Suck (2009)

As part of disturbingfilms.com's Vampire Week 2012, which runs from July 22 - 28, I'll be reviewing 8 Vampire movies. Yes, that's right, EIGHT, this is my favourite sub-genre! This is the eighth film...

"Let me tell you what I've learnt on my many many travels. Always use a condom and never trust a god damn vampire"

Joey is the lead singer of a band called The Winners. A struggling rock band that's on the road through Canada and the USA with barely a hope for success or fame. The band's manager Jeff doesn't make matters any better due the fact he's completely useless!

At a gig in the Montreal club, the band's performance is watched by a very creepy and scary looking dude. When their set is over, the band's bassist, Jennifer, gets friendly with the scary dude and the bartender tries to give Joey some words of wisdom.

With all the gear packed in the back of the hearse they drive, they're ready to get some sleep, but Jennifer decides to stay out with the scary dude, which doesn't sit well with Joey.

The next evening, the band members, Joey, Tyler, Sam and the roadie Hugo are setting up without any sign of Jennifer. Just as they're about to start the performance without her, she turns up, ready to play, but with something very different about her.

It doesn't take long for the rest of the band to realise that Jennifer is now a vampire, obviously turned by the scary dude from the Montreal club. Hugo knew first though as he's been helping to hide the bodies that Jennifer has drained of blood.

The band's success starts to pick up due to Jennifer's newly found powers and after they stop to cut a new single, they start getting more recognition with the single being played on the radio. So eventually, one by one, the boys all get turned by Jennifer. All except poor old Hugo, as he's still on clean up duty!

While all this is going on, Eddie Van Helsig is hot on their trail, a vampire hunter with a plan for revenge. He's after the scary dude, Queeny, who turned Jennifer. So to get to him, Eddie tracks the band's movements across America. The band become bigger than they imagined, but is the price of success worth all the blood and dead bodies in the end? Doubts start to creep in and as Eddie Van Helsig catches up with them he offers a way out, but only with their help.

"I can explain.....I have a problem"

Rob Stefaniuk manages to make the whole thing work, writing, directing and playing the part of Joey Winner. Jessica Paré plays the two sides of her character well, the plain normal Jennifer and then the beautifully mesmerising vampire Jennifer with a psychotic twist. The legendary Malcolm McDowell's (A Clockwork Orange (1971), Halloween (2007)) character gives the obvious nod to Bram Stoker's Professor Abraham Van Helsing, along Chris Ratz' Hugo which gives reference to Renfield (Dracula's lunatic slave). It even has edited footage of McDowell from O Lucky Man! (1973) in a flashback scene.

In fact, the whole movie is filled with little moments making reference to other movies and musicians. For example: A shot of the band crossing the street is an homage to The Beatles "Abbey Road." Another shot of the band using a Union Jack flag as a blanket is based on The Who's "The Kids Are Alright." In the border station, the first shot is a nod to Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA" and Suck's Rockin' Roger is a take-off of Gremlins' Rockin' Ricky Rialto.

This rock and roll vampire comedy has some cool cameos from some big names, such as Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Moby, Henry Rollins and even Alice Cooper's daughter, Calico Cooper. Then there's Dimitri Coats (Queeny), lead singer of Burning Brides, who have toured with the likes of The White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age, Mastodon, Audioslave and Marilyn Manson.

The movie is all round good fun with some old ideas given a frash original twist. It has a pretty damn cool soundtrack and lots of blood splashing around to keep you entertained throughout. A must watch for fans of the genre.

Suck gets 7/10

Director & Writer - Rob Stefaniuk

The Cast -
Rob Stefaniuk as Joey Winner
Jessica Paré as Jennifer
Paul Anthony as Tyler
Mike Lobel as Sam
Chris Ratz as Hugo
Dave Foley as Jeff
Malcolm McDowell as Eddie Van Helsig
Iggy Pop as Victor
Alice Cooper as Bartender
Moby as Beef
Henry Rollins as Rockin' Roger
Dimitri Coats as Queeny

Check out this director's cut trailer below, that doubles as the Burning Brides 'Flesh And Bone' music video...

John Carpenter's Vampires (1998)

As part of disturbingfilms.com's Vampire Week 2012, which runs from July 22 - 28, I'll be reviewing 8 Vampire movies. Yes, that's right, EIGHT, this is my favourite sub-genre! This is the seventh film...

"You ever seen a vampire? .....Well first of all, they're not romantic. Its not like they're a bunch of fuckin' fags hoppin' around in rented formal wear and seducing everybody in sight with cheesy Euro-trash accents, all right? Forget whatever you've seen in the movies: they don't turn into bats, crosses don't work. Garlic? You wanna try garlic? You could stand there with garlic around your neck and one of these buggers will bend you fucking over and take a walk up your strada-chocolata WHILE he's suckin' the blood outta your neck"

Meet Jack, a brash, loud, foul mouthed, no nonsense talking or taker of nonsense, shit kicking fucking badass of all badass vampire hunters!

He leads a, Vatican sponsored, small army of hunters from town to town, tracking vampires and their master's (creator) movements in order to efficiently slay them. A rag tag group, but non the less, a group of hard working vamp killers loyal to their leader. Only hunting in daylight, armed to the eye balls they slowly approach a derelict building. One by one they enter. All except Montoya and Father Giovanni.

