February 16, 2010
A really clever, witty and enjoyable vampire movie, which you might possibly still catch at the Ultimate or the Phoenix. It looks ravishing, with a doom-laden noirish ambience - saturated colours deepening to shadow, very sculptural fashions and hair in homage to the great Raymond Chandler thrillers of the 40s and 50s (after the manner of Blade Runner), and it is entertainingly faithful to the conventions of the traditional vampire genre - these are definitely not vampires who can go outside in the sunlight unscathed apart from twinkly skin.
The brilliance of the concept is to turn the traditional social context of vampires on its head. These vampires don't sneak around trying to keep their existence a secret. In this world, almost everyone is a vampire, and humans are an endangered species. Those that remain are relentlessly hunted down and popped into truly repellant production plants where they are 'farmed' for their blood, the supply of which has become a hugely profitable business for giant corporations.
The hero is a hemotologist vampire who is uncomfortable with being a parasite and wants to perfect a synthetic substitute for human blood. In one of the first scenes of the movie he conducts an experiment to test the synthetic blood on a plucky volunteer, which introduces the audience to another characteristic of the film - its enjoyably and spectacularly disgusting special effects.
Excellent turns from Sam Neill as the baddie, and Willem Dafoe as a vampire who inexplicably turned human again and became a resistance leader. Superb plotting, and true heart. Thoroughly recommended.
The brilliance of the concept is to turn the traditional social context of vampires on its head. These vampires don't sneak around trying to keep their existence a secret. In this world, almost everyone is a vampire, and humans are an endangered species. Those that remain are relentlessly hunted down and popped into truly repellant production plants where they are 'farmed' for their blood, the supply of which has become a hugely profitable business for giant corporations.
The hero is a hemotologist vampire who is uncomfortable with being a parasite and wants to perfect a synthetic substitute for human blood. In one of the first scenes of the movie he conducts an experiment to test the synthetic blood on a plucky volunteer, which introduces the audience to another characteristic of the film - its enjoyably and spectacularly disgusting special effects.
Excellent turns from Sam Neill as the baddie, and Willem Dafoe as a vampire who inexplicably turned human again and became a resistance leader. Superb plotting, and true heart. Thoroughly recommended.