Given the incomprehensible mess that was his first film Verotika, Death Rider In The House of Vampires actually was fun to watch. Yes, there were plenty of technical flaws; lighting, fade outs, zooms, and it was too quiet. But I am cutting Danzig some slack. He isn't schooled in film and you can never tell if he is serious or not. Personally, I like B movies, I like Danzig so I found enjoyment in this, but if you don't know who Danzig is you may well find this garbage. The opening credits alone were a weird yet captivating sight. As for Tasha Reign, the topless girl in the beginning of the film, she's an adult film actress and again, this is a Danzig film. If you're familiar with Danzig we can't be surprised at this. As Joe Bob Briggs is wont to say boobs, blood and beasts are what makes B movies, and in this day and age of uptight political correctness I found this throwback element fun. Julian Sands was good and brought credibility to the film, Devon Sawa was good too. Eli Roth brought energy and he commanded the scenes he was in. It was even fun to see Danzig in the film. Again, it is what it is. It was an improvement from Verotika. There was an actual story here and for a Danzig film I enjoyed it.
12 Reviews
Sucking .. badly
kosmasp4 April 2023
No pun intended - actually the better pun has already been used by someone else: From Dusk til Yawn. Kudos and well done is what I say to that. I bow to that and acknowledge the genius behind it. Something I cannot say (with a straight face) about the movie at hand. I do like Devon Sawa - Final Destination was his breakout for me and many others. It is always nice to see him in anything ... still I can't rate it better just because of that.
Not will I rate it better (or worse for that matter), just because the movie starts off with him on a horse ... and naked lady with him. Actually while that may be a selling point to some, the first 15 minutes are quite unnecessary ... nothing much is being done there ... ok so the best thing out of it (except the nudity if you are into it, though you don't really see that much)? The credits - people involved. I assume at least they will be happy about it.
That all being said, the effects are ok and the actors do try their best ... if that is enough for you and you dig western movies with an undead touch ... or bite ... well there you go.
Not will I rate it better (or worse for that matter), just because the movie starts off with him on a horse ... and naked lady with him. Actually while that may be a selling point to some, the first 15 minutes are quite unnecessary ... nothing much is being done there ... ok so the best thing out of it (except the nudity if you are into it, though you don't really see that much)? The credits - people involved. I assume at least they will be happy about it.
That all being said, the effects are ok and the actors do try their best ... if that is enough for you and you dig western movies with an undead touch ... or bite ... well there you go.
This was pretty sluggish...
paul_haakonsen15 March 2024
I had never heard about this 2021 movie titled "Death Rider on the House of Vampires" prior to stumbling upon it by random luck. But of course I was intrigued by the title, and the movie's cover seemed fair enough. And thus, I opted to sit down and watch the movie.
The storyline in "Death Rider on the House of Vampires" was sluggish and while you might think that a vampire movie set in a Western setting sounds like a good combination, I will agree, but "Death Rider on the House of Vampires" was not a great movie.
I was rather surprised to see the likes of Julian Sands and Devon Sawa on the cast list in a movie such as this. And truth be told, they were the reason why the movie stayed afloat. The acting performances in the movie were generally fair, but the actors and actresses didn't have much to work with in terms of script and character gallery. It was also nice to see Danny Trejo on the screen, though it was just for a short scene.
"Death Rider on the House of Vampires" will most likely cater to the die-hard fans of Glenn Danzig, no doubt about that. But if you sit down to watch the movie casually, without a rose-tinted view of Glenn Danzig, then you will most likely find this movie to be a dull viewing experience.
While I did manage to sit through the entire ordeal, I will never return to watch this movie a second time.
My rating of "Death Rider on the House of Vampires" from writer and director Glenn Danzig lands on a generous three out of ten stars. I'm not a fan of Glenn Danzig's music, nor can I claim to be a fan of his movies after having seen this one.
The storyline in "Death Rider on the House of Vampires" was sluggish and while you might think that a vampire movie set in a Western setting sounds like a good combination, I will agree, but "Death Rider on the House of Vampires" was not a great movie.
