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Short Film: Nom
Viewed at the 2020 IVFAF. This is a 2019 short film from Ángel Hernández that comes in at just over 10 minutes and, normally, when I share these short films, I do my darndest not to spoil. Not so in...
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Darna – review
Director: Joel Lamangan Release date: 1991 Contains spoilers Darna is a long-standing Filipino superhero, though I went into this film cold, knowing nothing about the character. She was a reboot of...
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Honourable Mention: Kid from Kwang Tung
Directed by Hsu Hsia and released in 1982 this lovely looking Shaw Brothers production was in equal parts martial arts extravaganza and comedy. The comedy centred primarily on two boys from rival...
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Nest of Vampires – review
Director: Chris Sanders Release date: 2021 Contains spoilers I feel really quite bad about this one as I really wanted to like it and there are some elements within the film that work. Unfortunately,...
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Honourable Mention: The Barcelona Vampiress
Until I looked into this 2020 film directed by Lluís Danés I had never heard of Enriqueta Martí Ripollés. However, I understand that in Spain she is a well-known and infamous figure, much like Jack the...
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Short Film: Reflections on Dying
I love it when a short film plays around with expectations, Reflections on Dying does that within its short 9 ½ minute run time, which is a credit to writer/director (and star) Patrick Seda. It starts...
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Santigwar – review
Director: Joven Tan Release date: 2019 Contains spoilers The Filipino folklore of the aswang is often given a comparative association with the vampire, but we should remember that aswang is both used...
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Occupation (Book I in the Occupation Series) – review
Author: Jeff Dawson First published: 2011 Contains spoilers The blurb: Are you ready for vampires to regain their standing and stop sparkling in the twilight? Are you ready for them to take on an...
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Rose: A Love Story – review
Director: Jennifer Sheridan Release date: 2020 Contains spoilers I stumbled over this film and, when I looked into it I found a lot of reviews suggesting that not knowing what the film’s ‘twist’ is...
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Hawk and Rev: Vampire Slayers – review
Director: Ryan Barton-Grimley Release date: 2020 Contains spoilers Let’s head back to the 80s… the entire aesthetic of this film seems born of a love of the 80s, with a theme song and credits that...
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With Stake and Spade: Vampiric Diversity in Poland – review
Author: Łukasz Kozak Translator: Mark Bence First published: 2020 The blurb: Everyone has heard of vampires, but few know about upiórs, strzygas, strzygońs, and wieszczys. Yet sources from Poland and...
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Honourable Mention: 60 Seconds to Di3
The third in the horror anthology series, like the first in the series, the films within this anthology are too short to warrant scoring. However, there is a definitive vampire segment and another...
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Jakob’s Wife – review
Director: Travis Stevens Release date: 2021 Contains spoilers When I first noticed Jakob’s Wife, and watched the trailer I found myself immediately excited. The trailer looked great and it starred...
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Short Film: The Not so Bright Vampire
Viewed at the 2020 IVFAF, this is a film by Jim & Nick Zounis that is just under 2.5 minutes and is incredibly simple in format. The film has been treated to look like is has base scratching and is...
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Use of Tropes: the Wailing
The Wailing is a 2016 film by Korean auteur Hong-jin Na and, from the outset, I have to say that it is a wonderful rabbit warren of misdirection throughout and so bleakly dark it is untrue. Coming in...
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Boys from County Hell – review
Director: Chris Baugh Release date: 2020 Contains spoilers The legend of Abhartach is that of an Irish magician who was cruel and, when slain, became one of the unquiet dead, unwilling to remain...
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Vamp or Not? The Darkness
The Darkness is a 2020 film directed and written by Tharun Mohan and truth be told I am looking at it by accident. You see I had seen the trailer and there is a moment that looked as though a character...
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Slaxx – review
Director: Elza Kephart Release date: 2020 Contains spoilers I didn’t sit down to watch Slaxx with the view of viewing it as a vampire film, it just looked like a fun watch. It became clear, however,...
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The Dracula File – review
Author: Gerry Finley-Day & Simon Furman Artists: Eric Bradbury, Geoff Senior & Keith Page First published: 2020 (tpb) Contains spoilers The Blurb: A brand-new paperback new edition of the sold...
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Use of Tropes: Shadow of a Doubt
The use of genre tropes is a strange thing as it might be deliberate, it might be accidental or unconscious and it could just be a form of pareidolia on behalf of the viewer. Now, truth be told I...
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