Night Flier (1997) ![]()
Bitter, slimy, tabloid reporter, Richard
Dees (Miguel Ferrer), investigates a series of murders at rural
airfields. Dees, who has a psychic connection to the killer, begins
to suspect that the killer is a real vampire as a new cub reporter tries
to take the story away from him.
In the improbable world of Night
Flier, the police and legitimate news agencies ignore strings of
bloody murders, while tabloids have investigative reporters. Yup, in
order to get those stories about Elvis sightings and yetis, tabloids have
highly trained, competitive reporters who travel the country.
Sure. The film clings to the exploits of Richard Dees, no matter
what he might be doing since it's a lot cheaper to show him drinking in a
bar than to show the vampire doing anything. But considering the
half kangaroo look of the vampire when we finally do see him, less is
definitely more. Dees actions are beyond stupid. He enters an
airport filled with gruesomely mutilated bodies, believing the killer to
still be there (and believing he is a vampire), and slowly wanders taking
pictures. Then when he slips on blood, he goes to wash up.
Wouldn't any sane person be running? For a time, the film implies
that Dees is the killer, which would give the film some value and explain
away a few implausible actions, but that possibility is smashed at the
end, so we're left with Dees acting in ways that just don't make sense
(plus no explanation for his psychic ability). There is one scene
toward the end that is almost worth watching. Dees meets the vampire
(named Dwight Renfieldâreally) in a washroom and there are a few cute
gimmicks, but then the vamp starts speaking in a junior-high-theater voice
and, like the rest of the film, it turns out ridiculous.
Blade (1998) ![]()
![]()
![]()
A half vampire hunts the undead with guns, swords, spikes,
and drugs. When an upstart vampire gang leader decides to overthrow
the old order of their society, Blade's job gets a lot harder.
An early entry in the style-first monster film sub-genre
(Resident Evil, Underworld), Blade, like those
that followed, is exciting, rich in detail, skillfully made, and a bit
brain-dead. This is a film where the hero stops to pose before each
fight and no female vampire would be caught without a mini-skirt or
cat-suit. It's silly, but it looks great. While it contains
vampires, it is a pure action film, not a horror film. There are no
scares here, but a lot of over-the-top jumps, kicks, flips, and sword
flourishes. Why do the evildoers charge one at a time to be cut down
by Blade? Because it looks cool. Why does blade always reach
for his sunglasses in a fight? Because it looks cool. That's
what the filmmakers were going for, and they succeeded. So watch it,
because it looks cool.
Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)
![]()
![]()
Saya, a vampire hunter in Japan just as the Vietnam is
about to heat up, is sent by a secret organization to a girl's school on
an American military base. There she seeks out vampiric demons that hide
as students.
I'd like to say you should rush out and see this anime
film immediately. Mixing cell animation and CG, no anime looks
better. It suggests an intricate world, with analogies galore.
The pre-Vietnam setting is an underused one, particularly for vampires,
and ripe for inspection. Blood: The Last
Vampire, is set up to be brilliant. But it isn't, and I can
only recommend it when all other options are missing. The problem is
that this isn't a movie at all. Running just 48 minutes, it feels
like the middle of a film. None of the mysteries are
explained. None of the possibilities are explored. Outside of
revealing Saya as a vampire (a surprise ruined by the title), her
background isn't touched upon. Who is she and why does she
hunt? What are the demons she kills? What is the organization
she works for? What is the connection to the American war?
Nothing is answered. All the film gives us is Saya running in,
finding demons, and fighting them. The end. Perhaps a sequel
(and a prequel) will make this interesting. Until then, it nicely
animated, but vacuous.
The Breed (2001) ![]()
The vampires have decided to join human society and become
just another racial group. However, murder disrupts the political
system and a mix matched pair of police, one vampire, one human, must
solve the crimes.
An astonishingly bad film. Now why do the vampires
want to join this future society that's two parts Nazi Germany, one part
techno goth club? Perhaps because the filmmakers were trying so
desperately to say something deep about the Jews in WWII, but couldn't
remember what. The plot is absurd, reminiscent of a live-action
Vampire the Masquerade role-playing session. Vampires in politics,
what fun! The action scenes are what you get when incompetents try
to copy The Matrix. If you don't have the
money and skill to use wire-work, don't use wire-work. Is that so
tricky? But it is the characters, and appalling acting, that
transforms this film to toxic waste. The buildings act better than
Bokeem Woodbine as the clichÃd, hard-talking, always grouchy human
cop. He must be tough because he says "fuck." As he's really
tough, he must say it several hundred times. Apparently the writer
couldn't come up with dialog for him, so he just kept pasting in
"fuck." It's a fine word, but perhaps, just perhaps, a second or
even a third word would be nice. Adrian Paul, avoiding his Highlander persona, decides that somewhere between John
Waters and the Men in Black is the perfect fit. It
isn't.
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
(2001) ![]()
![]()
In the distant future, D, a half-vampire with a demonic
hand, is hired to retrieve a girl taken by a powerful vampire. A
group of bounty hunters is also on the trail and D will have to defeat
them as well as various monsters if he is to
succeed.
A sequel to the appallingly bad 1985 Vampire Hunter D, Vampire Hunter D:
Bloodlust's animation is a vast improvement on the
original's. There are far too many scenes where nothing moves except
a character's eye or mouth and backgrounds are often static. But for
anime, it looks good. The drawings are lush and show some real
artistry.
The story is a mix of Clint Eastwood westerns, Blade, and Dracula. The
vampire wants the girl to be with him forever, but Blade (I mean D) is
going to stop that, as is the crude and vicious bounty hunter gang.
The problem with the film is that these characters range between vile and
bratty. Only the vampire lord Meier and his Antebellum-like love
interest are in any way sympathetic, but the film hardly spends time with
them. Instead we are treated to scene after scene of deeply
unpleasant people fighting monsters. Why should I care if they get
hurt? Action films need to make me care about the people struggling
or it's just all meaningless motion, but these are not people to care
about. In fact, I'd much prefer they all die so the nice vampire can
get
away.
