COLLECTOR'S CRYPT - VAMPIRES AND OTHER STEREOTYPES (VISUAL VENGEANCE BLU RAY)
Some genres aren’t easy to innovate in. Perhaps there is a relationship between the number of films within a given genre and the malleability of said genre concerning innovation. The Vampire genre is such a genre in that regardless of slight variations the general rules apply across all films. No sunlight, stakes through the heart, drinking blood, and fangs. While these characteristics are enough to create new stories, perspectives, and situations the basic rules remain unchanged with marginal changes. One of the more popular approaches to vamps is the secret society play, where things exist like objectively “good” and “evil” vampires who are in service of either hurting or protecting the humans they feed on. Few genres explore the social aspects of horror as much as the vampire genre does and alongside the metaphors for sexuality and class, it is one of the more opportune forums for commentary on society at large. Then again, sometimes it is just about good vampires kicking bad vampires’ asses. Vampires and Other Stereotypes is one of the recent releases from Visual Vengeance and it dabbles in, among other things, vampires and stuff. Is this release a SOV flick to sink your teeth into, or is it bad blood from the jump?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A pair of paranormal investigators are making their nightly rounds on the seedy streets of New York City when they encounter a group of party-hopping girls looking for a warehouse rave - who have also just accidentally opened a portal to hell. What follows is a night of practical effects monster mayhem as the group tries to save themselves, and the entire planet, from a demonic invasion.
HOW IS IT?
As has been discussed numerous times throughout reviewing (almost) every single Visual Vengeance release, there is no shortage of big and bold ideas in the films they release. What makes these releases so appealing is how jam-packed they are with ideas, to the point where some inevitably work better than others. Vampires and Other Stereotypes is once again one of those films, and endearingly, it offers some new and interesting approaches to the vampire genre that are at the very least novel. Like the best of Visual Vengeance’s releases, this film stands on the shoulders of some great practical effects work and some better-than-average filmmaking that has performances ranging from unhinged to unintentionally hilarious.
Vampires and Other Stereotypes is almost exactly like the title says; there are vampires, demons, and many other flavors of supernatural entities making this more of a broad creature feature than a specific one. This offers a lot of variety with limited locations that take our characters from the supposed streets of New York City to the depths of hell. At times it can be hard to know where you are, but it isn’t always important to the plot so you just go along with the ride. What makes Vampires and Other Stereotypes stand out is an emphasis on using a lot of practical effects and makeup work that elevates the overall quality of the horror elements. The vampire makeup looks great, similar to how the vampires in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series looked, and there are some bits like a wall of talking heads that are well executed and a lot of fun. The sheer amount of makeup and effects work here is impressive, and it does help when the story sometimes gets caught up in itself.
Movies like Vampires and Other Stereotypes that dabble in quantity and not necessarily quality of ideas range from wildly entertaining to unevenly enjoyable. While neither is inherently bad, the latter is far more difficult to watch than the former. Luckily, this one falls into the “mostly entertaining” slot given that the performances are often in the “so bad they’re good” realm while there is copious action that is occasionally interrupted by expositional plot dumps. If there wasn’t so much effort made with the visuals Vampires and Other Stereotypes would easily be just another bad movie with a bunch of actual stereotypes. Instead, the story attempts to add some gravitas to the standard vampire fare by making it about good and bad vampires, daywalkers vs nightwalkers, and the implications of feeding on humans. It is a lot, and not all of it works, but damned if it isn’t all trying its hardest to entertain.
HOW DOES IT LOOK?
It should be no surprise to those who’ve read reviews for Visual Vengeance films before that this is a SOV joint. As such, it is subject to quality issues that are as much a default as they are part of their charm. Given this, Vampires and Other Stereotypes look markedly better than similar films from around the same time. Sure, the graininess is there due to the tape format, but Vampires and Other Stereotypes looks a lot better than most VV releases largely due to the quality of the equipment used for the production. Since much of the equipment was used in television, we get the fullscreen 1.33:1 aspect ratio and a vibrant color palette even though it is partly muted by the medium. Images from this release are used throughout this review and below:
HOW DOES IT SOUND?
The sound elements go hand-in-hand with the visual ones, and in this case, we get the standard 2.0 stereo track. The audio is quite good considering the limitations of the original tapes, and there is a good balance between dialogue, action, and score. The score in spots is a bit off, likely due to amateur editing omissions, but it is a fun midi-synth score that adds to the overall atmosphere of the film. As usual, VV has included English subtitles for the hearing-impaired.
ANYTHING SPECIAL?
No one delivers the goods like VV when it comes to special features. While major studios are often lucky to offer up to 90 minutes, VV packs their releases with so much additional content you would wonder why you’re not paying double. We swear VV isn’t paying us to say this, but it is a testament to their dedication to not just bringing obscure films to the masses, but giving them the white glove treatment. The first feature we took in was the 25-minute interview with Director Kevin Lindenmuth. After watching interviews like this, it is really hard to be as objective about the film because you get a sense of just how much bootstrapping and passion were involved in the process. Kevin talks about how Vampires and Other Stereotypes was inspired by his love of Dark Shadows, and that a serendipitous meeting with the team behind There’s Nothing Out There led to a VFX and acting collaboration in Vampires and Other Stereotypes. Kevin also talks about how he and his cinematographer didn’t work well together because he was so slow to set shots. It was wild to hear that only 35-40% of Kevin’s ideas ended up getting filmed simply because the cinematographer would take too long setting up shots that weren’t as important.
The next interview we watched was a shorter 7-minute discussion with Special Effects Artist Scott Sliger. Scott worked on “There’s Nothing Out There” and was keen to work with Kevin on Vampires and Other Stereotypes. Sadly, given the extremely low-budget Scott and his team weren’t able to do everything that Kevin had in mind, but they did go above and beyond with what they were able to accomplish. A lot of this is visible in the film, and Scott even negotiated a cameo in the film that had some dialogue. More interesting about Scott is that he went on to work closely with Dante Tomaselli doing the VFX for his three films. Now, Scott does haunts which I’m sure are some of the best you’re likely to see given his pedigree and experience. A full list of special features is listed below:
Bonus Materials
Region Free Blu-ray
New director-supervised SD master from 1-inch tape
Limited Edition Slipcase - FIRST PRESSING ONLY
Over 7 Hours of new bonus content
Commentary with Director Kevin Lindenmuth
Commentary with Actor Mick McCleery and Director Kevin Lindenmuth
Commentary with Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine
Director Kevin Lindenmuth Interview
Actress Laura McLauchlin Interview
Actor Mick McCleery Interview
Actress Suzanne Turner Interview
Actress Sally Narkis Interview
Makeup Effects Artist Ralis Kahn Interview
Special Effects Artist Scott Sliger Interview
Photographer Sung Pak Interview
Publicist Joe Mauceri Interview
Behind the Scenes Image Gallery
Kevin Lindenmuth Early Super 8 Films
Original Trailer
Visual Vengeance Trailers
Six-page liner notes by Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine
‘Stick your own’ VHS sticker set
Collectible Folded mini-poster
Reversible sleeve featuring original VHS art
Optional English Subtitles
LAST RITES
“Vampires and Other Stereotypes” is yet another fine example of the forgotten gems that Visual Vengeance continues to bestow upon us. Where this once excels is in its outstanding visual effects and wildly creative approach to the vampire genre. It’s not perfect, but it is awesome!
THE GORY DETAILS
Thank you to the fine fiends over at MVD ENTERTAINMENT for providing a review copy for the crypt! Vampires and Other Stereotypes is available NOW and can be purchased via MVD DIRECT!
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