I was rather surprised to see the likes of Julian Sands and Devon Sawa on the cast list in a movie such as this. And truth be told, they were the reason why the movie stayed afloat. The acting performances in the movie were generally fair, but the actors and actresses didn't have much to work with in terms of script and character gallery. It was also nice to see Danny Trejo on the screen, though it was just for a short scene.
"Death Rider on the House of Vampires" will most likely cater to the die-hard fans of Glenn Danzig, no doubt about that. But if you sit down to watch the movie casually, without a rose-tinted view of Glenn Danzig, then you will most likely find this movie to be a dull viewing experience.
While I did manage to sit through the entire ordeal, I will never return to watch this movie a second time.
My rating of "Death Rider on the House of Vampires" from writer and director Glenn Danzig lands on a generous three out of ten stars. I'm not a fan of Glenn Danzig's music, nor can I claim to be a fan of his movies after having seen this one.
The B movie of this generation
Doyalikedags28 August 2021
Movies like this don't seem to come around too often, at least I don't see them.
Definitely a B movie reminiscent of the 70's, includes an over use of blood and an abundance of gorgeous women, some missing their shirts. If you're in to B movies, this is the movie for you... I suppose some people would drop it in the category "So bad it's good", but just like "The Room" I don't really agree with that - it's just bad.
It does have a few good things about it -
Besides the girls being great to look at, they're actually not the worst with their acting. Their accents and slang from the wild west were pretty decent, not gonna win an oscar or anything but, decent. Also, Julian Sands (The Count) seems out of place here since he actually plays the part really well, the best acting of the movie by far.
The story and setting is also fun and as far as I know pretty original, although the plot is VERY basic with dialogue to match.
Also one small thing I really liked was watching them shoot their pistols. It looked pretty realistic (as in, not perfect).
Honestly, the whole film could be elevated to a praiseworthy B-movie that almost shouldn't be classified as a B-movie if it fixed 2 things:
1) Editing -
The shots hang on way too long. I'm not sure if it's for "artistic" value or what, but way too many times does it zoom in on a character and then fade out over an uncomfortable amount of time, sometimes the zoom will even have a clear stop and then an ever-so-slight zoom again (which made me laugh).
The couple of fight scenes could improve by leaps and bounds too.
2) The sound mixing -
WOW the film could be SO much better if this was done right. The movie is QUIET except for dialogue.
The score is barely heard and when it is it's very low, and the bar scenes especially suffer from this.
You can tell no one is making a sound in the scene and you can only hear the faintest whisper of background chatter added in. You need glasses clanking and people talking over each other. It's seriously very bizarre that the sound levels for background noises (extremely low) and effects (abnormally high) are what they are, but dialogue is normal. Actually, a lot could be elevated by the sound mix being fixed, even the acting.
I had to rate it a 2 because even though I appreciated the original plot and enjoyed the film more than "The Room" (which I also rated a 2), the technical issues are just too glaring to overcome.
Definitely a B movie reminiscent of the 70's, includes an over use of blood and an abundance of gorgeous women, some missing their shirts. If you're in to B movies, this is the movie for you... I suppose some people would drop it in the category "So bad it's good", but just like "The Room" I don't really agree with that - it's just bad.
It does have a few good things about it -
Besides the girls being great to look at, they're actually not the worst with their acting. Their accents and slang from the wild west were pretty decent, not gonna win an oscar or anything but, decent. Also, Julian Sands (The Count) seems out of place here since he actually plays the part really well, the best acting of the movie by far.
The story and setting is also fun and as far as I know pretty original, although the plot is VERY basic with dialogue to match.
Also one small thing I really liked was watching them shoot their pistols. It looked pretty realistic (as in, not perfect).
Honestly, the whole film could be elevated to a praiseworthy B-movie that almost shouldn't be classified as a B-movie if it fixed 2 things:
1) Editing -
The shots hang on way too long. I'm not sure if it's for "artistic" value or what, but way too many times does it zoom in on a character and then fade out over an uncomfortable amount of time, sometimes the zoom will even have a clear stop and then an ever-so-slight zoom again (which made me laugh).
