Pure Blood

This is a South African film that was picked up by Troma for distribution. It is an extremely strange take on vampires, and pretty interesting as well. Has some blood, but not much, it doesn't need it. It has more brains than the average low budget film, in my opinion. The acting is fairly decent, with some pretty decent effects as well. It is like no other vampire film, totally unique and done pretty well, especially for a Troma pick up. The DVD quality could be better, at some points it is tough to hear what they are saying. The cinematography for this film is really good as well, there is some really good camera work here. Overall, I would recommend this, it is like no other film.

As a South African film buff I am glad to see that a South African director has finally decided to make a film that deviates from the usual South African fare of either didactic political diatribes or awful slapstick comedies. Ken Kaplan has crafted a surprisingly inventive little film that combines elements of vampire lore, black comedy and political allegory. This may sound a strange mix but it's at least a departure from routine generic films. The film has its failings (the characters aren't fleshed out enough, a weak romance and a predictable ending) but I admire the film because it is both unique and uniquely South African. It took Kaplan around 13 years to finally finance and complete Pure Blood but the tragedy is that, despite it's entertainment value and the fact that it is actually about something, this film will probably never be released. This is due to the reluctance of local distributors to distribute South African films and the fact that it is non-genre, i.e. not easy to categorize. Needless to say the South African film industry needs a major restructuring to ensure that a film such as this can be seen by the public rather than those terrible candid camera films regularly foisted onto South African screens.

I had the misfortune of seeing this film on TV at 2am in the morning. The storyline is contrived. The acting appalling. The direction non-existent. The music shockingly awful. I cannot understand how anyone would fund this film! It is a weird film purely for the sake of being weird, no story to grasp and find interest in, no narrative logic to comprehend, no characters to feel for. The film makers have tried to cover up lack of story integrity with obscure camera angles but it doesn't work. Nothing works in this film, it is a waste of money and time.

I wonder (as a south African) if our local film industry has any hope. We are constantly given dreadful local films to digest with no apology. Surely we have good stories to be told? Surely we have writers and directors who are actually talented? I shudder to think that this film got made with someone else's money in the hope that it would be good... I cannot understand how the script/ story would pass any sane persons desk and leave with a signed cheque!

I recommend this film to anyone who is a struggling with a script... it is a good lesson on what NOT to do in a film.

This is a film that wants to be disturbing but ends up merely being annoying. It's extremely heavy on imagery and pays little attention to narrative logic, acting or cinematography, looking like it was shot on digital by film students with unprofessional actors. It's got points to make about genetics and the logic of imperialism but makes them so relentlessly and in such and opaque way that it's like being stuck in an argument with a drunken political extremist.