Horror stories – review

Director: Lukas DiSparrow

Release date: 2024

Contains spoilers

This is a portmanteau film where it seems like the segments were made for the feature where the surround is a group going to the Host (Lukas DiSparrow) who has a book that, when they touch it, they enter the story. The actual stories themselves are of varying quality but, overall, the film is certainly watchable.

The vampire segment is called Dracula but, to be fair, it is not one of the stronger segments though the black and white London-scape looks rather nice.

prostitute

It starts with the “reader” (Andrea Kularatne) in the city and narrating. She is looking for a hunter that she will hunt. She meets a man on the street, offers him a ‘good time’ and goes down an alley with him where sex is had but when she asks for money he walks away – though not before ramming her hard into a wall and knocking her out. Honestly, the prostitute element made little sense.

rising

We see a hand emerge from a coffin and Dracula (Mario Bob) rises. I liked the decayed, monstrous make-up. The reader comes round and walks the streets. She is watched by the vampire, his shadow follows her and her narration suggests she knows. He appears near her and speaks to her – she does not react to his look. She stakes him, that’s it… To be fair this was one story where the character the reader takes is successful and survives – she is rather elated when out of the story.

Mario Bob as Dracula

However, the segment does very little. It is style over substance. As I mentioned at the head, the anthology, as a whole, was worth a watch but this segment did so very little that only its stylistic elements (rather well done for a low budget) drag it up to 3.5 out of 10 and as regular readers will know, with anthology/portmanteau films I only score the vampire segment.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest: Season 1 – review

Director: Kinji Yoshimoto

First Aired: 2019

Contains spoilers

Arifureta is an iseka anima (one in which a central protagonist is transported to another world, ordinary in theirs, they become powerful in the new world). The protagonist in this case is Hajime (Toshinari Fukamachi/Matt Shipman) who was one of a group of schoolkids (and their teacher Aiko (Ai Kakuma/Emily Fajardo)) transported to a world by that world’s Pope, to fight as heroes in the war between monsters, demons and humans. The world is a fantasy type world.

Hajime as we meet him

At the beginning we see Hajime thrown from a bridge during a battle with monsters in a deep level of a dungeon. The class were transported deeper into the dungeon than they should have gone and, in flashbacks, we eventually discover that Hajime – who had a low-level transformation magic and no warrior skills – was targeted by a classmate, Hiyama (Minoru Shiraishi/Orion Pitts), who was jealous of the attention he got from Kaori (Saori Ônishi/Skyler McIntosh). It is assumed that it was an accident and Hajome is dead.

growing stronger

Indeed, he should have been killed – but he managed to use his wits to survive at the low levels of the dungeon (though, before he emerges he loses an arm and an eye). Part of his survival is down to feeding on monsters, which brought Delicious in Dungeon to mind though this was – for the first few episodes definitely – a lot darker. As he eats the different monsters, they transform his DNA and bestow powers on him. This causes his hair to turn white but also improves his odds of survival.

Yue trapped

Eventually he finds a young woman, Yue (Yûki Kuwahara/Tia Lynn Ballard) trapped in a contraption. He is going to leave her trapped but eventually releases her – in flashback Hajime is a pleasant young man but after his experiences he becomes abrasive and cynical, which was a nice direction of character to be honest. Yue is the last vampire (and a vampire princess) and becomes his companion, feeding from him and fighting by his side. They do fall in love but, as powerful as Hajime becomes, he is still 17 and both shy and clumsy in this regard. Eventually they discover that the dungeons are tests, left by a group called the Liberators. The god of the world is not a force for good and manipulates the war eternally for his amusement. Hajime resolves to solve the dungeons and gain their powers, not to fight the god but to get back to Japan.

worthless rabbit

The tone of the series turns mid-season when they introduce Shea (Minami Takahashi/AmaLee), a beastman from a tribe of bunny people (she looks human but has bunny ears and a tail). The series then takes on some comedy and chibi elements and also becomes a harem series, with Hajime collecting several female companions in love/lust with him as well as a young meregirl who refers to him as Papa and who he becomes paternal to. However, the Hajime character remains cynical and, frankly, a tad unhinged after all he has been through.

