Film Review: THE GOOD THINGS DEVILS DO

Original Title of Article: “Vampires Hand Delivered to Your Door in THE GOOD THINGS DEVILS DO!”

Originally Published by ScreamFix

Demonic vampires are the scariest thing this Halloween in writer/director Jess Novisgaard’s The Good Things Devils Do (2020).  Small time crook Richard and daughter Mouse (Bill Oberst Jr. and Mary Katherine O’Donnell, respectfully) have been hired to do a small and simple job on Halloween night which includes breaking into the house of school teacher Professor Melvin (David Rucker III) and his wife and step-daughter (Linnea Quigley and Kelley Wilson Robinson, respectfully) and stealing an undisclosed amount of money contained within.  What should have been an easy breaking in and stealing job turns into a nightmare when a package Prof Melvin ordered for Halloween turns out to be a coffin with the corpse of a vampire.  When Melvin’s wife Louise mistakenly removes a table leg from the bones of the corpse the vampire-demon Masquerade (Veronika Stoykova) is resurrected and all hell is about to break loose.

 

Masquerade is a not a demon-vampire to mess with as she can control people with but a look causing Melvin and Richard to no longer trust their loved ones.  If the two men want to survive the night, they are going to have to put aside their differences and find a way to work together in order to destroy the vampire before she kills everyone.

 

Now, I am not really a fan of the vampire genre but I will pretty much watch anything with Linnea Quigley and Kane Hodder in it.  Hodder plays a hench man (sans makeup!) who does some really bad things.  I’ve also been catching more films with Oberst who is an indie film staple.  None of them disappoint as the film allows them all to get really nasty.  The film has some amazing makeup effects, and these are some undead and bloody vampires with some gory kills that will appease horror fans.  What I enjoyed the most was the fact that despite there was some typical vampire lore in the film, there was enough deviation from that to make the vampire Masquerade interesting especially in regards to how she controls people and uses them against one another.

 

The Story borrows its influences most directly from Joe Hill’s novel Heart-Shaped Box with the Melvin ordering a box containing a real vampire skeleton off the Internet but from there it becomes a gruesome and macabre film in which Richard will do anything to save his daughter Mouse and Melvin will do anything to save his wife Louise (the 40 year old stepdaughter still living at home he has less fondness for).  If there is a weak spot in the film, it is the way in which it tries too hard to be funny at times especially in terms of the stepdaughter Caroline, who is a 40-year-old dunce.

 

The film looks great and cinematographer James Suttles makes every shot look good and vibrant with color (I get the impression that someone is a little influenced by Dario Argento and his films).  This sets the film apart from other similar films as does the music by Neil Lee Griffin which perfectly helps set up the atmosphere.  Kudos to the cast and behind the scenes talent for helping to create a world that sells the film!

 

I must also say something about the great job with the makeup and special makeup effects of Faith Tramp and John Lauterbach, respectfully, which help achieve everything that the film needs to entertain and appease horror fans…even the ones who don’t really care for the vampire genre. 

 

Graphic Novel Review: FULL MOON PRESENTS: SUBSPECIES

The Vampire Radu returns in an all-new story in Action Lab Comics’ Full Moon Presents: Subspecies.  Taking place right after the events of the cult favorite Full Moon Entertainment franchise Subspecies, this new series finds Michelle (a former college student whose friends had all been killed in the films and herself turned into a vampire by Radu) working as a nighttime nurse in a hospital under the name of Shelly.  After having killed Radu four times, she’s trying to put her life back in order by helping people and living off the Bloodstone (a stone that can feed her bloodlust so that she doesn’t have to feed off real people to survive).  Then one night, Radu returns but it’s not quite the Radu she remembers.  It appears that the essence of Radu has been split into five separate vampires who all seek the Bloodstone.  Now Michelle has to find a way to defeat not one but five of her worse nightmares.

This story is written by Cullen Bunn & Jimmyz with art by Daniel J. Logan.  This story fits more in line with fans of the films and less about trying to bring on new fans but for readers familiar with the films this story gets straight into the action and carnage without a lot of (unnecessary) set up and exposition.  Bunn & Jimmyz fills the story with tons of references to the films and Logan’s style of art is perfect for the story as he knows how to bring out the menace and savagery of this vampire story.

The graphic novel is filled with extras but the most interesting are snippets from the actual script used and the steps to the final artwork.  This will interest readers with interest in the process of how the comic was crafted.

Graphic Novel Review: CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Titan Comics’ collected graphic novel of Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter is a love letter to the original Hammer Studios film of ’74!  Written by Dan Abnett with art by Tom Mandrake this story follows the events of the original film with Captain Kronos and his sidekick Grost and the latest addition to the team Carla who find themselves on a trail of a new vampire Porphyr.  Upon dispatching Porphyr, Kronos and his team find themselves outside the border town of Serechurch, which they soon learn is under the spell of an even more deadly menace which may be the greatest vampire threat that Kronos may have ever encountered.

For both fans of the film and vampire fans in general, this new tale is both entertaining and exciting.  Mandrake’s art is a perfect fit for the period setting of the story and has some amazing similarities to the artwork you’d see in the old EC Comics.  Abnett’s story is very vibrant and to the point but still retains the cadence of the characters from the film while also making Carla a more modern woman who has come as her own as a vampire hunter.

The is one of the first of the new Hammer Comics titles from Titan Comics who seem to want to be faithful to the original films while also trying to attract new fans for a new generation.  Despite never having a sequel, the Captain Kronos film has a huge following for which fans will be able to appreciate how much this new story feels like an authentic sequel to the film.

Caroline Munro, who was Carla in the original film, provides a Foreword while there is a collection of great interviews at the end to help readers enjoy the legacy of Captain Kronos. 

Film Review: STAKELAND II: THE STAKELANDER (2016)

Writer/actor Nick Damici returns to the post-apocalyptic world of vampires with STAKELAND II: THE STAKELANDER (2016).  The original film was a surprisingly refreshing new look at a world in which vampires are the dominant species and the humans have almost been run to extinction.  In the new film Martin (Connor Paolo) is all grown up and is on a quest to search for Mister (Damici) the only person he thinks can help him defeat The Mother (Kristina Hughes) who is responsible for the death of his wife and child.  Martin will stop at nothing to get revenge but on his journey through what’s left of the world he will discover new enemies that may be more dangerous than the vampires.

Damici again writes this film which sees Martin take center stage while Mister is depicted as a vamp hunter nearing the end of his days.  There are a lot of new characters added for this film including new companion The Lady (Laura Abramsen) who is a mute and feral women attached to the hip of Mister and some old friends Bat and Doc Earl (A.C. Peterson and Steven Williams, respectfully) that add flavor to the film.  The film is directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen and even though they are nearly as adept as Jim Mickle with the original, this film still does have it’s moments.

This film’s greatest weakness is that nothing seems fresh or original any more as it all comes off as something seen better in other films.  This being said, fans of the original film (and vampire films in general) will find something interesting in this film including the fact that it’s open ended for a possible sequel.

Film Review: DEF BY TEMPTATION (1990)

There is a deadly temptress plaguing the bars of New York City killing men one by one in the film Def By Temptation (1990).  Joel (James Bond III) has decided to make a trip to the city to visit his best friend K (Kadeem Hardison) because he’s having a crisis of faith.  Joel is from the country where he has been studying as a minister-in-training but journeying to the city his eyes has been opened to the underbelly of the dark side of life starting with a dark temptress (Cynthia Bond) whom shows him passion and seduction like he’s never experienced before in his life. 

Now with the help of K and Dougy (Bill Nunn), a barfly who knows more about the suspicious disappearances of men, Joel’s faith will be tested as will his soul as he must overcome the greatest evil he has ever faced.  Written and directed by Bond the film is a character driven film about a man whose sheltered life and faith is tested when he comes up against an unspeakable evil.

Def By Temptation has a unique charm in that it is a film made up entirely of an African American cast and is a horror film with a female antagonist that is ruthless and relentless while also tackling the ideas of faith and religion in a battle between good and evil.  Some of the film’s techniques may seem dated and simplistic but the story itself holds up well despite these flaws.

Film Review: VAMP (1986)

Vampires don’t get any sexier than Grace Jones in the ‘80s cult classic Vamp (1986)!  Two fraternity brothers Keith and AJ (Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler, respectfully) are task with getting the entertainment for their frat party.  The only place to find that “special” type of woman is at a strip joint in the city so the two, with fellow college mate Duncan (Gedde Watanabe), find themselves at a sleazy strip joint and bar with a very simple task until they come to realize that the place they’ve found themselves in is home to a den of vampires lead by the alluring Katrina (Jones).   Also, along for the ride is Allison (Dedee Pfeiffer) a waitress at the vampire club who helps Keith survive the night and figure out the truth of what’s going on.  

 

Vamp is a cult classic vampire film of the ‘80s mostly remembered because of the starring turn by Jones.  Written and directed by Richard Wenk (story by Donald P. Borchers and Wenk) the film is a vampire film that gets into the dirty under belly of horror films of the ‘80s literally as it primarily takes place in a strip joint and in the streets of the city where gangs and vampires are just part of the regular night life.

Even after thirty years the film still holds its allure and never seems dated mostly because there are so few actresses that have been able to make a mark as a seductress such as Jones who has immense sexual appeal while also being extremely dangerous in a film that never skimps on the comedy and gore.  This is an entertaining film that showcases the best of what the ‘80s were capable of.

Film Review: BYZANTIUM (2013)

It’s been a long time since director Neil Jordan first tackled the vampire genre with his now classic adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) but he’s now brought something new to the genre with his equally inventive film Byzantium (2013).  Written by Moira Buffini and based on her play “A Vampire Story” this is tale of two women cursed with immortality in a world in which it is unlawful for women to be vampires. 

Clara and her daughter Eleanor (Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan, respectfully) are on the run.  They’ve always been on the run and it is just another part of their immortal life as vampires.  Clara broke the number rule of the vampire legion which is that there are no female vampires.  This hasn’t stopped her from trying to give Eleanor a fruitful life.  She peddles her way in the underworld of street life finding victims where the more polite society would never even notice anyone missing.  Eleanor is a dreamer and just as she is getting used to the monotony of her existence she suddenly falls for an ailing human.  This sets off a chain reaction where their existence comes into jeopardy as they are being hunted down.

It’s actually quite hard to believe that this is in fact a vampire film as Jordan and Buffini throw away all the conventional motifs for a vampire film the most striking of which is how they are made and how they feed.  This is really a story of two women with different ideologies living in a male dominated world and using everything they have to survive and overcome adversity at every turn.  Jordan’s cinematic style fits nicely with this film in which the relationship between the main characters echoes the trajectory of the relationship between the characters in his earlier film Interview With the Vampire.  It’s uncanny how similar the two films are alike.

The performances are also top notch as both Arterton and Saoirse are magnificent together and are supported by an equally capable cast.  This film is a breath of fresh air for the vampire genre and the genre as a whole which has not been in good standing (in my opinion) especially since the majority now being released are comedies and farces or bad action B-movies.  Jordan has not only produced another great film (among many) but one of the better vampire films to be released in the last decade.