The couple of fight scenes could improve by leaps and bounds too.
2) The sound mixing -
WOW the film could be SO much better if this was done right. The movie is QUIET except for dialogue.
The score is barely heard and when it is it's very low, and the bar scenes especially suffer from this.
You can tell no one is making a sound in the scene and you can only hear the faintest whisper of background chatter added in. You need glasses clanking and people talking over each other. It's seriously very bizarre that the sound levels for background noises (extremely low) and effects (abnormally high) are what they are, but dialogue is normal. Actually, a lot could be elevated by the sound mix being fixed, even the acting.
I had to rate it a 2 because even though I appreciated the original plot and enjoyed the film more than "The Room" (which I also rated a 2), the technical issues are just too glaring to overcome.
From Dusk Til Yawn
mjxkfhw1 September 2021
There's nothing to enjoy here. It feels like Glenn just ran into a bunch of has-beens and decided to shoot a movie in the desert that weekend. He raided the local Spirit Halloween, grabbed some black lights, crapped out an outline, grabbed a camera, and made the magic happen.
I want to say that "I can't recommend" this movie, but I honestly recommend that you find it for free somewhere. I'm not suggesting any avenues with which to do so, but don't pay money to see this. It's worth watching just so you can say you've seen the worst movie of the past 25 years. I don't know, when did Rollergator come out?
Glenn Danzig did provide, unintentionally, a very positive message from this turd: ANYBODY, literally ANYBODY, can direct a movie.
Do you think you have a movie idea, but are afraid it will be bad? Stop. Go watch this movie and realize that you have a better gift for filmmaking that Glenn Danzig. You might not have the same means, but you absolutely have more talent.
Get a Kickstarter going; Backerkit; GoFundMe. Do whatever you have to do to get your movie made. I guarantee it will be better than this.
I want to say that "I can't recommend" this movie, but I honestly recommend that you find it for free somewhere. I'm not suggesting any avenues with which to do so, but don't pay money to see this. It's worth watching just so you can say you've seen the worst movie of the past 25 years. I don't know, when did Rollergator come out?
Glenn Danzig did provide, unintentionally, a very positive message from this turd: ANYBODY, literally ANYBODY, can direct a movie.
Do you think you have a movie idea, but are afraid it will be bad? Stop. Go watch this movie and realize that you have a better gift for filmmaking that Glenn Danzig. You might not have the same means, but you absolutely have more talent.
Get a Kickstarter going; Backerkit; GoFundMe. Do whatever you have to do to get your movie made. I guarantee it will be better than this.
How this movie has a 6 out of 10 I do not know
alecgranger29 August 2021
Might be the worst movie I've ever seen. The first 20 minutes can be skipped without missing anything.there are no redeeming qualities in this movie. The acting is bad, the dialogue is bad, the sound editing is awful. I have no idea how they got Eli Roth and Dany Trejo into this lousy excuse of a movie.
2 for "I wouldn't watch"
Delrvich31 March 2022
"B" Grade Vampire Spaghetti Western
stevendbeard29 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I saw "Death Rider in the House of Vampires"-just the name itself was intriguing-starring Devon Sawa-Escape Plan:The Extractors, Final Destination; Julian Sands-The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Warlock; Kim Director-Split, Book of Shadows:Blair Witch 2 and Glenn Danzig-he is the founder of the rock group Danzig and this is his first movie to act in.
