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1.7 KiB
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1 line
1.7 KiB
Plaintext
Another less-than-enthusing entry in this erratic series concerns one of the most abused subjects in horror-film history i.e. vampirism and, yet, it has rarely been dealt with such a visceral (and frankly off-putting) approach. The blood flows in bucketfuls here and rather than bite its victims, the creature tears open their throat like a werewolf or a latter-day zombie would! The chief vampire is played by Michael Ironside (as Mr. Chaney!) in full Jack (THE SHINING) Nicholson mode, while his victims/successors are your typical teens: one white and one black, obsessed with carnage-happy video games but who cringe in the face of real death so they dare one another to enter a morgue at night and take a good look at the latest 'intern'
and that is where their troubles begin. Their reactions, however, are different: while the black boy seems resigned to have joined the ranks of the undead (culminating in a predictable coda, down to the ironic closing line, as he sets out to 'infect' The Big Apple), the other resists especially after Ironside kidnaps his kid sister to be the blood donor in his initiation! and commits suicide, awaiting the dawn tied to a cross, in a show-stopping finale. Along the way, the film references NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968; a quotation of the famous line "They're coming to get you, Barbara!"), AN American WEREWOLF IN London (1981; the white kid who escapes the initial attack feels remorse for having abandoned his pal to his fate), BLACK SABBATH (1963; the black kid appears at the other's home claiming to be all right and pleading with his friend to let him in) and, for good measure, we get various snippets from the Browning/Lugosi Dracula (1931) conveniently showing on TV! |