Gravebit – season 1 – review

Director: John Johnson

Release date: 2015

Contains spoilers

John Johnson was the director/actor behind the awful Skeleton Key and Skeleton Key 2: 667 Neighbour of the Beast. He was also behind the ambitious, but ultimately flawed, Alucard.

Johnson co-wrote, directed and stars in this web serial, which does more right than wrong, compared to the other vehicles I’ve mentioned. It seems to be more the pace Johnson needs, restricted by short episodes and budgets he concentrates on story rather than getting over-ambitious in the filmmaking. This leads to some unusual lore in a story that mentions Dracula in passing but is ultimately a Carmilla related series (renamed to Carmella (Camille Luft) but definitely meant to be the same character).

Royce Hobson as Dark Vampyr

It starts with Dayton Flynn (John Johnson) in his study. He seems nervous as a cold wind touches him (that chill is a signifier of the presence of the undead in this). At the window is a man, credited as Dark Vampyr (Royce Hobson). Note that the distinction is made by Flynn through the series between vampire and vampyr – though another knowledgeable character poo-poos the distinction. Flynn notes that his house is warded (concentrating on a hose pipe, we’ll come back to that). The Vampyr wants to hire Johnson to kill another vampire – they cannot kill their own kind. A note states Nilbog, Virginia – the fictional town where much of Johnson’s work is set.

John Johnson as Flynn

At the end of the first episode, post credits, we get a Vlog from Sheridan (Jarod Kearney). Whilst there is (phone) interaction between the characters of Flynn and Sheridan, this character's primary filmic use is to post these vlogs at the end of each episode – allowing a communication of the lore that the series uses/introduces. In this case it is about the hose pipe. Sheridan doesn’t know why but vampires cannot cross running water. He suggested a moat around Flynn’s house – a suggestion refused – and the next best thing was this placement of a hosepipe around windows and doors, with a constant trickle going through. Sheridan mentions that water vapour and rain don't have the same impact, suggesting they don't know why it is just running water that works.

bite

Flynn goes to Nilbog and heads straight for the local Doctor, Everhart (Bruce Whited), who is looking at a coroner’s bag as we meet him. Flynn has faked bite marks on himself to get a rise from the Doctor, which works but he is kicked out of the office. The Doctor’s receptionist and daughter, Abigail (Sara Eshleman), goes after him. Her sister, Laura (Mariah Smith, Skeleton Key & Skeleton Key 2), has the same marks – though she tries to hide them. The Doctor finds the coroner’s bag empty and the rear exit open – though it is daylight. Later we find out definitively that sunlight is not an issue (though vampires tend to be nocturnal hunters). In the second vlog Sheridan explains the concept of Gravebit – the phenomena where a vampire’s victim feels the compulsion to hide the bite marks.

surrounded in daylight

I won’t spoil the story more but will touch on other interesting lore. We get the Hunter’s Curse – a literal curse where someone killing a vampire will be forever compulsively forced to hunt them (even subconsciously putting themselves before vampires). Rose petals will ward a room (and knock out a vampire's victim if pressed to them). Vampires have eye mojo, but old-fashioned glass in glasses will prevent the mesmerism and olive oil can break a mesmeric hold. Olive oil will also burn a vampire. They don’t know how people are turned but it is not by being bitten or blood transfusion – it is perhaps something to do with the location (and can vary between hours from death to years). The vampires are fast, strong but will sleep helplessly after a feed. Kills are done through stake to the heart, beheading and (again) olive oil. A standard gun doesn’t seem to work but Flynn has a flintlock he uses and we can assume the shot is special in some way.

staked

This was interesting. It wasn’t perfect but – as I stated at the beginning – the more restrictive nature seemed to concentrate Johnson and pushed him to make a more succinct vehicle. The unusual lore was interesting, the acting was generally not great but not terribly awful either. That said, some of the performances were very passable indeed. The fact that these creatures could attack during the day did lead to a daylight cemetery scene that perhaps lost atmosphere because of the daylight – with many of the vampire ladies (it is mostly female vampires and we see, not hear, that males turning in the town are killed – undermining the not kill their own kind rule) just appearing like women in their nighties in a graveyard, without the menace or gothic feel needed. If it is something in the location causing the turning then one wonders why this hasn’t been happening for longer and how it could be stopped – this isn’t answered. However, I’d say this is above average and – as a free web serial – worth a watch. 5.5 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.