This movie is written, produced & directed by Glenn Danzig, who also makes his acting debut in it, too-if you don't count the music videos he's done. This is his second film to direct, with 'Verotika' being his first. This movie is sort of like a 'B' grade-and I say that generously-vampire spaghetti western. The acting is bad, the camera shots end abruptly, some things are overly exaggerated, but the girls are nice to look at. The movie opens with Devon-Death Rider-riding with a girl tagging along, tied to a horse, and she seems to have lost her shirt somewhere. I must say that she is healthy, though. Devon is headed for a place called sanctuary and admission to the sanctuary is a virgin, so that explains the girl that Devon has with him. Julian is the head vampire of the sanctuary/business that has a bar that they use to lure in dinner guests-kind of like in 'From Dusk Til Dawn'. Kim is the head social director that keeps the girls in line and Glenn plays a frequent patron. There are a few cameos; Eli Roth, Sean 'X_Pac' Waltman and Danny Trejo. This movie is not for everyone but if you like 'B' grade movies-I do-you might enjoy it.
It wasn't rated but I'm giving it an "R" for bloody gore, violence, language and nudity and it has a running time of 1 hour & 32 minutes.
Like I said, it's not for everyone but I liked it and would buy it on DVD.
This movie is written, produced & directed by Glenn Danzig, who also makes his acting debut in it, too-if you don't count the music videos he's done. This is his second film to direct, with 'Verotika' being his first. This movie is sort of like a 'B' grade-and I say that generously-vampire spaghetti western. The acting is bad, the camera shots end abruptly, some things are overly exaggerated, but the girls are nice to look at. The movie opens with Devon-Death Rider-riding with a girl tagging along, tied to a horse, and she seems to have lost her shirt somewhere. I must say that she is healthy, though. Devon is headed for a place called sanctuary and admission to the sanctuary is a virgin, so that explains the girl that Devon has with him. Julian is the head vampire of the sanctuary/business that has a bar that they use to lure in dinner guests-kind of like in 'From Dusk Til Dawn'. Kim is the head social director that keeps the girls in line and Glenn plays a frequent patron. There are a few cameos; Eli Roth, Sean 'X_Pac' Waltman and Danny Trejo. This movie is not for everyone but if you like 'B' grade movies-I do-you might enjoy it.
It wasn't rated but I'm giving it an "R" for bloody gore, violence, language and nudity and it has a running time of 1 hour & 32 minutes.
Like I said, it's not for everyone but I liked it and would buy it on DVD.
Like a crazy dream comes to the screen.
shawnbradley-4190726 September 2022
I made an account just so I could leave a review for this film. I can remember thinking, at the end of the viewing, Danzig must be making a part two. Come to find out there is not even a Blu Ray release yet. Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed Death Proof in 2007, considered to be one of the first "Grindhouse" movies. Exploitation films as such have been around since the birth of color tv or even before that. I really enjoyed the entire film and look forward to seeing it in HD. I'm not a big fan of Misfits, Glenn Danzig's Rock band. However, the dark toned music in the film which he created makes for a perfect score.
Punk rock DIY!!!!
GSK2318 October 2023
YEAH! This is exactly what punk was about: Do it YOURSELF!
Here, Queen of all gloomy punk rock, Glenn Danzig, does just that: He "directs" a film!
The same impulse that made lil' Glenn say "ga ga ga, I can be a singer in a rock band" back in 1975 or whenever also made him say "uh, I can direct a movie like that Zombie guy!" So, for pure "punk rock"-ness of it all, good for him!!
BUT, as a member of an audience watching this dreck in hopes of being ENTERTAINED... whew. This ain't it.
At least when ICP made their films, they were so utterly, beautifully STUPID that you had no choice but to laugh along with them. Heck, I wasn't even drunk when I watched Big Money Hustlas and it was still fun. This film? I would have to be SO DRUNK that I would just pass out before I could even sort of kind of maybe possibly be slightly "entertained". PAINFUL to watch.
You'd think that after a career of doing songs about horror movies, this clown would maybe take the time to STUDY them enough before having such hubris about making one. Oy vey.
Here, Queen of all gloomy punk rock, Glenn Danzig, does just that: He "directs" a film!
The same impulse that made lil' Glenn say "ga ga ga, I can be a singer in a rock band" back in 1975 or whenever also made him say "uh, I can direct a movie like that Zombie guy!" So, for pure "punk rock"-ness of it all, good for him!!