Yue's magic

The animation in this worked well and, to be honest, I enjoyed the ride. There was quite a bit of action, Hajime was ruthless and happily kills those who gets in his way and the comedy/chibi/harem elements stopped it from becoming too dark throughout. Yue, makes it a vampire series and is in every episode from number 2 onwards. The UK Blu-Ray also contains two very short OVAs (and also keeps the catch-up episode mid-season). 7 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Blu-Ray @ Amazon US

On Blu-Ray @ Amazon UK

Classic Literature: The Vampire: Novel from Bulgaria

The fact that Hans Wachenhusen published this in 1878 has led me to posting this under the “Classic Literature” label rather than the “honourable mention” it should be. Though titled The Vampire there is little in the way of vampires in the book until the final chapter – so it is more a fleeting visitation. The 2023 translation was by Rade Kolbas.

The first chapter reads like a travelogue and indeed that is what it is – Wachenhusen was known in Germany as a travel writer. But the yarn then spins into a tale of Government corruption (on the part of the Ottoman Mudessarif) and politics, dashing heroes and love. The first almost reference to vampires was in calling the Ottoman Pasha a bloodsucker – but this was in relation to him siphoning off wealth.

The next mention is about actual vampires and a suggestion that they are associated with a particular place in the mountains. They are described as holding nightly meetings there, where they were able to “suck new life from the moonlight”.

As I mentioned, the final chapter is concerned with a vampire describing a certain character, thought killed by the hero, returning and attacking a bride on her wedding night. Whether he is, in reality, a vampire or is just assumed to be by the locals, as he was left for dead and unburied in the mountains, is really left to reader interpretation but it does appear he was going to bite her neck before being stopped and killed (again?), after which the good local folk stake him through the heart to prevent any further visitations. A big thanks to Sarah who got me this for my birthday.

In Hardback @ Amazon US

In Hardback @ Amazon UK

Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt – review

Authors: Various

Artists: Various

Release date: 2024 (tpb)

The Blurb: Collects Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1-3, Amazing Spider-Man (2022) #49 And Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2023) #21-22.

Marvel's Spider-Men swing into the BLOOD HUNT! Vampires are running rampant through New York City - and while the Avengers are caught in the middle, someone has to take care of the citizens of the Big Apple. That person? Peter Parker, the spectacular Spider-Man! But if only things were that simple. They never are, and that means Spidey has a massive role to play in the nightmarish saga - one that involves Morbius, the Living Vampire! But will Morbius be fanged foe or friend this time? And will Peter need to take him out or save him?! Meanwhile, the world's greatest vampire slayer, Blade, has a plan - and his only hope for victory rests with the young Spider-Man, Miles Morales! But Blade's mission comes with a massive cost Miles may be unwilling to pay!

The review: The second tpb to be released in the Blood Hunt event – this one concentrates on spider-men, with a Peter Parker story and a Miles Morales story. It starts with Parker, fighting vampires and rather enjoying himself fighting monsters, when he gets a text from a criminal, Kareem, asking Parker to get Spider-Man to help him. When he gets to him he discovers that Kareem's partner in crime, Rabbit, has been turned and he needs the hero's help. They find the vampire who bit Rabbit – he has chained himself, ashamed of what he has become and begs Spider-Man to kill him. Suddenly he realises that the vampires are not just monsters, but Kareem stakes the vampire anyway and Rabbit (and Kareem who was turning, having been bitten by Rabbit) are cured. With the shine taken off vampire hunting, Spider-Man is suddenly confronted by Lizard (who is somewhat rough about getting his attention). Lizard and Misty Knight are trying to track down Michael Morbius who has been kidnapped and this leads to a vampire corporation. The Morales story stands aside from the Amazing Spider-Man story, shows us Blade turning him and then a team up with Hightail, and later Blade’s daughter Brielle Brooks, to defeat energy vampire R'ym'r.

Tonally lighter, for the Amazing Spider-Man part of the TPB at least, this was still a welcome foray into the Blood Hunt event – with a much more street level focus. Whilst both stories featured vampires (the Morales one, being energy ones of course) the action occurred with the main Blood Hunt as a wider event and these stories occurring separately – albeit sundeath offering a starting point. 7 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

Bogieville – review

Director: Sean Cronin

Release date: 2024

Contains spoilers

This review was based on a provided screener. Director Sean Cronin has created two vampire films in very close proximity, this Southern USA set film and co-directing UK set Drained and he created very different types of vampires in each. The vampires in Bogieville, whilst maintaining an underlying cunning, are much more feral creatures and that sort of vampire is, of course, welcome in a sea of more Gothic, suave presentations. 

