Directed by Scott Jeffrey & Rebecca Matthews and released in 2021, it was only as I sat down to write this article that I realised that the directors were also responsible for Bats. It is odd as this, like the other film, is tied to very limited sets but manages to work with them that little bit more.
It is guilty of stretching the story out, as it is fairly simple, and having some gaps in the narrative, but it is able to hold itself together cohesively that little bit better. The fantastical setting, once we realise we are in a fantastical setting, allowing the viewer to forgive much more than a real world setting.
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| driving |
It starts with sounds from a fight arena and then we see Katrina 'HellKat' Bash (Sarah T. Cohen) driving, she smokes a cigarette and later a joint and the background is clearly matted onto the side window to give an impression of driving but looking so obvious. Later, when we realise where she is, or rather isn’t, hindsight allows us to realise this wasn’t so bad. Indeed, it may have even been deliberate. The car overheats and she gets out the car, packs her meagre belongings (mostly a packet of weed) into a bag and walks.
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| Jimmy's demon face |
A car pulls up behind her. The driver, Jimmy Scott (Ryan Davies), offers her a ride. The nearest town is 60 miles away. Once in the car he comes across as rather evangelically Christian – a cross dangles from the rear-view mirror and his conversation is geared towards discussions of the church. He pulls over, when they reach town, but keeps her door locked and knows her name – he says he’s been looking for her. She grabs a gun and he transforms into a demonic visage and she shoots. She escapes the car and, once out of sight, he comes around. Despite the fangs he is definitely demonic rather than vampiric.
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| drunks in the bar |
After a curtailed visit to the bus station (a segment that probably meant more to the filmmakers than it communicated to the audience) she ends up at a sleazy bar, cleaning up bodily fluids in return for tequila, smokes and a drunk tank to sleep in. One aspect I haven’t mentioned is that Jimmy asks about a scar on her neck, between tattoos. She was unaware of it and it dawns on us (and her more slowly) that she is dead and this is not earth.
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| vampire? |
Where is she? It's not clear; possibly a demon ruled purgatory (and one with two moons). Jimmy owns the bar, indeed everything there, but is clear it isn’t Hell – Hell is where you go if you fail there. He wants Katrina to fight – she was a Mixed Martial Arts fighter when alive but killed herself leaving her son behind (and apparently negligently killing a family as her still smouldering cigarette burnt the building down). Once she has agreed she is placed in the ring with a monster. Having won (just) she meets other souls having to fight and it is amongst the opponents that we come to the honourable mentions.
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| bite |
It is human fighter Grizz’ (Serhat Metin, Vampire Academy) turn to fight and his opponent has that bat/vampire look that is common within the genre. During the fight it manages to bite down on Grizz’ neck, though the human is eventually victorious. The film doesn’t say this is meant to be a vampire but the description feels right. However it is only a fleeting visitation.
The imdb page is here.
On Demand @ Amazon US
On Demand @ Amazon UK
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