Rish Outfield's reviews
There was some good writing at work here.
I'll also admit that I'm kind of an Amy Dolenz fan (I saw her in some movie where she played a Genie and thought, "There's a wish or two she could grant me right now," and ever since . . .), and she's lovely and pretty good here. So is DeLouise (yes, one of Dom's sons), although I didn't buy the ex-priest part. Also, old Saturday Night Live alum, Garrett Morris is the drunk old man who knows the truth, and made me chuckle a few times. Karen Black is surprisingly good too, even though her scenes (and the entire priest subplot) seemed to belong in a different film. There were some unexpectedly touching moments that are very welcome in horror, but very infrequently present. It was disjointed at times, and unnecessarily confusing too. A child actor who I thought was among the worst ever filmed (and I've seen parts of that Cindy Crawford/William Baldwin movie, Fair Game), but tyranist didn't have a problem with it. Uh oh, I feel a rant coming on. You see, both tyranist and I have acting experience, writing experience, and filmmaking experience, and that the boy's performance wasn't garishly awful to him makes me wonder what's up. I mean, it was shitty. I guess I should be less critical, especially if it didn't bother tyranist. After all, I'll have words with any man who says that Mark Hamill's not a good actor.
The ending was too easy, though--coming close to a "No One Dies At All." Pretty disappointing, at the end.
Best Scare: Karen Black's vampire role was inhuman-looking and frightening. Maybe not a scare, but still, well-done.
I'd Recommend It To: Vampire fans who are interested in a new twist. No expectations required.

The tyranist's thoughts
A surprisingly good vampire movie. In the day and age when vampires are thought of as exotic attractive beings, it is refreshing to see a movie that not only doesn't glorify vampirism, but has vampires that don't want to be vampires. The plot is a little slow to develop, but I really enjoyed the characters especially Cindy and Lucy. There are a lot of things that are ultra-traditional and there are others that aren't. At times, I was reminded of Fright Night and Lost Boys, but the movie does manage to strike out in a direction that is all its own. There are a couple of genuinely touching moments, but not many scares. As far as vampire movies go this isn't really standard fare and was much better than I expected. As much as Rish hated the familiar, I was willing to forgive a little for the sake of enjoying the rest of the movie. It is well worth seeing, especially to vampire afficianados who want another couple of pieces of vampire lore to work with.