Vampire Clan is supposedly based on a true story. The film revolves around the actions of a teenage Vampire cult in a small American town. The clan gets involved in murder and mayhem, and the movie is supposed to be all the more chilling because it’s based on real life events. Not necessarily, it still has to be scary.
Drew Fuller plays Rod, the Manson like leader of this Vampire clan. Fuller has some natural charm, but isn’t diabolic enough. Kelly Kruger is the teenage runaway Heather, and she als… has some talent. But the movie is boooooring. Hanging around with a bunch of lepidopterists (butterfly collectors) would be more fun. It’s not a Vampire clan; it’s more like a Vampire club. They’re all Vampire wannabe’s; sucking a little bit of blood and dressing up in goth make-up doesn’t make you a Vampire. Maybe that was part of the point. But there has to be something seductive, something truly fetishistic about these kinds of cults. After all, these kids do commit murder. The movie, awkwardly filmed, doesn’t get into the origin of these kids’ behavior deeply enough.
SPOILER: Rod kills Heather’s parents in an unnecessary piece of off-screen brutality. It’s like the filmmakers thought that… we’ve been boring for an hour, we have to do something! And let’s throw in, while we’re at, a shower scene with the “hot mom”.
Audio
This is one of the worst mixes I’ve heard in a long time. Partly it’s the fault of the original sound design. At times, it’s almost laughable how bad it is. There are occasional sound effects (like door slams) that are way too loud for what is required in the scene, some actors sound louder than others, room ambience changes from shot to shot, and there’s once scene… when Rod grabs the other male Vampire dude… and his microphone rustles! Or at least, it sounds like it.
Again… I’m not sure how much the audio transfer people could do with this mix. There are annoying changes in volume level from rear to front. It’s just not consistent. The use of sound is also very choppy. There’s no smoothness, at times, in the audio mix. There are instances when the sound abruptly switches from front to back. Not cool. There are some nice “spooky” moaning noises on the rear speakers, but that’s about it. Oh, and the piercing sound of crickets on the rear speakers… watch out for that; it gave me a headache.
This mix does a disservice to Dolby Digital 2.0.
Video
The video isn’t “all that” either. The transfer seems pretty grainy, but that might be intentional. You know the whole ”gritty” quality. There is some occasional speckling, but it is hardly noticeable. There is an inconsistency with the “look” of the film. Some scenes look lush, some scenes look like they ran out of time. There are some edge enhancement on sharper surfaces like tables which is slightly distracting. Not an impressive 1.33:1 fullscreen transfer.
Special Features
Just a trailer. Tries to make the movie look cooler than it really is. Menus are basic with some music.
Final Thoughts
This Vampire clan couldn’t take on my grandma’s book club. The movie is rarely exciting or scary. The low budget nature of the production is a real detriment here. The video and audio transfers are sub par. Save your money and rent The Lost Boys instead.
Special Features List
- Trailer
