Starring:

Marisa Ryan,  Robert Floyd, Amy Jo Johnson,  Christopher Weihl

Written and Directed by: Robert A. Masciantonio

The Story:

This is one of those movies that I probably just don't get.

Its a vampire movie, one that takes place in a place familiar to me...the New Jersey shore. But it doesn't seem to say anything to me. Its just that some stuff happens and that's it. I don't care what happens to the hero or the heroine, hell, I don't connect with them at all. They're just people on the screen. I wish I didn't feel this way about this movie for several reasons. One, it has Amy Jo Johnson in it...you know, the Pink Ranger from Power Rangers, and star of Infested. Two, its a vampire flick. I like those. But mostly I don't want to dislike this movie because it could make me look biased. You see, I work in a jersey Shore town, though I don't want to. I follow my orders as directed by the US Army, so this is where I have to be. But I HATE IT HERE! I can't stand the Jersey shore, I find the people here to be mostly annoying and the tourist season is a nightmare. There, I said it. I was holding it in, but it had to come out. There are some really cool people around here, but for my opinion, Jersey is the Asshole Capitol of the World. I can't wait to get out of here, because I never plan on setting foot in this state again once my tour is over. And I have relatives in jersey!

Well, this low budget nugget probably has a fan following, but I'm going to come pout and say this...its not a bad film, it has some good ideas and characters, but in the end my droogies, I found it a bit plodding. That's not saying it was bad movie, but as I mentioned above I work in the Jersey Shore area and I can't bring myself to understand the beach mindset in real life. So watching it on the screen doesn't do a hell of a lot for me, even if you throw some vampires into the mix. And almost anyplace is exciting once you throw some bloodsucking vampires into the mix.

The main character of this movie is Victoria, a young, beautiful girlm who just happens to be a vampire. Vicki's only friends are cute as button vampire Alicia and the normal gay guy Darius. All three of them worry about the summer boardwalk season because it most likely means the return of Chaz, another vampire and Vicki's former boyfriend. You see, Vicki and Alicia get blood from some friends at a local blood bank and only prey on mortals when they have no other choice. Even then, they go after people who they think deserve it. But Chaz doesn't care about stuff like that. He'll go after anyone and has no problems in using his vampire powers to get what he wants. It wouldn't be much of a movie if Chaz and his posse didn't show up, so right on cue, they do. Chaz immediately starts giving Vicki a hard time and even hits her  (knocking her out) right on the boardwalk. The only thing that stops him from doing more is the intervention of Seth, a fraternity dude on vacation. Seth and Vicki bond during the rest of the movie as its clear that he's gonna be the hero. I really don't want to give up any spoilers but you can tell from the get go that Seth has a secret of his own. Without even saying it, you can tell that he somehow knows of Vicki and the others vampirism.

This movie is more about the relationships of the characters than it is about blood gushing vampire action. Vicki feels all alone, but won't move on with her life because she can't leave Alicia and Darius alone. Her relationship with Alicia is kind of like a motherly big sister. Alicia regrets becoming a vampire and refuses to "feed" most of the time. A big turning point in the movie is when Alicia destroys herself after being tricked into killing for blood by Chaz.

As I said, I don't really like the shore area during the summer time, but I can see why some vampires would. Its a madhouse and it would be easy for a careful vampire to pick off a couple of drunken beach-goers during the season to feed on and get away with it. I'll give the movie that, it made sense to me. Hell, I've even got a few addresses in Seaside Heights I'd give 'em.

Best Lines:  “On a scale of 1 to 10 you negative 10 buddy.” -One of Chaz's henchmen to Seth.

 Are you kidding me?

1.) Vicki won't move away because she doesn't want to leave Alicia and Darius alone. I guess she's afraid that Chaz might do something horrible to them if she's not around. So why don't all three of them just movie away while Chaz is wherever the hell he goes during the off season. I mean, its not like they could be that easy to find. Its a big freaking' country! I don't buy any "He'll find us, wherever we go" guff neither. That's a cop out! Chaz can't possibly be that obsessed with Vicki to scour the entire world for her. Its not like he's Blade or something.

2.) Why do vampires in movies like this always regret being vampires? Vicki regrets it, Alicia regrets it, blah, blah, blah. But they both pretty much admit they did it because it sounded like a "cool" way to live. (if you can call being undead "living") I mean, didn't it occur to them that you'll have to drink blood and probably kill people? Didn't either of them ever see a Dracula movie before becoming vampires?

3.) You know, Vicki says that she inherited her house from her mother who also left her some money. I like the fact that this movie at least tries to explain how she can afford such a nice crib right on the shore. Those places ain't cheap, especially the nice ones! (I've seen some rundown [unwrite]holes around here) But I just thought of another way they could explain it....no grocery bills. Little to no utility bills. If you're a vampire its not like you have to spend a hundred or so bucks a month of grub. You're not gonna be awake during the day to use any electricity or water and at night you're gonna be out hunting for blood. I guess that kind of explains how Darius and Alicia can afford their place. Maybe Darius doesn't eat much.

4.) Chaz displays mind control powers in order to make people do what he wants. He makes the girl at the sunglasses stand say what he wants her to say and he makes Darius decide to go home and leave Alicia alone. Hell, he even makes Alicia kill. So why doesn't he use those powers on Seth when he wants him to tell where Vicki is?

Nudity and Sex: None.

Huh?:

We all know the rules for vampires and other monsters change from movie to movie. In this movie Vampires can stay in the daylight but only for a short while. I can live with that, I guess, but it does ruin part of the vampire thing for me. Think about it this way...In Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" (The book not the movie) Louis is upset that he'll never see the light of the day again once he becomes a vampire. Since Vicki can obviously walk around in the daylight that s not a tragedy for her. so any regrets she has about being a bloodsucker kind of seem minimized. After all, she's got it all from one point of view. Yeah, she can't go sunbathing, but she can still go out in the day time. Its not like she has to hide in a crypt or anything.

Also, I didn't want to spoil it for ya, but Seth's big secret is that he's a werewolf. Fine. But he's one of those werewolves that can change it seems when he wants to. (No real rules were given for him, I'm just going on what I saw) He also has control over himself. Its not like Lon Chaney Jr. or the poor sucker in An American werewolf in London. That makes his predicament not as tragic as you'd think it would be. I mean if I could turn into a super strong wolf guy whenever I felt like it I'd be kickin' ass. Its not like Seth goes on an uncontrollable killing spree up and down the boardwalk, chewing up hapless partiers. (I'd like to see that movie!)

The Final Judgment: Not a bad movie, but not terribly exciting either. That's my fault though, I expected a gore fest and that's not really what this movie is about. Its not bad though, and seeing Amy Jo Johnson is always a treat. (I've always thought she was hot) If you're a big vampire fan I'd check it out. Considering how hard it is to find a decent vampire flick some times you might nor want to pass this one up. I still don't like the shore area though. Maybe if there were real vampires here I'd warm up to it a bit.