I see you

The film starts with a woman pulling up at a gas station and realising that she has started her period. She goes into the rest room and sits in a cubicle but then there are footsteps, a pounding on the cubical door, and a face full of fangs peering in from the top of the door as he hisses... a door which is then pulled forcefully off its hinges. We hear her scream throughout the encounter and see him aim at her crotch as he goes after her… it is an opening that lets us know exactly what sort of vampire we are getting and these vampires can not only smell blood but, we discover later, they log the scent of anyone who crosses their path.

Ham and Jody

The film proper starts with a garage and the owner goes through to mechanic Ham (Arifin Putra, Rumah Dara) and sacks him as business is slow. Less than impressed, Ham heads to the local bar where his girlfriend Jody (Eloise Lovell Anderson) works. His friend Nick (Ryan Livingstone) is working his charm with a pair of young ladies, Jody intercepts Ham but when another buck moseys in on the gals, Nick squares off with him and Ham intervenes. Ham is punched, left with a bloodied nose and the bar owner blames him and threatens to dock Jody’s pay – which leads her to quit (and crack a bottle over the bar owner's head). With no money for rent Jody and Ham skip town.

Poppie Jae Hughes as Lily

The young buck from the bar pulls up at the garage for gas, with the gals riding in his truck. The owner is filling it when the lights go off in the store and he leaves the car to investigate. The gals have gone to the rest room. Outside, a vampire appears at the truck window, and inside, the owner sees a little girl, Lily (Poppie Jae Hughes), who turns around and hisses, showing him her bloodied, monstrous face. It’s a great shot (though, being critical, it could have done with having a little more light) but also deliberately seems to throw back to many a little-girl-monster-shot; notably in Dawn of the Dead (2004) and 30 Days of Night. This starts a spree of vampire attacks in the town that, at first, are attributed to Ham and Jody by the sheriff (Daniel P Lewis) – even though the Doctor (Angela Dixon, Drained) quickly theorises vampires.

threatened by Madison

Ham and Jody, meanwhile, are going down a backroad when something runs out and Ham crashes. Coming round in the morning, he finds blood in his grille and a scrap of material (though no body). They notice the Madison Farm trailer park near-by and go to see if anyone was injured. It looks abandoned but they meet caretaker Crawford (Jonathan Hansler, Vampire Virus), who is wary and armed. He eventually, however, offers them a job though there are rules (primarily; never leave especially at night, in fact never go out at night). He is the brother of the site’s owner, Madison (Sean Cronin, also Drained and Wrath of Dracula). Madison and his wife (Sarina Taylor) are vampires, Lily is Crawford’s daughter and all the trailer park residents are vampires too.

after a moment in the sun

So, the reason they are offered a job is partly to save their lives – Crawford knows the vampires would have their scent and would track them down – but also because he is succession planning. The vampires are standard when it comes to apotropaic/killing methods, including sunlight, aversion to crosses, aversion to/killed by garlic etc. There are aspects that buckle a tad when placed under scrutiny – the primary one being why they are attacking the town all of a sudden (they have been there 20 years). Indeed, whilst keeping the attacks on the town in, I would have cut the 'Ham being a suspect' aspect.

impressive immolation

The film looks perfectly well and I was impressed by the effects. Though the immolations were cgi, they worked really well and the vicious maws looked really good. The plot was simple but that worked for the type of vampires (and is another reason I would have dropped the scenes framing Ham, as the plotline was a complication but was under-explored/exploited). I do have to mention that a lot of the cast were not from the US and, whilst the cast did what was necessary with their performances, the Southern accents sounded a little off to my ear and I am sure an American, from the South especially, might well struggle accepting the accents. Nevertheless, I was rather taken with this and offer a solid 6.5 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

The National Mummy – review

Director: José Ramón Larraz

Release date: 1981

Contains spoilers

With bundles of sexploitation, psychosexual themes and a weird style, Vampyres by José Ramón Larraz is a definite favourite of mine within the megatext. That Larraz directed this, therefore, is a bit of a shock. Filmed in a transitional period in Spanish history this is a heady mix of monster mash, political satire (I think) and sexual comedy of the basest kind.

