- Directed by Michael Su
- Written by Massimiliano Cerchi, Adrian Milnes
- Stars Costas Mandylor, Tara Reid, Robert LasSardo, Bishop Stevens
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 28 minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XefO8TzUW-8
Spoiler-Free Judgement Zone
This was an ambitious project with a large cast. The world it’s set in is interesting, with a script that moves well. The effects were on the minimal side and effectively used. Our only real criticism was the modulation and sound mix used on some of the vampire voices sometimes made them challenging to understand. Overall, it was entertaining and certainly worth a watch.
Synopsis
We are told that two vampire factions have taken over the world, and they’ve warred to the point of extinction. As credits roll, we watch a pair of farmers attacked by a pack of vampires led by the Vampire Master. They drink the woman but turn the man. A couple of farmhands hide inside the barn and witness the whole thing– they don’t live long either.
A while later, a man in a cowboy hat and a gas mask arrives at the farm and finds the farmer’s wife dead. Charlie sneaks in and says the dead woman is his mother, and he’s been hiding. The stranger is John Shepard. They team up and hit the road.
The vampire gang comes upon a house full of hiding people, and the Vampire Master finds them all. One woman tries to use a cross, but the Master breaks it in half.
John and Charlie run into an old woman who has killed a few vampires. She gives John a crucifix. Which is odd, considering we just saw one of those not work at all.
The Vampire Queen walks through town with her entourage, and she demands that they respect her. They run into the Master and his group. Together, they feast on the humans caught earlier.
A nosferatu-looking guy runs the other vampire faction. There’s a battle that’s been brewing for centuries, and both sides are recruiting.
Charlie and John pick up Rico, a guy on the road. A couple of women shoot the farmer vampire with a garlic-filled shotgun shell. All five of them meet up and go see “Daddy” about where to find the Master. Fico and one of the girls run into a trio of vampires, but the garlic shells don’t do anything against them.
That night, the dead farmer wakes up and kills Daddy. Those garlic shells really don’t do the trick. John shoots him in the heart with a crossbow, and as the farmer dies, the Master feels it.
In the morning, the group goes up into the mountains and talks to some paramilitary guys. One of them wants Rico’s bike. They’re local bullies and troublemakers, and the two girls regularly pay them off in fuel. Their leader is Toque, and John wants their help in tracking down the Master.
Torque soon finds the Master, but he makes a deal with him to turn over John and the vampire hunters instead of following his agreement. John smells a rat and warns his friends about what’s coming.
Torque doesn’t wait. He takes John and the other prisoner and hands them over to the Master. The Master then sets his vampire army against all of Torque’s men.
In the dungeon, Charlie uses his knife to kill the guard, and all the vampire hunters get out. There’s a short battle as John shoots the Master several times with his crossbow. John pulls out the cross that the old woman gave him earlier, and this time, it works.
The baddies are all dead, and only Rico has been bitten. What’s next for the group?
Elsewhere, the Nosferatu vampire senses his opponent, the Master, has been killed. Now, there will be no big battle. He laughs. “The world is ours!”
Commentary
The voice modulation on some of the vampires makes them very hard to understand, especially a few who have foreign accents. The Queen and one other female vampire especially– we sometimes had to piece together what they said.
It’s low budget with few special effects. The cast is quite large, and the overall acting is good for a film of this type. The story and world are also interesting.
A lot was made of the two vampire factions, but one side was a Nosferatu-type character who was pretty hands-off, which paid off for him at the end. But the final shot says, “Coming soon, Bloodthirst 2,” so getting him might be the plan for next time.
#vampire #gang #factions