Film Review: BLOOD VESSEL (2019)

A group of survivors on a lifeboat think that they’ve found salvation on the open sea when a large ship comes into view at the beginning of Blood Vessel (2019).  The lifeboat is filled with a mixture of characters including the Captain Malone (Robert Taylor) who managed to help save as many as he could from his ship’s disaster.  When they come across a German boat they think it is salvation despite the fear that the Germans may kill them instead of holding them as prisoners of war during WWII.  But when they get on the deck of the ship they realize that ship is a ghost ship and there is no one around.

 

It’s not long before they discover a young girl hiding and a German soldier who would rather shoot the girl first and ask questions later.  The language barrios between everyone is also a problem and when some of their group are suddenly killed by the German who wants to kill the girl, the group discovers that there are more secrets to behold on the ship and that they have no idea what they have stepped into.

 

Soon, the group discovers too late that the German ship’s precision cargo were coffins containing sleeping vampires and that the girl is just one of their biggest problems.  Now the group must find a way off the ship before they all become victims of one of the greatest dangers they’ve ever faced separate from Hitler’s army.

 

Written by Jordan Prosser and Justin Dix (who also directors) the film borrows a lot from Death Ship (1980) and John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) while has the atmosphere of Virus (1999) and Ghost Ship (2002).  There are also some nods to Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the plight of the crew on the Demeter ship.  The film is extremely well made but borrows so much from other films that it’s hard to see if it has any original ideas of its own.  This is not necessarily a bad thing as it is quite entertaining and the horror aspects and gore are very effective so the film never comes off as boring.

Film Review: BLOOD GLACIER (2013)

I was completely surprised by how much I enjoyed the German horror film Blood Glacier (2013), which I have to admit wasn’t on my radar.  I love foreign horror films but there was nothing about this film that made me even curious and then it came across my desk and I put it in on a whim.  Despite its borrowing a lot from other films especially John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) this is an interesting and well done film. 

A group of scientists doing research in the Australian Alps discover a strange fungus that has turned part of the nearby glacier blood red.    It’s not long before the fungus disappears as if it was never there but its effects are devastating as every life form that comes across it goes through dramatic metamorphic changes.  These “new” creatures are both dangerous and aggressive and fascinating for the scientists who believe that they are at the frontier of a new discovery.  It is only Janek (Gerhard Liebmann) who sees the real danger that is to come.  Now he must convince the scientists as well as a visiting party of diplomats to abandon their base and seek out help before more of the creatures show up and more of their team are killed and/or infected.

Borrowing from the Rob Bottin (creature FX for Carpenter’s The Thing) playbook of practical effects over CGI FX this film has a plethora of morphing creatures that are mixtures of other creatures.  The creatures (both on land and in the air) are very well done and the gore FX fly at an alarming rate.  There is CGI FX in the film but they are used in the right places and do not over shadow or distract from the rest of the film.

Benjamin Hessler writes the screenplay and the film is directed by Marvin Kren who knows how to put together an effective horror film.  This is a thrilling and entertaining film that provides enough new ideas to elevate it above being just a simply copycat of other films or a horror film cliché.  If you’re a fan of monster and creature features then I suggest you give this film a chance.

Book Review: THE FILMS OF MARLENE DIETRICH by Homer Dickens

Marlene Dietrich is one of the most celebrated and influential German actresses in the history of cinema.  She not only changed the face of cinema, but fashion, and the way in which female stars were perceived by the media with her take no prisoners attitude of living life to its fullest and showing a purity in her personal life and cinematic choices that influenced future generations.  In Homer Dickens book The Films of Marlene Dietrich audiences are given an overlook of Dietrich’s entire career from its humble beginnings when she first got started in her home country of Germany to how she eventually made her way to the United States where she had a long lasting and illustrious career not only in cinema but as a performer with the USO during the war. 

Dietrich was not just an actress and performer but she was socially conscious and wanted to change the world in any way that she can.  She spent three years performing for US troops throughout the world and repeatedly mentioned that period of time in her life as the most pivotal.  She even received several awards and accommodations for her selfless sacrifice during this time.  The book not only goes into details about this but spends a lot of time going through each and every film that she was ever in (no matter how small the role).

There is a treasure trove of posters and production stills from all of her films as well as behind the scenes still in order to give readers a look at the many films that she starred in.  Some films were more profitable than others but they all had an impact.  Fans of Dietrich will revel at the amount of details spent on the films and enjoy the stories in how she became the person she was.  There are even many family portraits contained in the book as well.

For Dietrich fans this is a must have book and for others this is a great book that will shed light on one of the most famous and influential actresses in cinema history.