A worthy addition to the vampire genre
Xan Cassavetes has attempted a retro vampire love story with a strong mix of 70’s European music with stylish shadowy Gothic camera angles thrown in the mix. The locations passed for European, however, according to IMDb it was shot in New York. The cast were mostly Euro as well, which all helped tell this great love story. At one point while watching I had this feeling of deja vu, and instantly thought of Blue Valentine and the way their love story began and ended.
I liked the casting and everyone got a chance to do their thing, however, I was disappointed Riley Keough only had a small part because she’s an actor that looks to be extremely capable and going places. The two female leads, Joséphine de La Baume and Roxane Mesquida, were not known to me but they were both great as Vampire siblings. I always admire actors who can give great performances while speaking in a language that clearly isn’t their first as it speaks volumes (no pun intended!). Milo Ventimiglia is another solid actor and has loads of range but never really achieved more than a warm-up, which is a pity. Ventimiglia is a superb actor who appears to enjoy staying on the fringes, for whatever reason, yet his acting ability is without question.
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The cinematography was nice and tight and was always kept interesting, seeking out clever angles which was in keeping with the slightly off key way the story unfolds. The flashbacks were strange at first, but on reflection, it added to the story and was quite a novel way of seeing into the vampires’ heads. This is a film that will stand the test of time because the director has cleverly hidden most of the normal day-to-day items, like cell phones for example, that would normally be a way of ageing a movie, but not this one. It could be 1970 or 2020 which is one way of keeping your film from becoming dated-looking. A must for vampire fans.
Grade: A-
by Ed Blackadder