BUT, as a member of an audience watching this dreck in hopes of being ENTERTAINED... whew. This ain't it.
At least when ICP made their films, they were so utterly, beautifully STUPID that you had no choice but to laugh along with them. Heck, I wasn't even drunk when I watched Big Money Hustlas and it was still fun. This film? I would have to be SO DRUNK that I would just pass out before I could even sort of kind of maybe possibly be slightly "entertained". PAINFUL to watch.
You'd think that after a career of doing songs about horror movies, this clown would maybe take the time to STUDY them enough before having such hubris about making one. Oy vey.
Ride, Death Rider. Ride.
BandSAboutMovies29 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
No matter what you or I think or believe, Glenn Danzig is making exactly the kind of movies that he wants to make.
Following Verotika, he decided that the next film he'd make would not just be a Western, but a Spaghetti vampire Western and the minute I read that, I realized that Danzig is making the movies that I want to see as well.
Despite saying that he's watched a lot of Bava and Fulci, it feels like Danzig has made the kind of movie an Italian director that not many people discuss in the U. S. would have made. The closest comparison I can think of is the work of Alvaro Passeri, who is somehow at once sub-Bruno Mattei level in directorial skill but has ideas and a lack of anyone telling him no, which leads to absolutely aberrant cinema like The Mummy Theme Park and Plankton.
More likely, I think that Danzig wanted to hang out with his friends and a bunch of adult stars while cosplaying as both vampires and characters straight out of a Giulio Questi or Tonino Valerii while someone filmed the lost weekend. After spending a few million, his account called and said, "Glenn, I know you want my skull, but seriously, we need to recoup some investment. Can you call Cleopatra Records? I mean, yes, they used to release weird cover tribute CDs that had Electric Hellfire Club played KISS songs, but now they're releasing movies." And then Glenn howled and said, "Yea."
The Death Rider (Devon Sawa) has just arrived at the Vampire Sanctuary (there is no irony in the cinematic universe of Danzig, things are named what they are) and has the admission fee: one naked virgin (Tasha Reign). He asks for sanctuary - yes, from the Vampire Sanctuary, I get it - from its owner, Count Holiday (Julian Sands, R. I. P.).
The Vampire Sanctuary (I swear, I am not getting paid every time I use those two words) is more like a saloon from an old cowboy movie, filled with working girls like Carmilla Joe (Pittsburgh native Kim Director, who was on The Deuce and in Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows) and her assistant Mina Belle (Ashley Wisdom, Verotika) and gunslingers like Kid Vlad (Victor DiMattia, Timmy Timmons from The Sandlot), Drac Cassidy (Eli Roth, yes, that Eli Roth), and Bad Bathory (Danzig himself and when his name flashed up on scream I cheered even if I was home alone).
So yes, Danzig wears a cowboy hat in this, but he really wears all the hats: director, writer, producer, composer, cinematographer and editor. The choices are, well, big choices. The kind of choices that only could have been made by Glenn Danzig.
If takes as long to get to the Vampire Sanctuary (cha-ching!) and past the opening credits as it does for Jan-Mikl Thor to drive a van to a suburban house in Rock 'n Roll Nightmare, that was the vision of Glenn Allen Anzalone.
If Danny Trejo is going to show up as Bela Latigo, well, that's 100% from the brains and balls of Lodi's favorite son.
And if there's no real plot other than random gunfights, naken women, vampires biting naked women and gunfights around naked women with vampires shooting silver bullets at one another, then you guessed it. This is all the vision of the man who wrote, "devil on the left / angel on the right / there's no mistake / who'll I be with tonight."
But how many movies are going to just throw Lee Ving at you as a bartender service Sean Waltman a drink while the Soska sisters look on and the camera zooms more often than three Italian movies and two jess Franco films all added up?
Actually, I think that Danzig has had the same Saturday late nights as me, watching three Franco movies in a row until all the endless scenes of dialogue just pound your brain into a druggy haze. He delivers this same drone goodness as we spend what seems like days watching Death Rider do what he's been named for: ride. Ride that horse over that Danzig-sung theme song! Ride into the night! Ride past the villains that survive!
Ride into our hearts.
I hate that anyone would call this so bad it's good or even watch it in any way other than with sheer joy. These are kinds of movies that get inside my heart and make me so protective.
Please, Glenn. Make more movies.
Following Verotika, he decided that the next film he'd make would not just be a Western, but a Spaghetti vampire Western and the minute I read that, I realized that Danzig is making the movies that I want to see as well.
Despite saying that he's watched a lot of Bava and Fulci, it feels like Danzig has made the kind of movie an Italian director that not many people discuss in the U. S. would have made. The closest comparison I can think of is the work of Alvaro Passeri, who is somehow at once sub-Bruno Mattei level in directorial skill but has ideas and a lack of anyone telling him no, which leads to absolutely aberrant cinema like The Mummy Theme Park and Plankton.
More likely, I think that Danzig wanted to hang out with his friends and a bunch of adult stars while cosplaying as both vampires and characters straight out of a Giulio Questi or Tonino Valerii while someone filmed the lost weekend. After spending a few million, his account called and said, "Glenn, I know you want my skull, but seriously, we need to recoup some investment. Can you call Cleopatra Records? I mean, yes, they used to release weird cover tribute CDs that had Electric Hellfire Club played KISS songs, but now they're releasing movies." And then Glenn howled and said, "Yea."
The Death Rider (Devon Sawa) has just arrived at the Vampire Sanctuary (there is no irony in the cinematic universe of Danzig, things are named what they are) and has the admission fee: one naked virgin (Tasha Reign). He asks for sanctuary - yes, from the Vampire Sanctuary, I get it - from its owner, Count Holiday (Julian Sands, R. I. P.).
The Vampire Sanctuary (I swear, I am not getting paid every time I use those two words) is more like a saloon from an old cowboy movie, filled with working girls like Carmilla Joe (Pittsburgh native Kim Director, who was on The Deuce and in Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows) and her assistant Mina Belle (Ashley Wisdom, Verotika) and gunslingers like Kid Vlad (Victor DiMattia, Timmy Timmons from The Sandlot), Drac Cassidy (Eli Roth, yes, that Eli Roth), and Bad Bathory (Danzig himself and when his name flashed up on scream I cheered even if I was home alone).
So yes, Danzig wears a cowboy hat in this, but he really wears all the hats: director, writer, producer, composer, cinematographer and editor. The choices are, well, big choices. The kind of choices that only could have been made by Glenn Danzig.
If takes as long to get to the Vampire Sanctuary (cha-ching!) and past the opening credits as it does for Jan-Mikl Thor to drive a van to a suburban house in Rock 'n Roll Nightmare, that was the vision of Glenn Allen Anzalone.
If Danny Trejo is going to show up as Bela Latigo, well, that's 100% from the brains and balls of Lodi's favorite son.
And if there's no real plot other than random gunfights, naken women, vampires biting naked women and gunfights around naked women with vampires shooting silver bullets at one another, then you guessed it. This is all the vision of the man who wrote, "devil on the left / angel on the right / there's no mistake / who'll I be with tonight."
But how many movies are going to just throw Lee Ving at you as a bartender service Sean Waltman a drink while the Soska sisters look on and the camera zooms more often than three Italian movies and two jess Franco films all added up?
Actually, I think that Danzig has had the same Saturday late nights as me, watching three Franco movies in a row until all the endless scenes of dialogue just pound your brain into a druggy haze. He delivers this same drone goodness as we spend what seems like days watching Death Rider do what he's been named for: ride. Ride that horse over that Danzig-sung theme song! Ride into the night! Ride past the villains that survive!
Ride into our hearts.
I hate that anyone would call this so bad it's good or even watch it in any way other than with sheer joy. These are kinds of movies that get inside my heart and make me so protective.
Please, Glenn. Make more movies.
See also
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