Bloodthirst

Living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a vampire hunter and his protege manage to find an outcrop of survivors in the desert and enlist their services to help them track a vicious vampire clan running through the area feeding on the weak and must try to stop them before it's too late.

There was a lot to like with this indie vampire effort. One of the better features here is a rather intriguing storyline that attempts to employ an intriguing post-apocalyptic setup for vampires. As this opens in the aftermath of these works have taken place and the exploits of the gang running around feasting on the hold-out of survivors at the one location, this manner of bringing vampires into this setup is quite fun. It allows for the film to work within it's low-budget featuring the creatures coming down to enforce their superiority over the victims while they can think of a means of escape. As well, there's also the tracker coming for them hunting them down which has some equally fun means of trying to catch up for a great setup. This all lets the film have a solid and generally fine if somewhat low-key series of confrontations throughout. As the early scenes of them taking over the farm or hunting the stragglers in the wasteland have a nice bit of brutality alongside the cheesy situations, it comes off nicely against the later scenes where they've got the victims hostage in the basement and arrive mainly to taunt them before feeding. The concurrent scenes of the hunters going through the desert taking them out and hunting the creatures in the abandoned town where the vampires have kept their captives and the series of battles here provide some fun action featuring solid indie gore. These features all manage to have a lot to really like about it. The film does have some minor drawbacks to hold this down. One of the main factors against it is the somewhat repetitive first half that never gives the vampires much urgency for what they're doing. The idea of the vampires staying at the house of their prey, holding them like hostages, and coming back down on several occasions is a pretty underwhelming one that doesn't have a lot of interesting aspects to it. As well, this one tends to go through ill-thought-out material for twists in the finale merely to prolong the running time as the series of double-crosses and allegiance shifts that don't make much sense and well thought-out how it would play out in the story are what end up being the issues that bring it down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

OMG! Full disclosure: I only watched this to see how bad Tara Reid looks these days.

It's a train wreck of a movie.

Funny-talking, post apocalyptic, vampires wander the Earth in broad daylight biting people left and right willy nilly.

There are fight scenes that are totally laughable. The movie appears to be shot as if it was direct to video (dunno). The acting is quite simply horrible, but then the story-line is idiotic. Some guy dressed in an Australian coat with a three dollar mask hunts the vampire but no one else seems to know they can fight back with a stake. Also, for some reason it appears you can kill them with a shotgun.

I'll admit I had low expectations for this one but man-o-man did it come in even lower.

Why someone put money into backing this is beyond me.

Oh, and BTW Tara Reid looks like she was drinking something other than blood in this one.

"Bloodthirst," directed by Michael Su, is a refreshing addition to the vampire genre. Set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by super vampires, the film follows John Shepard, a Vampire Hunter portrayed by Costas Mandylor, on his quest to eliminate the master vampire, played by Robert LaSardo, before succumbing to vampirism himself. Alongside him are a diverse group of characters, including the Vampire Queen, Tara Reid , and a team of rebels known as the Malicia.

The film's strength lies in its well-structured story, penned by Massimiliano Cerchi and Adrian Milnes, which keeps the audience engaged from start to finish. The characters are likable and well-developed, and the plot is filled with twists, betrayals, and intense action sequences. The chemistry between Robert LaSardo and Tara Reid as the vampire leaders adds depth to their characters and makes their scenes memorable.

On the hero side, Costas Mandylor and Sarah French along with her sister played by Elissa Dowling deliver powerful performances, portraying convincing badasses determined to rid the world of the master vampire. The film successfully balances its characters, providing ample room for each to shine. Special shout out to 2 of the many stand out performances but left a lasting impression on me where Charlie (Johnny Huang) and the bad ass Rico (Rich R. Rendon).

What sets "Bloodthirst" apart is its ability to create a compelling atmosphere of fear while delivering a unique take on the vampire genre. It offers a cool villain, plenty of blood, and a satisfying payoff, hitting all the marks expected from a vampire movie.

In the hands of director Michael Su, the film manages to be both fun and engaging, keeping the audience hooked throughout. The promise of a sequel in the credits is exciting news for fans, as "Bloodthirst" leaves us craving more of its post-apocalyptic vampire world. Bravo to Michael Su for delivering a captivating and promising addition to the genre.

I won't dwell too much into the leaking-of-small-budget stuff (movie-making is expensive thing after all), which could still be easily overlooked, if only the movie would have had any supporting backbone that'd make it worthvile. Pacing was slow, story was vague and slightly convoluted (there are TWO vampire masters?? Is there still working society, if people are scared of police? Didn't the vampires cause the apocalypse, as some lines seem to imply othervise?), with alot of relationships and story beats making sense only if you recognize the tropes. It also had little to no action (which was something I felt was expected from such premise), which leaves you questioning - what's the purpouse of this film? It's not drama, it's not bloody action flick, it's nothing. Just 1h30mins of people with some of the strangest written dialogues. Even the vampires weren't fun! So much wasted potential.

What's with the "1" ratings? Very few films are really a "1." Those who give this film a "1" clearly have something against the makers of the film.

Moving on...

This is a low-budget, independent horror film. It was probably made for less than most movies spend on craft services. But that doesn't make it bad - far from it. With stars such as Costas Mandylor, Tara Reid and Robert LaSardo, there's some real talent on board.

And, unlike some other low-budget indies, the stars aren't in it for 2 minutes - they have major roles.

I'll avoid spoilers and say this: There's plenty of gore, laughs, and campy-cheese (or is it "cheesy-camp?") to make this film enjoyable. Most of the acting is good (Robert LaSardo is always a pleasure to watch) and the costumes/locations are believable - they keep you in the film.

If this was a $50 million movie, I'd give it a 3. But it's not. It was probably made for less than 1% of that amount...and, honestly, it's better than some big budget movies.

The Mahals have carved out a nice niche in the industry. This is another good one from them. Overall: 7.