Short Film: Vamp Nite

This 2022 short film was directed by Roberto Lopez and comes in at about 21 or so minutes (with a mid-credit sequence) and my thanks to Everlost for drawing it to my attention.

The film starts with a cityscape and a car racing through the streets, after which we are in a warehouse with the surly, loud manager (Roberto Lopez) barking orders at security guards who are sat around and bemoaning the whereabouts of Luch (Luciano Acuna Jr.) a factory worker who, he makes it clear, he has no time for.

Roberto Lopez as the manager

Told to try the walkie talkie he orders Luch to go and change a lightbulb in the recesses of the warehouse and then, getting his lunch out of the fridge, proceeds to blame the worker for taking a bite out of his burger (Luch, we later hear, is a vegan and would not have done so). Luch gets to the burnt-out bulb and there are boxes in the way. Rather than move them he climbs over to the bulb from a cherry picker and falls – badly cutting his hand.

super soakers

Meanwhile the car from the head of the short reaches the warehouse and the passengers – a priest (Marcos Antonio Miranda, Habit) and nun (Kimmy Suzuki), wearing face masks – enter the warehouse. The priest is after his package and hired the armed guards (and is nonplussed at them not actually guarding the package). He wants it now and a worker is sent, followed by the manager when he doesn’t report back. Bursting out of the crates, awakened by Luch’s blood, is a vampire (Damali Ross) hungry after a centuries slumber…

the vampire

So, this had heart – though it perhaps lacked some logic due to its short length such as why the priest and nun were shipping her rather than just killing her and how another party (Kareem Walkes), later in the film, knew she was there. Not a lot of lore; priest and nun have holy water and holy water super soakers, a bite (and drain?) turns and crosses ward. The vampire sprouts large bat wings and flies. The film is clearly (especially with the mid-credit sequence) the start of something larger (potentially).

The film can be caught on Mometu, a free streaming service but be warned it is intrusively heavy with adverts (literally two long lots in a 20-minute short) and is US residence only (though VPNs work).

The imdb page is here.