Bloodwine «««
NR, 99m. 2008
Cast & Credits: Melissa Johnson (Andrea), Lora Meins (Brandy), Vanessa Leinani (Carmilla), Heather Whitsell (Mercedes), Christina DeYoung (Nicole), Michael Lunday (Professor Kendall), Chad Holbrook (Brian), Corey Cleary-Stoner (Wine Shop Clerk), Richard Gray (Uncle Walter), Zalika Thomas (College Nurse), Mallory Carrick (Waitress/Customer), Stacey Girard Morgan (Tattoo Patron), Sandi Sharp (TV News Reporter), Eric Malloy (Space Rogue), Mandi Mazey (Tentacle Victim), Nicole Godwin (Lady Malicent), Vicky Morgan-Keith (Doom Bunny). Screenplay by Patrick Keith and Vicky Morgan-Keith. Directed by Patrick Keith.
I am not a fan of vampire films, though I can understand the apparent infatuation horror fans have with the undead. I got to admit, other than going out at night to find some young necks to sink their two sharp fangs into and then have to worry about concealing the evidence, being a vampire is probably not that bad. You get to sleep all day, never have to see the doctor (you’re dead already) and you never age.
To quote the tagline from “The Lost Boys” (1987), “It's fun to be a vampire.”
A bloodsucker can live a long eternal life provided he/she does everything in their power to avoid sunlight, a stake, cross, or holy water, which given the number of vampire films I have sat through over the years, doesn’t always work.
Although I think the most faithful, though not necessarily the best adaptation about the Prince of Darkness to date was director Francis Coppola’s “Dracula” (1992), I have always held the same belief. You’ve seen one vampire film; you’ve seen them all. I am not talking about the predictable storylines. I am talking about their supernatural characteristics.
I am amazed, for example, at how vampires are able to get from place to place in a matter of a second and yet, they can’t manage to get themselves out of a pair of handcuffs as the sun is coming up. You see them staring at you one minute from afar, only to be gone the next. Sometimes they will call out their prey’s name though they never make their presence physically known.
That’s exactly what happens in “Bloodwine,” a sexy, low-budget, or to put in more precise words of first-time director Patrick Keith, who also wrote the screenplay along with his wife, Vicky Morgan-Keith, a “micro-budget” horror film.
I say “sexy” because this is a female vampire movie. I may not like vampire movies in general but I do think women vampires are sexier, maybe more domineering than the male ones. Maybe it’s that same kind of arousal men sometimes get seeing two good looking women kiss and make out.
Early on in the film when at the cemetery visiting the grave of her boyfriend, Brian (Chad Holbrook), recently killed in a car accident, Andrea (Melissa Johnson), a young Gothic college student, often thinks she is being watched as when she sees a female stranger (Vanessa Leinani) looking at her from afar. When she is alone in her dorm, sometimes she’ll hear a feminine voice calling her name though no one is around.
When it comes to visual effects, a filmmaker/screenwriter would be breaking the cardinal rule of vampire flicks if their lead character/villain didn’t become a fireball and get reduced to ashes at sunrise. Or at the very least, briefly writhe in pain the way Andrea’s best friend and college roommate, Brandy (Lori Meins), does when she is awakened by the burning sensation of her pale white, blue veined skinned left-hand smoking as the morning sun peaks through the blinds of her dormitory shower window. As if she didn’t have enough to go through given she spent much of the night before hugging the toilet and passing out on the floor of the bathroom; the aftereffects of a strange drink she took a few gulps from that Andrea bought for her as a birthday present.
I wasn’t shocked by the number of scenes which brought to mind memories of countless other horror/suspense films like the shower scene in “Psycho” (1960) and “Return of the Living Dead” (1985) (paramedics trying to figure out why someone's heart isn't beating yet they are still alive). There is even an Elvira-like Mistress of the Dark named Lady Malicent who hosts cheaply made scary thrillers with the help of her co-host puppet, Doom Bunny (the film’s studio logo),which when brought to life, is a gray bunny rabbit with bulging, psychotic, uneven eyes and a severed right ear that wields a scythe for a weapon.
Director Keith, who admits on the couple’s website, http://www.bloodwinemovie.com/, that his love for making movies occurred when he first saw “Star Wars” in 1977, seems to make no qualms about what films he got his inspiration from to make this picture. A dream sequence, for example, between Andrea and her dead boyfriend brought to mind the deleted scene in James Cameron’s director’s cut of “Terminator II: Judgement Day” (1990) between Linda Hamilton’s and Micheal Biehn’s characters. At one point, Keith even imitates Hitchcock making a quick cameo appearance. When we’re not hearing the hard rock music of Dallas band, Slick Lady Six and the Transistor Tramps, whose voice of the lead singer sounds a lot like Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, we get a musical score that sounds like something director John Carpenter scored for his first independent box office hit thriller, “Halloween” (1978).
I am certain it wasn’t Keith’s intention but I got the feeling as though he was channeling the format director Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez took with “Grindhouse” (2007), going for not just an independent level, but leaving in some minor kinks or flaws watching it to give one the feel this is a low budget production. Watching it on my 37’-inch flat screen television, I found some scenes, dream sequences in particular to be fuzzy. When I viewed the film in parts; however, on my personal computer, the picture quality was actually crystal clear. I suspect the smaller the screen you see on, the better the picture quality. There were also times where the “suspenseful” music overtook the dialogue to where I couldn’t hear what the characters were saying.
“Not all just a quick bite on the neck with two fangs”
When “Bloodwine” made its big screen debut at Indie Fest USA 2008 the film won an award for Best Makeup and received nominations for Best Feature, Best Effects, and Best Costumes. The indie-horror film could be the Keith’s “Clerks” (1994) or “Juno” (2007) both of which were picked up by independent studios. This may be their first venture, but I have no doubt the public will want to see what other bag of unpredictable tricks the Keiths have in store for future filmmaking projects.
I will not be surprised if years from now, perhaps sooner, if when browsing the trivia section of IMDB under “Bloodwine” if I see such comments as how their production logo is cleverly used in different ways throughout this movie and in probably several of their projects be it for the big or small screen.
NR, 99m. 2008
Cast & Credits: Melissa Johnson (Andrea), Lora Meins (Brandy), Vanessa Leinani (Carmilla), Heather Whitsell (Mercedes), Christina DeYoung (Nicole), Michael Lunday (Professor Kendall), Chad Holbrook (Brian), Corey Cleary-Stoner (Wine Shop Clerk), Richard Gray (Uncle Walter), Zalika Thomas (College Nurse), Mallory Carrick (Waitress/Customer), Stacey Girard Morgan (Tattoo Patron), Sandi Sharp (TV News Reporter), Eric Malloy (Space Rogue), Mandi Mazey (Tentacle Victim), Nicole Godwin (Lady Malicent), Vicky Morgan-Keith (Doom Bunny). Screenplay by Patrick Keith and Vicky Morgan-Keith. Directed by Patrick Keith.
I am not a fan of vampire films, though I can understand the apparent infatuation horror fans have with the undead. I got to admit, other than going out at night to find some young necks to sink their two sharp fangs into and then have to worry about concealing the evidence, being a vampire is probably not that bad. You get to sleep all day, never have to see the doctor (you’re dead already) and you never age.
To quote the tagline from “The Lost Boys” (1987), “It's fun to be a vampire.”
Although I think the most faithful, though not necessarily the best adaptation about the Prince of Darkness to date was director Francis Coppola’s “Dracula” (1992), I have always held the same belief. You’ve seen one vampire film; you’ve seen them all. I am not talking about the predictable storylines. I am talking about their supernatural characteristics.
I am amazed, for example, at how vampires are able to get from place to place in a matter of a second and yet, they can’t manage to get themselves out of a pair of handcuffs as the sun is coming up. You see them staring at you one minute from afar, only to be gone the next. Sometimes they will call out their prey’s name though they never make their presence physically known.
That’s exactly what happens in “Bloodwine,” a sexy, low-budget, or to put in more precise words of first-time director Patrick Keith, who also wrote the screenplay along with his wife, Vicky Morgan-Keith, a “micro-budget” horror film.
I say “sexy” because this is a female vampire movie. I may not like vampire movies in general but I do think women vampires are sexier, maybe more domineering than the male ones. Maybe it’s that same kind of arousal men sometimes get seeing two good looking women kiss and make out.
Early on in the film when at the cemetery visiting the grave of her boyfriend, Brian (Chad Holbrook), recently killed in a car accident, Andrea (Melissa Johnson), a young Gothic college student, often thinks she is being watched as when she sees a female stranger (Vanessa Leinani) looking at her from afar. When she is alone in her dorm, sometimes she’ll hear a feminine voice calling her name though no one is around.
When it comes to visual effects, a filmmaker/screenwriter would be breaking the cardinal rule of vampire flicks if their lead character/villain didn’t become a fireball and get reduced to ashes at sunrise. Or at the very least, briefly writhe in pain the way Andrea’s best friend and college roommate, Brandy (Lori Meins), does when she is awakened by the burning sensation of her pale white, blue veined skinned left-hand smoking as the morning sun peaks through the blinds of her dormitory shower window. As if she didn’t have enough to go through given she spent much of the night before hugging the toilet and passing out on the floor of the bathroom; the aftereffects of a strange drink she took a few gulps from that Andrea bought for her as a birthday present.
Echoes of Good Movies Past
I wasn’t shocked by the number of scenes which brought to mind memories of countless other horror/suspense films like the shower scene in “Psycho” (1960) and “Return of the Living Dead” (1985) (paramedics trying to figure out why someone's heart isn't beating yet they are still alive). There is even an Elvira-like Mistress of the Dark named Lady Malicent who hosts cheaply made scary thrillers with the help of her co-host puppet, Doom Bunny (the film’s studio logo),which when brought to life, is a gray bunny rabbit with bulging, psychotic, uneven eyes and a severed right ear that wields a scythe for a weapon.
Director Keith, who admits on the couple’s website, http://www.bloodwinemovie.com/, that his love for making movies occurred when he first saw “Star Wars” in 1977, seems to make no qualms about what films he got his inspiration from to make this picture. A dream sequence, for example, between Andrea and her dead boyfriend brought to mind the deleted scene in James Cameron’s director’s cut of “Terminator II: Judgement Day” (1990) between Linda Hamilton’s and Micheal Biehn’s characters. At one point, Keith even imitates Hitchcock making a quick cameo appearance. When we’re not hearing the hard rock music of Dallas band, Slick Lady Six and the Transistor Tramps, whose voice of the lead singer sounds a lot like Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, we get a musical score that sounds like something director John Carpenter scored for his first independent box office hit thriller, “Halloween” (1978).
I am certain it wasn’t Keith’s intention but I got the feeling as though he was channeling the format director Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez took with “Grindhouse” (2007), going for not just an independent level, but leaving in some minor kinks or flaws watching it to give one the feel this is a low budget production. Watching it on my 37’-inch flat screen television, I found some scenes, dream sequences in particular to be fuzzy. When I viewed the film in parts; however, on my personal computer, the picture quality was actually crystal clear. I suspect the smaller the screen you see on, the better the picture quality. There were also times where the “suspenseful” music overtook the dialogue to where I couldn’t hear what the characters were saying.
“Not all just a quick bite on the neck with two fangs”
The big surprise and perhaps the best thing “Bloodwine” has going for it is it offers us a different twist on the vampire genre. For all I know, “Bloodwine” might just be the Keith’s way of saying, “There are other ways you can become a vampire. It’s not all just a quick bite on the neck with two fangs.”Watching “Bloodwine” is like being at a film festival in Dallas or Sundance and reading film production material to catch a few trailers. You have no idea if what you’re seeing is going to be considered by a major studio or go straight to DVD/Blu-ray or cable.
When “Bloodwine” made its big screen debut at Indie Fest USA 2008 the film won an award for Best Makeup and received nominations for Best Feature, Best Effects, and Best Costumes. The indie-horror film could be the Keith’s “Clerks” (1994) or “Juno” (2007) both of which were picked up by independent studios. This may be their first venture, but I have no doubt the public will want to see what other bag of unpredictable tricks the Keiths have in store for future filmmaking projects.
I will not be surprised if years from now, perhaps sooner, if when browsing the trivia section of IMDB under “Bloodwine” if I see such comments as how their production logo is cleverly used in different ways throughout this movie and in probably several of their projects be it for the big or small screen.
All About Transformation
Like “Ironman” (2008), where the one thing the superhero film had going for it was not so much the predictable story as it was the characters, “Bloodwine” succeeds in making us care for the two leads. The underlying theme of the screenplay is about “transformation.” The underlying theme of the screenplay s about “transformation.” Meins’ Brandy goes from a concerned college nerd with glasses to a vengeful, sexy, scantily clad goddess thirsty for the red stuff. The minute she took off her glasses and let her hair down, she had an uncanny resemblance to actress Andrea Bowen who plays Terri Hatcher’s daughter on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives.” In fact, I think she is a dead ringer.
The most prominent transformation happens with Andrea, who becomes the opposite of what her rival dormmates warn Brandy about in the beginning.
“They say she curses her roommates and nobody here has lasted an entire semester with her,” one tells her. “If I were you, I’d plan on stocking up on crucifixes and holy water.”
Seeing Johnson's Andrea with the long dark hair, heavy black eye shadow, and sometimes dressed in a black trench coat, combat boots, and a belt held together by handcuffs, she proves that just because she dresses differently, doesn’t mean she is anymore different emotionally. The ending, though I have a feeling the Keiths probably didn’t plan it this way, suggests the possibility of a sequel.
I know the Keiths have other projects they want to pursue before even considering a follow-up to Andrea’s further adventures in the world of the undead. If they even give it a thought that is.
Personally, I’d welcome a sequel – Hell, even a trilogy. “Bloodwine could just be the kind of motion picture series fans would have embraced if the continuing adventures of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003) were brought to the big screen.
Call it “Andrea the Gothic Vampire Slayer.”
©9/29/09
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