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Fred (Scott Phlanz) is a foul mouthed, angry young man who has caught the attention of Frank (Michael W.Mahoney), a vampire who likes to play with his food. After coming across Frank and his son Dean (Gregory Nunn) as they feed on a victim Fred vows to kill them, ranting nonstop to his chain smoking souse of a mother who doesn't appear to hear a word he's saying unless it concerns cigarettes or alcohol. A game of torment begins as Frank begins to stalk and gleefully taunt Fred in hideous fashion, Fred's saga plays out and the film starts to branch off into the perspective of the vampire family who not only have to contend with their adamant pursuer but also have to deal with domestic turmoil. Dean is in love with a woman called Sara (Rebeka Grella) who wishes to become one of them, much to the annoyance of Frank who himself begins to suffer from recurring nightmares when he loses a supposedly dead victim, Lori (Lisa Ann Frisone) who may be the key to ending Frank's reign of terror.

Made independently in 1997, it's aesthetic goes along with it's budget and it's decade, shot on 16MM which has a tendency to make films look as home made as they come. As someone who grew up (rather unhealthily for a preteen) on a diet of straight to TV erotic thrillers and exploitation cinema the look of the film holds a lot of charm for me, granted that is a niche taste but if you happen to share it then this film gains instant appeal. The story is ultimately rather rough around the edges, often feeling somewhat out of control which can lead to moments of apathy as a viewer but for the majority of it's running time it held my interest and had me entertained. It's script is basic but prone to flashes of good humour in the dialogue and sudden moments of satisfying slapstick during action scenes, it also has a nice little habit of being playful with vampire mythology, for example they are clearly not affected in any way by sunlight. The performances are up and down as they often are when it comes to micro-budget Indies, it's hard not to notice the entirety of the male cast's heads of which you could gather up a collection of screen-shots and make a slide show of the worst haircuts of the 90's. Performance wise the finest of the bunch is probably Rebeka Grella who really makes something of what could have been a rather weak character with a good performance. It would be remiss of me not to mention Michael Kodan as Lori's brother who appears to be doing a brilliant Jeff Goldblum impersonation that I found incredibly entertaining and Michael W. Mahoney is clearly having a tonne of fun as the sadistic Frank.

Straight to video fair I tend to come across has devolved into something else nowadays, most often it takes a soulless and cynical form of companies like The Asylum, just rattling off run of the mill micro-budget fodder to make a quick buck and that's where The Dying trumps your average DTV film of today. The Dying doesn't even have the budget of The Asylum's movies but it clearly has heart, it genuinely feels like people have poured their life and soul into it and that alone lends the film a charm and a commendable edge over the current competition. If you like your indie horrors with a subtly playful edge and you appreciate homemade aesthetic then I'd say give The Dying a look, I thought it was good fun and it's lovely to see proper independent movie again after a bit of a drought.

This is a review of the English dub.

Few films have had as much of an impact upon my life as Dougal and the Blue Cat, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't find an occasion quote one of it's innumerable classic lines and smile to myself amongst bemused company. The feature length edition of the classic French children's show, famously completely re-scripted by Eric Thompson upon it's exportation to Britain as the BBC were unwilling to pay extra for the original scripts, it tells the story of Dougal the talking dog and the trouble he and his friends get into when a mysterious blue cat named Buxton shows up with a hidden agenda.

The script is brimming with wit and invention, making reference to niche British places and concerns of the time (listen out for Brian the snail's quip about the train for one of the biggest laughs of the film). Voiced almost totally by the aforementioned Eric Thompson, he brings an array of voices packed with charm to each uniquely designed character, his voice seems made for storytelling, having a strangely absorbing affect that leaves the viewer hanging onto his every word resulting in endless howls of laughter but of course there is another voice to address. The eternally beautiful, queen of the sultry voice Fenella Fielding provides her vocal talents for the disembodied character of Madam Blue, Fielding is at once luscious and incredibly menacing, almost stealing the film out from under Thompson's nose for the scenes she's a part of... almost.

While the writing and voice work contribute much to it's irresistible charms the same must be said for the visuals. Each character is beautifully made and animated and placed into a world that I struggle to describe. I imagine surreal would be the best word to use, when I say surreal I mean it in the most magical sense, you find yourself racking your brain trying to imagine what ingenious mind could come up with such characters and backgrounds and such a stunning colour palette and to throw them all together with such success is another thing altogether.

This is a prime example of how to do a TV show as a film, it overcomes such a popularly problematic formula with pitch perfect pacing and at a nippy 85 minutes it's the exactly the right length. For me it really is the best animated film ever made and firmly in my top 5 films of all time, everything about it is spot on, if you haven't seen it do go and check it out, you won't be sorry.

I hope you enjoyed this review, thanks for taking the time to read it.