Saturnino and Felipe

So it is a comedy, with an opening soundtrack theme to make it sound like a children’s film (it really isn’t). A visitor arrives ay a country estate. It is Prof Felipe (Quique Camoiras) with his daughter, Ana-Mari (Azucena Hernández, The Night of the Werewolf) and he has a large crate with him containing the mummy of the daughter of Akhenaten (who was Tutankhamun’s father). There is, of course, a curse. They are visiting Saturnino (Francisco Algora) and within minutes we get the “gags” of Ana-Mari complaining that Saturnino is staring at her breasts and her accidentally hitting in in the nuts with a handbag.

the wolfman

Not long after arriving the matriarch of the house, Doña Perpetua (Lili Muráti), is brought a birthday cake and promptly collapses and dies face first in it. Saturnino blames the curse. She later resuscitates (no thanks to anyone else) and becomes somewhat homicidal. Unfortunately, proximity to the mummy has had an effect on Felipe and he becomes a werewolf. We also see the mummy come to life, later we see that the desiccation of her face is not mirrored on the rest of her body,

Carlos Lucena as The vampire

Having survived the night with a werewolf, Saturnino takes his friend to a local asylum, which is run by Dr. Vilaseca AKA Dr. Cabezas (Carlos Lucena), who is clearly modelled on the Kinski version of Orlok/Dracula. Felipe goes there peacefully but then escapes and finds women in coffin in the basement – yes vampire brides. It turns out Dr. Vilaseca sends these to a brothel where they suck… blood. The vampire ends up wanting the mummy, Saturnino and Felipe end up infiltrating the brothel (and getting distracted from their mission) and eventually hunting the vampires down. The mummy herself seems to have a couple of thousand-years-old itch to scratch.

the mummy

I mentioned the political side, and this was filmed after the 1981 attempted coup d'état in Spain – it’s referenced – and in the transitional period post Franco. Many politicians are mentioned that mean nothing to me and the political jokes went over my head. I have read a description of nudity in Spanish films, in the transitional period, being an expression of freedom from censorship post Franco and part of a Spanish cinema movement of cheap end films known as destape. However, to me, the sex jokes were misogynistic and certainly out of date now (probably then also) – Ana-Mari fainting and so Saturnino having to bare her boobs and suckle her nipples is simply sexual assault rather than having a laugh. It took the Seaside Postcard and innuendo of Carry On (which, of course, had ended by then) and pushed it steps beyond. The closing scene is a Benny Hill style chase.

staking

The political aspect went into the vampire lore also, and I really don’t quite know what to make of it either. Dr. Vilaseca is faced with a cross and so, to counter it, he crosses a red hammer and sickle, in response Saturnino’s diminutive butler Agapito (José Jaime Espinosa) holds up a red swastika and this kills the vampire, who disintegrates. What they were trying to say with this was way over my head but felt pro-fascist. Beyond that, a stake through the heart will do (Agapito telling Saturnino to aim above the left breast of a vampire woman, as he initially looked to stake the pubic area) and the vampires have green blood and no reflection.

Azucena Hernández as Ana-Mari

This is bizarre, no doubt about it. It would probably have worked better if I understood the political context and people mentioned. I still think the sexual side probably went too far as comedy – though some may disagree. The film threw in the kitchen sink, merging more Victorian aesthetics (including costumes and carriages) with mentions of the coup and motorbikes (in the final scene). Strange and probably only worth 3 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

Short Film: The Dark Gift - The Kevin Derrick Gentry Story

According to the Amazon page a 2023 film, directed by Ashei Khan and coming in at 34 minutes long, this is a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes a tad experimental, sometimes with over-powered vampires, self-contradictory in places with a mixed bag of acting. But there is definitely a kernel here to work with.

After some level of voiceover with Vlad Ţepeş imagery (and bats) the film starts proper. Regarding a vampire called Kevin Derrick Gentry (himself), who we see very little of to be honest, the story begins with women waking naked on a bed unsure how they got there but we can see the bite marks on their necks and they all have a vague memory of being with Gentry. A woman, Sasha (Mushirah Hollins), comes in and explains that she is there to help with their transition.

Mushirah Hollins as Sasha

There is some protesting at that, one has a husband and another a fiancé but Sasha warns them to stay away from family and that a hunger is going to come over them. She takes them out (it is day but snowy – we don’t get a definitive on the daylight rule) and shows them how easy it is to mesmerise a person and make him (or her) their slave – she has a guy give her a watch, his wallet and then go with her to feed her. They are taken to a bar to practice.

bloodied

We get an aspect of the husband and fiancé meeting each other as they search for their vanished partners and a discovery that Gentry has (what sounds like) a motivational website that actually reveals his nature. I said there were contradictions and Sasha indicates that they (her and Gentry) are original vampires and he suggests he is 1000 years old but then we see a scene (albeit not well explained in a narrative sense) that seems to show Gentry being turned in 1819. I was particularly taken by the use of spoken word and music in the soundscape built for the film.

At the time of writing there was no IMDb page.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK