In this eerie and gothic thriller, Zachary, (David Gunn) a vampire tormented by his nightly existence, seeks to destroy all the undead in his bloodline. In the city of Bucharest, he tracks down the master vampire known as "Ash" (Jonathan Morris) and plots to penetrate Ash's heavily defended fortress. Ash becomes enamoured with Sofia, (Kirsten Cerre) a beautiful young pianist, lures her to his decadent "Club Muse" and kidnaps her. Zachary must find a way to rescue her and destroy Ash and his disciples at the same time.
Vampire Journals takes a slight detour from the excellent Full Moon "Subspecies" series which features the master vampire Radu, and his stubborn and defiant disciple, Michelle. This film has better production values and a far larger cast than any of the 4 subspecies movies, and rivals them in quality. All of these films are highly under-rated, and are far superior to most of the vampire movies that have been made in the states in the past 20 years. This would include the Eddie Murphy stinker, Carpenter's "Vampires", and even rivals "Interview With a Vampire".
Vampire Journals is moody and gothic. Just watching Ash walking thru the night with his deadly mistress, Cassandra, (Ilinka Goya) is a treat. Cassandra'a seduction and ravishing of a young man near a cemetery gate is erotic and chilling. Kirsten Cerre is beautiful and perfect as the chaste and strong-willed Sofia who fights Ash to the last in an effort to save her soul. David Gunn's performance, full of brooding, loneliness, and submerged fury toward Ash and his disciples, sets the tone that drives the film forward.
Ted Nicolai, the director, can't resist being tacky and excessive with the blood and gore from time to time, which is even more of a problem with him in the Subspecies films, but he doesn't do too much damage here. Nicolai is better at characterization and developing vampire culture than he is at plot development, but there's enough of a story here to keep us interested.
This is a good vampire film, and a little bit like Hammer in some respects, though much better than anything Christopher Lee did after Horror of Dracula. And this film crushes most of the vampire trash that's been made in the states in recent years.
Vampire Journals takes a slight detour from the excellent Full Moon "Subspecies" series which features the master vampire Radu, and his stubborn and defiant disciple, Michelle. This film has better production values and a far larger cast than any of the 4 subspecies movies, and rivals them in quality. All of these films are highly under-rated, and are far superior to most of the vampire movies that have been made in the states in the past 20 years. This would include the Eddie Murphy stinker, Carpenter's "Vampires", and even rivals "Interview With a Vampire".
Vampire Journals is moody and gothic. Just watching Ash walking thru the night with his deadly mistress, Cassandra, (Ilinka Goya) is a treat. Cassandra'a seduction and ravishing of a young man near a cemetery gate is erotic and chilling. Kirsten Cerre is beautiful and perfect as the chaste and strong-willed Sofia who fights Ash to the last in an effort to save her soul. David Gunn's performance, full of brooding, loneliness, and submerged fury toward Ash and his disciples, sets the tone that drives the film forward.
Ted Nicolai, the director, can't resist being tacky and excessive with the blood and gore from time to time, which is even more of a problem with him in the Subspecies films, but he doesn't do too much damage here. Nicolai is better at characterization and developing vampire culture than he is at plot development, but there's enough of a story here to keep us interested.
This is a good vampire film, and a little bit like Hammer in some respects, though much better than anything Christopher Lee did after Horror of Dracula. And this film crushes most of the vampire trash that's been made in the states in recent years.