Jack is armed with a crossbow, the arrows are attached to a steel cable, the steel cable is attached to a winch, the winch is attached to a jeep. When Jack tags a vampire, Montoya reels them out into the sunlight and the priest says a prayer. Simple!

As they clear the vamp nest, it starts to get dark and there's no no sign of the master. So they all head to a motel, where the party begins with beer and hookers. But drunken laughter soon turns to screams of terror! The master of the nest the team hit earlier decides to crash the party after seducing and biting one the call girls. The whole team of hunters is nearly wiped out, all that's left is Jack, Montoya and the bitten call girl, Katrina.

After their escape, Jack and Montoya split up. Jack heads to headquarters while Montoya takes Katrina to see if they can track the master's movements, as Katrina is now telepathically linked due to the master's bite. When Jack gets to HQ, he's met by Cardinal Alba, who has more bad news. The master vampire who attacked his team is no ordinary vamp, but is in fact, the 600 year old Valek, the first vampire in creation and formerly a priest of the catholic church.

Valek is on a mission to find the Berziers Black Cross, which was an ancient artifact that was used long ago by priests during exorcism rituals and were used to remove demons that were believed to possess human forms. The cross was once used on the priest Valek who was believed to have been overcome by demons but the exorcism ritual was cut short which resulted in Valek being forever changed. This brought about the creation of the very first vampire. He now intends to use it to complete another ritual, which would allow him to walk in daylight and make him almost unstoppable.

Jack is ordered to regroup and build another team with Father Adam Guiteau, but after they leave Jack is having non of it and makes plans to meet up with Montoya and track Valek's foot steps using Katrina's new found skills. Hopefully finding the the Black Cross before Valek does, they can stop the ritual from even happening. If not, then they'll have to take out another nest of vamps and Valek, all before the next time the sun goes down.

As things don't quite go the plan, and the sun starts to set and Valek has a surprise up his sleeve. A surprise that involves Jack and Cardinal Alba. In the mean time Montoya and Katrina get a little closer, but Montoya and Father Guiteau still have a job to do as they try to stop Valek before it's too late.

"Let me ask you a question. When you were stabbing that vampire in there...did you get a little wood?"

It's brutal, it's bloody and it's got some of the best lines ever in a vampire movie! Most of which are delivered by James Woods (Videodrome). The movie got banned in the UK for around 6 months, before being released on video, yes video, remember those things?! It got banned for "blamming the catholic church" for the creation of vampires.

Woods gives his typical performance of brutal chaotic mayhem when playing, the almost anti-hero, Jack Crow, which is complemented by Thomas Ian Griffith's performance as the cool, calm, collected but vicious Valek.

Woods really steals the show but that's no reflection on the rest of the cast, Daniel Baldwin and Sheryl Lee (Twin Peaks) give believeable performences, Tim Guinee's plays the inexperienced priest with precision and Griffith's Valek is the perfect villain. Everybody else falls into place as they should.

With a solid story and even better direction, this vampire horror, with a western feel to it, is one of my favourite films of the genre. In my humble opinion, I think this is up there with Halloween (1978) and The Thing (1982), as one of Carpenter's best films.

Vampires gets 9/10

Director - John Carpenter
Writers - John Steakley (novel) & Don Jakoby (screenplay)

The Cast -
James Woods as Jack Crow
Daniel Baldwin as Anthony Montoya
Sheryl Lee as Katrina
Thomas Ian Griffith as Jan Valek
Maximilian Schell as Cardinal Alba
Tim Guinee as Father Adam Guiteau
Gregory Sierra as Father Giovanni
Mark Boone Junior as Catlin
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as David Deyo
Thomas Rosales, Jr. as Ortega

Check out the trailer below...

Stake Land (2010)

As part of disturbingfilms.com's Vampire Week 2012, which runs from July 22 - 28, I'll be reviewing 8 Vampire movies. Yes, that's right, EIGHT, this is my favourite sub-genre! This is the sixth film...


"Waiting for the messiah but he never came, death came instead and it came with teeth"

Set in a post apocalyptic USA, the country is in a state of economic and political disaster due to a vampire epidemic that has swept across what is left of the nation's abandoned towns and cities.

The story follows Martin, a teenage boy who's family is slaughtered by a single vampire. He is saved by a death dealing, lone vampire hunter simply known as Mister.

Under the protection and care of Mister, Martin is taught how to defend himself and kill vampires as they travel across the country.

Heading north to Canada, where "New Eden" awaits, the two of them fight off vampires, pick up more people looking for safety and have trouble with a group of religious extremists known as The Brotherhood.

The vamps aren't the typical bloodsuckers we see in most movies. Rather, they are non thinking, non talking, almost zombie like, ravenous creatures acting in blind blood lust, directed only by their animalistic instincts. The movie very much has the feel of Zombieland (2009), but the big difference, besides the vampires, is the very harrowing story.

The film has it's jumpy parts and disturbing moments. In the first scene we see a vamp feeding on a baby and when I told my wife I was watching the film again, that was the first thing she mentioned as it still creeps her out to this day!

Nick Damici plays the hardened badaas hunter, Mister, in typical fashion - very few words but what he says is worth listening to and when he kicks ass he kicks it permanently. Connor Paolo's performance as Martin is a coming of age story in it's own right. He also narrates during the movie.

And with the "Scream Queen" Danielle Harris, Kelly McGillis and Sean Nelson rounding up the main supporting cast, you get attached and involved with each roll, which is testament to the solid writing and directing. Michael Cerveris as the nut job cult leader Jebedia, gives us another enemy within the film, providing more than just the vampires to fear.

"There's nothing to be done about it but kill that thing. Can you shoot?"

The film is actually one of my top horror movies of 2011 and with a good mix of drama, action and blood, I highly recommend watching it.

Stake Land gets 9/10

Director - Jim Mickle
Writers - Nick Damici & Jim Mickle

The Cast -
Connor Paolo as Martin
Nick Damici as Mister
Danielle Harris as Belle
Kelly McGillis as Sister
Sean Nelson as Willie
Michael Cerveris as Jebedia Loven
Bonnie Dennison as Peggy
Chance Kelly as Officer Harley
Marianne Hagan as Dr. Foley

Check out the trailer below...

Midnight Son (2011)

As part of disturbingfilms.com's Vampire Week 2012, which runs from July 22 - 28, I'll be reviewing 8 Vampire movies. Yes, that's right, EIGHT, this is my favourite sub-genre! This is the fifth film...

"They say the human body stops growing at age 25.....You're in the last stages of something"

24 year old Jacob is a security guard working the night shift, just trying to survive like anyone else. He works the night shift for a good reason as he has a skin disorder which burns his skin when in direct sun light and has suffered with this since a child.

As the days and nights go by Jacob can't seem to contain his hunger, pretty much eating every and any crap he has in the fridge and still feeling empty. After passing out at work he pays his doctor a visit, who tells Jacob that he's got all the symptoms of malnutrition even though he eats as much as he does.

In an attempt to quench the hunger he moves onto red meat, fryed with a side of the bloody juice left over in the packaging!

Realising that this gives him a bit of an extra kick, he visits a butcher shop and orders a pot of blood. Gulping down the blood he's finally feeling a little better.

In the mean time he befriends Mary, who works at a local night spot and has a bit of a coke problem. As their relationship moves forward, Jacob's need for blood gets stronger and signs of his change become more frequent and a detective visits Jacob at work asking for info on a woman that's been murdered near the building he works in.

In an attempt to find a stronger source of blood he checks the local hospital's bio hazard waste bins for left overs. He gets caught by a hospital employee, Marcus, who in return tells Jacob he can get what he needs for him. Jacob starts having flash backs that lead him to believe that he's involved with the murder and Marcus steps up with some extreme ways of getting hold of some blood.

Days and nights start to blur past, Jacob's world is turned inside out as his thirst and transformation becomes more significant and he gets deeper involved with Marcus which can only lead to no good. All this is effecting the relationship with Mary. Can he control everything that's happening around him, get the girl and get his bloodfull urges in check before it destroys him and everyone around him?!

"There's nothing worse than waking up in the middle of nowhere with half your face on fire"

After having it's premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival (March 2011) in San Jose (California), Midnight Son got a FEARnet VOD release in January 2012. Was it worth the wait? Yes, it was. This is a very slick and moody piece that is written and directed superbly. Smart, intense, and unpredictable throughout, the small cast delivers a rock solid performance in between the blood, the plot twists and a score, that all keeps you on edge.

In a sub-genre that's been polluted by the likes of Twilight and it's horde of "teenie boppers," this vampire film is refreshing and something worth watching, that genuine horror fans will enjoy! If you haven't seen it yet, you can sink your teeth into the DVD as it was released on July 17th.

Midnight Son gets 7/10

Director & Writer - Scott Leberecht

The Cast -
Zak Kilberg as Jacob
Maya Parish as Mary
Jo D. Jonz as Marcus
Arlen Escarpeta as Russell
Larry Cedar as Detective Ginslegh

Check out the trailer below...

Dracula (1931)

As part of disturbingfilms.com's Vampire Week 2012, which runs from July 22 - 28, I'll be reviewing 8 Vampire movies. Yes, that's right, EIGHT, this is my favourite sub-genre! This is the fourth film...

"There are far worse things awaiting man than death"

A stagecoach heads down a rocky road, among the passengers is Renfield. At the a drop off point, he reveals that he needs to stay on as he's being met by another coach at midnight further along the path, much to the horror of the locals.

He's headed to Castle Dracula to meet the count, but the a local man warns of the dangers of the night that lie in wait for him, that Count Dracula is a vampire! Undeterred by the stories he insists he carries on, but before he goes a woman gives him a cross to hang around his neck, as this well serve as protection.

Renfield is dropped off in quick fashion at the meeting point, where he is met by a silent couch driver, who merely points for him to get in the coach after taking his bags.

The stagecoach speeds along the Transylvanian mountain pass towards the castle. On arrival, Renfield exits the coach, but to his surprise and bewilderment, the driver has disappeared along with his bags. The door to the castle opens on it's own and he enters. Overwhelmed by the whole situation, he fails to notice the count coming down a the huge staircase behind him. Dracula greets him and shows him to his quarters. Renfield is there on business with the count, who is leasing Carfax Abbey back in London.

The deal is done, in mores ways than Renfield bargained for and they set sale for England aboard the Vesta with only three boxes, one containing Dracula. The ship arrives at the docks in England with the whole crew dead and only Renfield is alive to meet the dock workers, in a complete state of madness! He's removed and sent straight to a lunatic asylum overseen by Dr. John Seward.

Meanwhile Dracula manipulates his way to meeting Dr. Seward and in the process eyes up his daughter Mina and her friend Lucy. This now sets in motion Dracula's plans to feed his thirst with the help of his now loyal servant Renfield.

Dracula's vampiric identity is discovered and with the help of  Dr. Van Helsing, Dr. Seward and John Harker (Mina's fiancé), they are now in a fight to protect Mina from Dracula's evil forces and influence.

"Rats. Rats. Rats! Thousands! Millions of them! All red blood!"

This was my first time watching the 1931 version and I have to say I'm glad I finally got round to watching it. Being such an old film, not everyone will make an effort to see it, but if you haven't, as a true horror fan it's definitely worth watching once. These movies paved the way for horror for generations to come.

This where I get a bit geeky - The first thing that caught my attention was the Transylvanian locals. They spoke Hungarian. Why did it catch my attention? Well, my roots lie in Hungary (both my parent are Hungarian) and true to fact, the boarder between Hungary and Romania ran along the Transylvanian Alps / Carpathian Mountains pre-World War 2 and the region of Transylvania was apart of Hungarian Empire (dating back to Attila the Hun), not Romania. Therefore, somewhere down the line, I must be related to Vlad the Impaler who Count Dracula was based on! LOL. Hence, a big part of my obsession with vampires.

Anyway, back to the film...
Bela Lugosi is still considered as giving the best portrayal of Dracula by most people. He certainly had a great influence on the likes of Christopher Lee and Gary Oldman. But if I'm honest, the one person that stole the show for me was Dwight Frye's Renfield! He gave a marvellously mad performance, switching from the normal Renfield to the looney bin attendee. Edward Van Sloan plays Van Helsing as a calm and controlled Dr. as opposed to what we see in the 1992 version.

The story adaption is simplified, giving more emphasis on Renfield's character than John Harker and Lucy is barely apart of the movie. One thing remained throughout, the great use of light on close ups of Dracula that accentuate his evil eyes, always reminding us of his hidden agenda.

As a vampire fan, this one of those films to watch before you die.

The 1931 Dracula gets 6/10

Director - Tod Browning
Writers - Garrett Fort (play script), Hamilton Deane &
John L. Balderston (from the play adapted by) & Bram Stoker   

The Cast -
Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula
Helen Chandler as Mina
David Manners as John Harker
Dwight Frye as Renfield
Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing
Herbert Bunston as Dr. Seward
Frances Dade as Lucy

Check out the original trailer below...

Blood: The Last Vampire (2009)

As part of disturbingfilms.com's Vampire Week 2012, which runs from July 22 - 28, I'll be reviewing 8 Vampire movies. Yes, that's right, EIGHT, this is my favourite sub-genre! This is the third film...


The story goes...
"In the 16th century, the savage Onin war reduced Japan to a massive feeding ground. Assuming human forms, Demons settled in amongst mortals to prey on the bloodshed.

A fearless samurai named Kiyomasa rose from the heart of evil and became the most revered demon hunter, only to be brutally slain by the oldest, vilest of all demons: Onigen.

Centuries past. Darkness reigns on. Then, a mysterious hunter emerged, joining forces with a shadow society known as the council, she sets out to face her ultimate foe...
ONIGEN."





Our heroine, Saya, is on a train. Not alone in the carriage, she eyes a nervous looking man reading a newspaper.

As the lights begin to flash, the man stands up and heads away from Saya so she starts chasing the man down the carriage. She soon catches him up, draws a katana and slices the man in half as easy as a hot knife through butter. The train stops at an underground station, as Saya steps off she is met by federal agents and a clean up crew. Mission complete!

It's the early '70s, Tokyo Japan, Agent Michael Harrison works for the Council, an unofficial shadow company within the CIA. He looks after Saya, as she works loosely with the organisation, providing her with blood as she is half human-half vampire. Older than all the Council put together, Saya is a highly skilled vampire hunting samurai with one objective in mind, finding Onigen, and exacting her revenge on the oldest of all vampires. Along the way Saya works with Council tracking and killing other vampires.

Her next mission to pose as a student in a school on an American army base in Tokyo. Alice, a fellow student and daughter of General McKee, gets caught in the cross fire. In an attempt to cover the situation, Luke, another Council member, goes a step too far which leaves Saya and Alice to fend for themselves. After chasing a vampire to the country side, Saya realises she's closer to finding Onigen. But can she complete her quest and protect her friend Alice without any more innocent bloodshed?

"You think the more demons you kill the more human you become"

The movie is an adaption of the anime Manga film from 2000. Although set in Japan, it's an English dialog film apart from one scene. It takes it's influence from traditional Japanese / Chinese martial arts films, with a lot of wire work and well choreographed fight scenes. Jun Ji-hyun plays the lead extremely well and shows off her excellent sword skills. Without the vampire story, this could be an amazing samurai movie in it's own rights.

There's lots of blood splatter, although it's CGI, it looks great along side the sword action. The special effects and make up work are solid. The action scenes are second to none. Saying that, there is a scene that is very similar to one in Underworld: Evolution (2006)!

This is a high octane action horror from start to finish with some stunning visual effects that will keep you glued to the scene. Both horror and martial arts fans alike will enjoy this film!

Blood: The Last Vampire gets 8/10

Director - Chris Nahon
Writer - Chris Chow

The Cast -
Jun Ji-hyun as Saya Otonashi
Allison Miller as Alice McKee
Masiela Lusha as Sharon
JJ Feild as Luke
Koyuki as Onigen
Yasuaki Kurata as Kato Takatora
Larry Lamb as General McKee
Andrew Pleavin as Frank Nielsen
Michael Byrne as Elder
Colin Salmon as Powell
Liam Cunningham as Michael Harrison
Ailish OConnor as Linda
Constantine Gregory as Mr. Henry

Check out the trailer below...

Blade (1998)

As part of disturbingfilms.com's Vampire Week 2012, which runs from July 22 - 28, I'll be reviewing 8 Vampire movies. Yes, that's right, EIGHT, this is my favourite sub-genre! This is the second film...

"There are worse things out tonight than vampires"

Born half human, half vampire, Eric Brooks, is taken in as a teenager by father figure and mentor Whistler. Having all the strengths but no weaknesses of a vampire, except the need to feed, he grows up to become BLADE, a highly skilled killer with an agenda to find the one vampire that attacked his mother who survived long enough to give birth to him...

A guy and girl are in a car, on the way to a very exclusive club. When they arrive at their destination, which is an inner city slaughter house, the girl talks to a security guard but speaks in another language. They get let in through the door and it's filled with what at first seems to be ravers. The girl soon leaves they guy to dance by himself and a few moments later he notices a couple of drops of blood on his hand.

The ravers start to raise their hands, the beat of the music gets heavier and the sprinklers start to rain down with blood. This is no ordinary rave! The guy gets punched and kicked around by the blood covered vampire ravers, but is interrupted by a figure dressed in black. The blood stops pouring, the DJ stops the music, the vampires begin to move back and whispers can be heard, "it's him"..."it's the day walker." Enter BLADE!

Vamps are being thrown and wasted left right and centre in a mass of bullets, silver stakes and a high level of martial arts. With the entrance of Quinn, Blade switches to his sword and quickly dispatches what's left of security, leaving Blade and Quinn to have some quality time together, along with two silver stakes and fire! Blade tells Quinn "give my regards to Frost" before he sets Quinn on fire and then makes his exit.

Frost is a vampire that Blade has been tracking for a while but Frost has his own agenda. He's busy trying to unlock the secret of an ancient vampire text and unleash a vampire apocalypse on the world, defying the Mafia type structure that has served vampires so well for many generations.

Along Blade's journey to finding Frost, his path crosses with Karen Jenson, a doctor at a hospital he's led to when he finds Quinn so he can finish off the job he started earlier. She's bitten by Quinn as he tries to escape. Blade saves her and takes her back to his hideout where Whistler awaits and spends his time engineering new weaponry.

Dr. Karen Jenson is a haematologist and after her life is saved she tries to help Blade by finding a cure to his thirst. In the process she develops a weapon instead, that Blade eventually uses to great effect.

In a world sugar coated from the truth about vampires, Blade is in a race against time and possibly the end of the human race, after discovering Frost's plans. But first he must face the truth about his past and future. He now has no choice but to be the last man standing an an epic battle with the ultimate power Frost has unlocked.

"The Blood god's coming and after tonight, you people are fucking history"

This is one of my favourite films of all time, not just in the vampire sub-genre.
Why? Well, here's the story...
When I went to see this, I was on vacation in Florida with six friends, it was our first time visiting the states and one of the lads suggested we go see the movie after noticing an advert in a newspaper. We saw it at the theatre in Downtown Disney. All we knew about the film was the title and that Wesley Snipes was playing a half human half vampire character. After the first scene (fight scene in the club) we all looked at each other and just nodded in approval for the film choice. To this day, I still think it's got one of the best opening scenes in any genre of film. So I guess it was the over all experience plus the fact that it's a great film.

Superbly written by David S. Goyer (The Puppet Masters, Dark City), who later went on to write Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Man of Steel, The Unborn, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and of course Blade II and Blade: Trinity. His vision was put on screen perfectly by Stephen Norrington, although he only had one other film under his director's belt (Death Machine).

The film offered some of the best special effect around at the time. With each strike from Blade, vampires would conbust and fizzle away into ash, much like lighting up a piece of paper and watching it go out. The mix of these effects along with great martial arts choreography, score and acting made it more then just another typical vampire film. The vamps in this movie are cool, sexy and embrace their role in life as top of the food chain, unlike the others that drift alone through the years of a sad existence as portrayed in so many other movies. Even the 1968 Dodge Charger was cool!

Blade is still my favourite role that Wesley Snipes has played. He plays it so simple, yet with great depth. He definitely brings his dark side to this role. Then there's Stephen Dorff, who has never been that great in anything else I've seen him in before or after. He plays the perfect villain to Snipes' hero. He's got class, presence, and enough control in his little pinky to teach the best of actors how to tone it down. Let's face it, Dorff is cool as fuck in this movie! I feel that there are no weak links in this film as the rest of the cast provide perfect support.

I believe that it's over looked as one of the best Marvel comic adaptions, with it's perfect mix of action, blood and substance. If you haven't seen this yet then make it a priority!

I love this film so much that I have Deacon Frost's vampire mark tattooed on the back of my neck!

Blade gets 10/10

Writer - David S. Goyer
Director - Stephen Norrington

The Cast -
Wesley Snipes as Blade/Eric Brooks
N'Bushe Wright as Dr. Karen Jenson
Stephen Dorff as Deacon Frost
Kris Kristofferson as Abraham Whistler
Donal Logue as Quinn
Udo Kier as Gitano Dragonetti
Sanaa Lathan as Vanessa Brooks
Arly Jover as Mercury
Tim Guinee as Dr. Curtis Webb

Check out the opening scene below...

Bitten (2008)

As part of disturbingfilms.com's Vampire Week 2012, which runs from July 22 - 28, I'll be reviewing 8 Vampire movies. Yes, that's right, EIGHT, this is my favourite sub-genre! There's going to be a mix of a couple of my favourite vamps films, a couple I haven't watched before and some cool movies worth checking out if you haven't already. This is the first film...

"Holy shit, you ate my ex-girlfriend! I don't know whether I call the police or buy you flowers"

Jack, a paramedic, works the graveyard shift and is lonely after his girlfriend Sherry dumped him for her yoga instructor. His work colleague, Roger, is fed up with his mood and whining when on shift together in the ambulance and suggests Jack should go out and find another girl.

On the way home after a hard nights graft, Jack sees a woman covered with blood, lying on the floor in the alley behind his apartment. She doesn't remember how she got there so Jack tries to help her but she refuses to go to the hospital. So he takes the beautiful stranger home and nurses her until she is recovered, at which point she tells him that her name is Danika.

It doesn't take long before Jack falls in love with Danika, even though she seems to be an addict suffering from withdraw symptoms. However, he soon discovers that Danika is not a drug addict at all, but that she is in fact a vampire!

Not letting the fact that she is a vampire, Jack and Danika fall in love with each other and try to find a way to feed her blood cravings while killing as little as possible. But their attempts end without success as Jack has to keep finding places to hide the ever increasing amount of dead bodies in and around his apartment.

With a fair few ups and downs Jack keeps trying his best to please Danika which is sweet but as the relation becomes more and more strained, in the end it all gets a little ugly!

Being a fan of Jay and Silent Bob (2001), it's always good to see Jason Mewes in different roles even though Jack, in this movie was kind of like a grown up version of Jay which actually worked well. You actually start to feel sorry for Jack as he continuously tries to keep Danika sweet. While the acting isn't going to win any awards, the whole cast do a decent job and with a story that's keeps you interested, it's worth watching atleast once.

Humorous with a nice touch of blood and gore this cool low budget horror movie has a different and original outlook an the Vampire genre and was enjoyable to watch.

Bitten gets a slightly above average 6/10.

"Oh good...I'll clean up this mess again!"

Director - Harvey Glazer
Writers - Tim McGregor and Tyler Levine

The cast -  
Jason Mewes as Jack
Erica Cox as Danika
Richard Fitzpatrick as Roger
Nic Nac as Pusher
Stuart Stone as Twitch
Jordan Madley as Sherry
Grace Armas as Mrs. Lee
Amy Lynn Grover as Maya
Jeff Pangman as Day Shift EMT
Shawn Goldberg as Junkie
Stefan Brogren as Bearded Man
Suresh John as Store Owner

Check out the trailer below...

Pontypool (2008)

As part of disturbingfilms.com's Zombie Week 2012, which runs from March 12 - 17, I'll be reviewing four Zombie movies from the 00's. The four movies I've selected have taken us across the globe, covering four continents, starting in Europe (UK), then from Africa to Australia, finally ending up in North America with the fourth film...

The cast -
Stephen McHattie as Grant Mazzy
Lisa Houle as Sydney Briar
Georgina Reilly as Laurel-Ann Drummond
Hrant Alianak as Dr. Mendez
Rick Roberts as Ken Loney
Boyd Banks as Jay / Osama
Tony Burgess as Tony / Lawrence
Rachel Burns as Colin / Daud


Director - Bruce McDonald

Writer - Tony Burgess






The Plot -
Pontypool, a small village in Ontario, Canada, where one day, in a radio station, the morning team starts taking reports of extreme, bloody incidents of violence occurring in town. As the story unfolds, the radio staff soon realises the violence that is ripping society apart is due to a virus being spread through the English language. That in turn poses a problem for a yappy radio jock and his staff holed up in the broadcast booth housed in the basement of the town's abandoned church as a slaughter rages beyond its walls.

The Review -
Small town DJ Grant Mazzy is on the way to the radio station for the early morning talk show when out of nowhere a woman bangs on his car window, so he stops to see whats wrong and pulls down the passenger window. He only gets a couple of words from her and as she steps backwards away from the car she disappears into the snowy morning. As he shouts to get a response, all he hears is his own echo. Baffled by what just happened he carries on to work to join producer Sydney and sound tech. Laurel-Ann. As his radio show airs, they get disturbing reports of people attacking one another and speaking incoherently. Through the course of the show the reports get worse. The uncontrollable, crowds are dieing at the hand of the local enforcement. Mazzy and his team soon release that they are trapped in their studio. Laurel-Ann's behaviour becomes confusing as she struggles to make any sense with her sentences.
Arriving on the scene, though a window in a back room is Dr. Mendez, who tries to shed some light on what's going on. As Laurel-Ann's condition becomes worse, she starts trying to smash though the sound proof glass, where Mazzy, Sydney and the Doctor are locked away for their own safety. They come to the discovery that an infection, though the English language is turning people into a zombie like state. Now they have figured out what's causing the carnage on the outside as well as in the studio, do they try to escape or do they search for an answer to revert the situation?

"It's not the end of the world, it's just the end of the day."

Let me start off by saying "hmm." Yes, hmm, this is a bit of a weird one. Is it a Zombie movie or not? It's not a Zombie movie in the traditional sense. What we have hear is a very different take on the "infection of mankind" that leads people to a Zombie like state. The tension is built on purely what we hear during the radio show, which is good. But when it comes down to it, nothing really happens. I have conflicting views on this movie. Was it a work of genius? Or is it just pretentious? There's a message in there somewhere. Or maybe it was just a dig at the English language by a French Canadian! Either way, this is one of those film you're even gonna love or hate. Personally, I still don't know which one it is yet!

For that simple reason I'm gonna have to give Pontypool 5/10

Check out the trailer below...

Undead (2003)

As part of disturbingfilms.com's Zombie Week 2012, which runs from March 12 - 17, I'll be reviewing four Zombie movies from the 00's. This is the third film...

The Cast -
Felicity Mason as Rene
Mungo McKay as Marion
Rob Jenkins as Wayne
Lisa Cunningham as Sallyanne
Dirk Hunter as Harrison
Emma Randall as Molly
Noel Sheridan as Chip
Gaynor Wensley as Aggie
Eleanor Stillman as Ruth


Directors & Writers - Michael Spierig & Peter Spierig







The Plot -
Peaceful, rustic Berkeley is a charming fishing community where life is sweet and the people are friendly. All that is about to change. After losing her childhood farm to the bank, local beauty Queen Rene decides to leave town and head for the big city. Suddenly, an avalanche of meteorites races through the sky, bombarding the town and bringing an otherworldly infection. Departing is going to be much more difficult than she had planned. The living dead are awakened and Rene is now caught in a nightmare of zombies hungry for human flesh.

The Review -
As our heroine, Rene, tries to escape her dreary life in her home town, the rest of the residents are being showered with meteorites. As the meteorites hit, the locals are turning into the undead, attacking anything that looks good enough to eat.
Rene jumps into a friend's car and heads off, but on the way out of the town they come across a road accident involving a few other vehicles.

This is where Rene comes across the Zombies. Through the horde of living dead comes an armed man laying waste to some of them. She runs instead of fighting and finds, what seems to be, an empty house, but residing there is local fisherman, Marion, who is the gun toting slayer from earlier on the road.
Not long after they get acquainted, they're joined by a man and his pregnant wife and two police officers, also trying to escape from being eaten.

The house soon becomes over run with Zombies so the six of them head down into Marion's bunker, below the house. Realising they're stuck down there without food or water they decide to head back up into the house and make a break for Marion's van so they can get the hell out of there.
Meanwhile, most the town has been over run with more undead. In the van they reach the town limits only to find a huge wall like structure blocking their route. Covered by a down pour, of what looks like acid rain, all is not as it seems. Marion's earlier story of aliens is starting to make sense. Could aliens be involved, could they be responsible for the Zombie invasion, or are they all going mad? Will Rene step up to be the leader and hero the town folk need or will she and the rest of people left, fall prey to the strange happenings?

This Australian film has a B-movie feel to it and is full of "popcorn cheese" that will give you a little giggle from time to time. There's lots of blood splatter and body parts getting chopped off. The gun action is over the top and some of the acting is too. Felicity Mason permanently looks confused, shocked and surprised all at once. Mungo McKay plays the strong silent type well. Dirk Hunter plays the annoying as hell cop, who you just want to shoot in the face! But I guess that's all part of the charm. It gets all a bit too silly with the introduction of aliens though. It kind of makes sense but then I think it's just one of those movies where it doesn't really matter. The movie is full of bloody fun and is worth checking out if you like that.

Undead gets 5/10

Check out the trailer below...

The Dead (2010)

 
As part of disturbingfilms.com's Zombie Week 2012, which runs from March 12 - 17, I'll be reviewing four Zombie movies from the 00's. This is the second film...

The Cast -
Rob Freeman as Lt. Brian Murphy
Prince David Oseia as Sgt. Daniel Dembele
David Dontoh as The Chief


Directors & Writers - Howard J. Ford & Jon Ford













The Plot -
When the last evacuation flight out of war-torn Africa crashes off the coast, American Air Force Engineer Lieutenant Brian Murphy emerges as the sole survivor in a land where the dead are returning to life and attacking the living. On the run in a hostile and inhospitable parched landscape, where sudden death lurks around every sun-burnished corner, Murphy has to use his wits and ingenuity if he is to get home alive to his family. When Murphys path clashes with that of Sergeant Daniel Dembele, whose village has been torn apart by the reanimated dead, they join forces. The two desperate men from two very different cultures fight side by side to survive across the incredible scenery of Africa as the world succumbs to the deadliest of viruses.

The Review -
Set in the desert wasteland of Africa, we see a lone figure, dressed in black, making his way through the sandy but rugged terrain. It doesn't take long before he has company. Shuffling slowly towards the armed man, broken leg in toe, is a Zombie, which is passed by, by the unknown gunman. Just over the next dune though, he has to take action when another Zombie appears.
Cut to the next scene, on board a small plane, filled with military personnel and civilians alike. One man has been bitten and going into shock. The plane is running out of fuel and eventually crashes just of the cost. The only survivor, American Air Force Engineer Lieutenant Brian Murphy, is now stranded in hostile territory having to fight for his survival in order to get to his wife and child.
Meanwhile, in a near by location, Sergeant Daniel Dembele returns to his village to find it empty of the living and occupied by the walking dead, as it was evacuated the night before. His mother, fatally injured, barely breathing, tells Daniel that his son was taken to safety.

Brian and Daniel's paths soon cross. Brian wants to head to an airfield to see if he can find a plane that can fly and Daniel wants to head north to find his son. They decide to help each other towards each destination.
Upon discovering the abandoned airstrip, Brian stays the course with Daniel to find the camp in the north that Daniel's son was taken too. In between them and their final destination stands a numerous amount of flesh hungry killers. But with a hot desert by day, the cold nights and danger lurking behind every rock and bush, will the two soldiers find sanctuary or pay the ultimate sacrifice at the hands of the infected dead?

This is a road movie, with the backdrop of Africa and classic slow moving Zombies. Don't expect an action packed movie. Although there is plenty of rather good bloody special effects, most encounters are brief and to the point. This movie has more of a drama feel to it, drawing you into the harrowing story rather than distracting you with mindless violence. It very much has the feel of Stake Land (2010), but with Zombies instead of Vampires. The cast give believable performances. It's well scripted and directed and is definitely worth a watch for fans of the Zombie sub-genre.

The Dead gets a lively 7/10

Check out the trailer below...

Devil's Playground (2010)

As part of disturbingfilms.com's Zombie Week 2012, which runs from March 12 - 17, I'll be reviewing four Zombie movies from the 00's. First up is the British film Devil's Playground...

The Cast -
Danny Dyer as Joe
Craig Fairbrass as Cole
MyAnna Buring as Angela
Jaime Murray as Lavinia
Shane Taylor as Geoffrey
Bart Ruspoli as Matt Mills
Craig Conway as Steve
Lisa McAllister as Kate
Colin Salmon as Peter White
Sean Pertwee as Rob

Director - Mark McQueen

Writer - Bart Ruspoli





The Plot -
N-gen Industries, a leading pharmaceutical company, develops a new "legal performance enhancer" called RAK-295, that has bad side effects on all but one of their 30,000 test patients. In order to control the media uproar, Cole, the head of security is sent to find the immune patient Angela and bring her in for examination. But the hardened mercenary, Cole, comes up against more than just the infected in a bid for survival.

The Review -
London, in the not too distant future, while Peter White, the CEO of N-gen Industries, gives a cover speech to the press, all is not as peachy as it sounds.
Our hero, Cole, is charged with finding and bringing in Angela, to help find a cure for the ever increasing threat of the outbreak which is beginning to spread throughout the city. Cole is already battling the demons of his violent past, suffering flash backs to an act of cold blooded murder. And to make matters worse, he gets bitten, giving him little time to do his job, before the inevitable happens. Being the man he is, this only spurs him on to take on the army of bloodthirsty creatures.

Meanwhile, getting out of prison is Joe, an ex cop, with a tainted past of his own and wanting to get in contact with Angela also. It's not long before the spread of infection takes a turn for the worse, effecting more and more people, which is realised when the news broadcasts get interrupted by the deadly and very agile Zombies. Cole, tracks Angela and friend, Kate, to a workshop where Joe happens to be, along with friend Steve and two passers by, Lavinia and her American colleague.

The plan is to get to a helicopter across the other side of London where Angela's Police officer step-brother awaits. Between their location and the helicopter, it's a game of fight and flight, not just against the Zombies but against each other within the group. The question is, will they all make it in time to see Angela's immunity to the virus save the day?

With the solid British cast and a presentable story, even though it's not original, this is a pretty good attempted at a Zombie movie for the first time film director Mark McQueen. Craig Fairbrass (Cliffhanger, Rise of the Footsoldier, Dead Cert) steals the show even though it's Danny Dyer's (The Football Factory, Severance, Doghouse) name in the top spot of the credits. OK, that's not hard, it is Dyer, but this wasn't his worse or best role. MyAnna Buring (Doomsday, The Descent: Part 2, Kill List), played a fluid leading lady. The supporting cast filled in the gaps. Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers, Equilibrium, Doomsday) plays a bit of a cameo. Not to get carried away, there's no Oscar winning performances here, just decent enough acting to keep your attention.

Besides the look of the Zombies and the fact they eat people, they really don't have anything else in common with other Zombies, from other movies. They're very fast and agile. In fact, they could be mistaken for professional free runners! Some may find this off putting, while others may find them more frightening.

"The blood and gore?" I hear you ask! Well, there's plenty of skull beating action with various objects, but the humble hammer seems to be the favourite here. The blood flows freely, from both bites and strikes, and the special effects look real enough without being over the top.

Overall, I did enjoy this movie. OK, I'll be honest and admit I wasn't expecting much though. It's no 28 Days Later but it is a better than average Zombie film worth giving a go.

Devil's Playground gets 6/10

Check out the trailer below...