Fangs Out – review

Director: Dennis Devine

Release date: 2023

Contains spoilers

This is a low to no budget vampire flick that had a kernel of a good idea, in broad brush, but then spoilt it with poor effects, juvenile humour, lacklustre performances and some really silly ideas. That said, it is potentially a (one off) watch with mates and booze flick.

The film starts with a woman, Brenda (Charity Rahmer), in the woods and wearing a hospital gown, it seems something/one is following her. Suddenly Mariangela (Desiree Alexandra Estrada) jumps out at her and Brenda begs for her to let her go. Brenda is stabbed. Elsewhere a woman speaks to her daughter about what a beautiful day it is, but it soon becomes apparent that the daughter has a gun trained on her. Cop, Lee (Randy Oppenheimer, Blood Moon Rising, Arise of the Snake Woman & Amityville Vampire), takes the shot and shoots the gun out of her hand. Mother and daughter make up instantly and turn on Lee for taking the shot.

the gang

Four college friends are off on a road trip, with a difference. They are heading to an area off grid, where they will get directions at a bookstore that will take them over the border (to Mexico) where Dr. Pavor (Samuel Code) runs a black-market plastic surgery clinic. Of the friends, Skylar (Marlene Mc'Cohen, The Boneyard Collection, Vampire Boys & Vampire Boys 2: The New Brood) wants breast augmentation, Allana (Heidi Hemlock) does porn and wants her vagina tightening and her boyfriend (Brian Easter Jr.) wants a penis enlargement. The fourth friend, Madison (Stacy Aung) thinks it is a bad idea but is going to support Skylar.

Veronica Ricci as Nurse Anna

Suffice it to say that all is not as it seems and Dr Pavor, along with Nurse Anna (Veronica Ricci, also Arise of the Snake Woman) are vampires. There is something odd going on with Anna as it looks as though she is wearing stark yet patchy, white face-paint (and it is thusly remarked upon in dialogue) but it was actually the result of a punishment for being greedy meted out by Dr Pavor. Mariangela is also a nurse but is the human servant who can go out in the day. Lee is drawn in as his daughter, Faye (Jessie Vane), is a prisoner in the clinic. It did seem strange that it took Lee’s Ex calling him for him to listen to the plea for help voicemail from his daughter, but nevermind.

tattooed cross

So the idea is Pavor does the surgery (which involves blood flow manipulation rather than implants) but what he actually does is change them so they overproduce altered blood and are farmed. If there is no farming then the excess blood will kill them. Strangely the altered blood is sold to the cartel (as you do) as humans can get buzzed on it and it is addictive. I mentioned at the head that the idea was initially good (vampire run plastic surgery clinic) but went silly (the over-production of addictive, narcotic blood). However, there were some good moments too, one of the best being a tattoo of a cross acting as a cross – not necessarily original but it worked. Less so was the idea that the person with the tattoo had been blessed so often by nuns that their blood was like holy water!

in sunlight

The effects really were shoddy – being destroyed by sunlight was done in CGI modelling that didn’t even try for realism. The locations were clearly limited and so the operating theatre was a room with drapes over the walls to hide what the location actually was. But I can’t be too cruel. I don’t think this would get multiple watches by most and most on the first watch will hate it. But, if you like low budget horror it has a charm and, in a group, with enough beverages, this could prove fun. 3 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK