We hear of girls becoming ill in the area and we see a romance blossom between the two. Miss Fontaine recognises something, warning Lara off her path. However, what we do not see is blatant vampirism.

Kiss

Carmilla is not English, barely eats it seems, sleeps late and she places the cross from her bedroom wall under her bed out of sight, the magician’s dog noisily dislikes her and there is the book. This is evidence enough to convince Miss Fontaine. When she catches the girls kissing it is all the excuse she needs to separate them and we also see that Lara becomes ill at that time. However whether Carmilla is a vampire or a young lady scapegoated by a religious/superstitious authority figure is down to viewer interpretation.

drawing breath

Lara is an unreliable witness also. We see another dream with her being sawn literally through the stomach (again the magician is the man in the dream) and Carmilla kissing her and then seeming to draw her breath out. Drawing of breath is often used as a euphemism for energy vampirism. Whilst this might be Lara’s subconscious making sense of a vampiric attack, equally a reading of the film might be that Carmilla is a part of Lara. Perhaps she is Lara’s blossoming womanhood; Carmilla wearing one of her dresses causes Lara to comment that it doesn’t look like that on her – referencing the curve of breast displayed. 

a rare moment with her father

You could also read it that Lara might actually be the evil thing that her left-handedness suggests to Fontaine, something her dreams of human vivisection foreshadow. In this reading Carmilla might be the personification of that part of Lara and such a reading takes us far away from the normal reading of the story and makes this text wonderfully subversive of the original story. The film uses imagery of insects, of decay and Fontaine suggests that (with flowers) something pretty must die for the flower to fruit. The very last scene, which mirrors the first, gives credence to this reading.

Devrim Lingnau as Carmilla

I said at the head that this is not a horror. We get a sense of something off kilter throughout – but I’d suggest it is not necessarily the obvious superstitions portrayed and it is more around Lara's coming of age. The acting is strong throughout and the atmosphere hazily drawn in perfect broad-brush strokes through lovely photography. This is a version of Carmilla that makes the viewer think and question what they have seen and that is a brilliant use of the story. 8 out of 10. The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

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Short Film: It’s Normal

This 2018 short film from director Nicole W. Solomon is about 16-minutes and is very clever in one specific way, which ties to the title, that I really enjoyed.

We start off with scenes from the city and posters of missing people. Kay (Latresa Baker) has visited Lucy (Tara Cioletti) after she failed to answer calls and texts. Kay and Lucy are both part of a grief support group, which runs a buddy system and Kay knows it is a particularly tough time for Lucy.

Lucy suggests she is just really tired and is struggling with going to the group, she does let Kay in however. Inside she meets Lucy’s flatmate Reina (Rory Lipede), who has had a person go missing in her life also – her brother. The three women talk and, eventually Kay says she should go. It’ll be dark soon and travelling after dark is not advised. Reina suggests that she stay, they were having a group round from the building that evening anyway.

Kay and Lucy

What we notice is that there are circles at doorways and people touch them – this isn’t explained. We also notice that, as the wine flows and conversations evolve, they openly talk about vampires, about a Familiar group (and call them collaborators) and there is talk of the President being sympathetic to the vampires. This is the clever bit… they are in a vampire apocalypse but it is normal, life has carried on. One character suggests they were expecting something more akin to the Walking Dead but instead normality is strangely maintained.

a vampire

Outside there are screams, there is something outside the window at one point. But so long as the window is closed they are safe… So, no surprise that there is an incursion and what we find out about the vampires is that their eyes glow, that (I assume) silver burns and that beheading or staking kills and they then dust. Just how the vampire gets in and what then occurs… well you can see the film on Vimeo or Amazon (links below).

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Blood of Drago – review

Directed by: Homer Broadnax

Release date: 2019

Contains spoilers

One of the key things for a film is to have a consistent and believable storyline (unless, deliberately, the script and direction can pull off suspension of disbelief extremely well). I know we are talking vampires, but that is our film’s conceit – reactions, for instance, should then have some reasoning grounded in the way the built character might naturally react.

All the above might indicate that there is something rotten when it comes to this film’s story and you’d be right to assume that. Having watched actress Alli Hart the night before watching this, in film the Dinner Party, I was lulled into a false sense of security, believing this might be ok. It was not.

day for night shot

So we start with am intertitle that tells us, “A vampire has true immortality, once they take a seat at the throne of the dark one.” It’s 1885, in Europe, and we meet vampire Vincent Drago (Clint Hummel) is going to take his place by that throne. There is some jibber jabber… We then see Vincent and a woman, Adrianne (Irena Violette, Portraits, Transylmania & Metamorphosis), in a terrible day for night shot, who he turns. What this part of the film doesn’t tell us is that, subsequently Vincent is killed and there is a convoluted resurrection ritual needed to bring him back. No, the film just moves to present day USA.

Morgan and band

And... Morgan (Ray Tezanos) and Robin (Lauren Elyse Buckley) are in bed having sex followewd by post-coital cuddle. We then cut to Morgan led outside where he is approached by a woman, later revealed to be Mira (Alli Hart). She talks about saving him, there is nearly a kiss and she vanishes. He wakes next to Robin, it was a dream. Later, Robin and Morgan are running. They stop, for a moment he seems to see Mira and then decides to tell Robin they should have a break. He is suffocated and there is the time needed for his band…

Lisa and Robin

Robin seeks solace with her friend Lisa (Angelique Sabrina White) and mutual friend Darren (Jordun Lyons). She still wants to go to see Morgan’s gig. We get a song and Morgan directs it towards a woman in the crowd, who he takes onto stage and kisses – it is Mira. Robin is less than pleased. We see her and Lisa go to an alternative shop and Robin is looking for books on vampires. What we don’t learn till later is that Robin knows Morgan has a Dorian Grey complex and so she wants to find out how to become a vampire, and then turn him to win him back - which is somewhat fanciful, to say the least. A mysterious woman comes over and says there is a real book in a back room but only the one with Redeemer blood can get it – Robin, it is suggested, is that one.

ritual

She does get the book and it tells her about Vincent, whose remains are kept by his lover Adrianne (whose photo is in the book and is the lead singer of a local band) and her address! Given that Adrianne wants him resurrected and shows at the ceremony, why not give Robin the remains… no they have to “con” their way into the house and steal them. The ritual is convoluted in that only a redeemer’s blood will do, mixed with equal parts graveyard dust and pure water. Vincent, of course, is resurrected and has world dominating ambitions.

fangs

So the reactions of the characters rang hollow and the story was all over the place. At one point Mira and Morgan are attacked and whilst he is bitten she wards off her attacker with a cross. She wakes at Lisa’s house – how she got there and why they are now all buddy-buddy is ignored. The jumps in story and ridiculous character reactions might have been forgiven after a jarring cut scene in which we see a woman wake up. The action seems to have been in her dreams. She is a writer, who talks to her mirror (and it answers) and is writing a vampire book… but.. nah… it is not forgiven at all, the writer scenes were trite and she ends up in the story anyway. The film leads to no real conclusion whatsoever – though Mira may be something other… there is no ending, just a clear wish to make a second part and it was blooming hard work getting there.

feed

This was poor, no doubt, and it was entirely a scripting/direction issue. The film fails to give the necessary narrative clues; sometimes offering an explanation well after the event but not in a way you’d call clever, and sometimes offering no clues at all. 2.5 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK