2.40:1 Widescreen (16:9)

Vampires are real. There are millions of them out there. They might drink a little blood, but they're also quite fond of milkshakes and french fries. They don't usually haunt the local cemeteries at midnight because they often have curfews. They don't spend their days lying helpless in coffins deep in hypnotic slumber. They save those hypnotic states for uncomfortable desks. You can't scare these creatures with garlic or a crucifix. They're far more frightened of homework and detention. Yes, vampires are quite real and yes, there are millions of them out there. Just visit any junior high school campus, and you'll find them there not so cleverly mingling with the student body. At every one of these schools there are girls with bite marks on their necks. They consider them a sign of eternal love, but they are far more likely to lead to hepatitis than immortality. For millions of teens across America, vampires are more than real. They're cool.

As I've said many times on these pages, the vampire fad isn't new at all. It's been around for over a hundred years. The Twilight series of books has made the genre sexy and accessible to angst-filled teenage girls and a few boys. The same phenomenon has spread all over the world. In Sweden it came in the form of John Ajvidelindqvist's novel Let The Right One In. Like the Twilight books, the novel became must reading for teens across Europe. And also like Twilight, it was made into a movie that enjoyed incredible success throughout the world. It should come as absolutely no surprise at all that the American filmmakers should want to take a crack at the material. Not only would the film be made in English for the American moviegoers, but it would be the perfect film to launch the rebirth of another horror and vampire staple ... Hammer Films.

In 1970 the British duo of Doctor Who's Terry Nation and The Avengers' Robert Fuest collaborated on a British film called And Soon The Darkness. The film stared then-popular Pamela Franklin. It wasn't a huge success by any standards. It's practically unheard of here in the States. But, there was something special about the little film. It developed one of those classic cult followings over the years and eventually gained the notice of people like Marcos Efron. With the popular trend of remaking pretty much every horror film ever made, it's no surprise that someone decided to tackle this lesser-known movie.

Stephanie (Heard) and Ellie (Yustman) were part of a South American bike tour. Somewhere along the way they got bored with the travelogue version of the tour and decided to sneak away and explore the rural country on their own. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. You've seen this movie before. But this one doesn't immediately go where you expect it to go. The girls spend a night partying at a local club. Ellie is a bit of a wild party girl and makes a huge show of herself at the club. Her antics culminate with a rather droll display of touching herself to the jukebox music. Stephanie is the more tame girl who had just caught her boyfriend cheating; there are indications that he cheated with Ellie, but I never was completely clear on that one. That night Ellie is stalked by a horny guy from the club but saved by Michael (Urban) who has the room next door. The next day they miss the only bus. So they head out to what was once a popular beach resort, even though they are ominously warned that it is desolate and dangerous now. Plus there are all of those missing-persons flyers. Of course, they decide to go anyway. There they have a fight about Stephanie's ex and Stephanie bikes away in anger. Once she calms down, she tries to hook back up with Ellie only to find she's disappeared and dropped her phone on the beach. She can't convince the local sheriff Calvo (Vianco) that she met with foul play. The dirty-dancing pictures on her cell phone don't help to convince anyone she isn't off on some wild ride somewhere.