Synopsis
A captain leads a team of commandos searching for vampires in the universe.
2005 Directed by Matthew Hastings
A captain leads a team of commandos searching for vampires in the universe.
Kimberly Chiang Krista Bell Mike Carpenter Darryl Scheelar Kimani Ray Smith Dan Rizzuto Brett Armstrong Mike Desabrais Ryan Ennis Lex D. Geddings Steven McMichael Shawn Beaton Sean Armstrong
Vampire Wars - Battle for the Universe, Krwiopijcy: Wojny wampirów, Кровососы, A Guerra dos Vampiros
In the distant future, extraterrestrial life has been discovered as vampiric, and "sanitation" squads hop planets battling various species. Following a particular "V-SAN" group, human turncoats led by a powerful vampire (Michael Ironside) target a ragtag band suffering the recent loss of their commander.
Canadian mash-up described by writer/director Matthew Hastings as "Buffy meets Star Trek". It's better likened to bits of Aliens (1986) and Blade (1998) wrapped in Space Truckers (1996) on a Nu Image production budget. Wading through industrial backdrops surveying carnage from breeds named after horror icons (Voorhees, Leatherface), the team get a bead on Ironside's charismatic figure through parasitic corpse-reanimating worms capable of speech.
Typical for Syfy-destined fodder, these familiar elements are throttled by drama involving…
Vampires and humans are at war... IN SPACE! This has SyFy Channel written all over it. The space battles were okay and looked like a cheap imitation of Battlestar Galactica. As for the vampires, they looked pretty cool. I am not sure if I will ever recommend this movie to anyone thought. It isn't that bad or anything like that, it is forgettable and rather generic. That is a feat considering it is a blending of sci-fi and horror that I generally gravitate to.
I always watch low budget fare hoping to find a diamond in the rough. I was pleasantly surprised by the acting of our heroes and was rooting for this film. Then, the reveal of our baddies is so hammy that I couldn't help but find their motives laughable. The tonal changes between the two sides of the film really detract from the final product. It's kinda fun but is only a cubic zirconia at best.
Somehow not the worst thing I've seen recently, despite being an ultra-Canadian sci-fi movie about vampire hunting cowboy mercenaries featuring Michael Ironside.
It's a pity that this movie has such an unremarkable title. Just naming it "Bloodsuckers" belies just how cool it really is. It's rough around the edges but packs enough charm to make up for it. A fun direct to video sci-fi/action/horror flick that's kinda like Firefly but with vampires. If this had been a pilot for a TV show I would have enthusiastically watched every episode of that show.
Hooptober X #6
- 6 countries
- 8 decades
- 1 film based on a work of or invoking the name Bram Stoker
100 Horror Movies in 92 Days 2023
Space Vampires! That's enough to get me to watch. And to be honest, it does everything it needs to be an entertaining movie. The characters are unique and fleshed out. And the actors seem fully invested in their characters. The plot is simple enough to get the action movie. It does attempt a message, but no one seems to care and movie gets past that quickly. There is a lot of action, but these actors clearly don't know what to do in those scenes. It reminds me kids playing war in the woods. And the CGI is comically terrible. But, I don't expect a lot. I think the biggest complaint is the poorly dated outfits for AJ Cooks scientist character. Actually, everything about that character is terrible.
A blood-drenched intergalactic adventure set in a future time when Earth is at war with vampiric alien races.
This film reminded me in some ways of the film Serenity; it's central characters are a rag-tag crew of vampire-hunters, travelling the stars on various missions, and the film has a similar mix of humour, action, and sci-fi thrills.
The characters in this are all quite likeable, and the chemistry between the crew-members works well. The action is well done throughout and there are some pretty nifty FX- the vampire make-up and the gore FX are very well done.
There's also a couple of nods to classic horror, with a race of vampires called the Voorhees, and a savage tribe of skin-wearing vampires called the Leatherfaces.
And to top it all off, I discovered by watching this that Natassia Malthe is probably the sexiest woman in the galaxy. Great stuff.
Space vampires are cool and Ironside shows up looking extra ghoulish. All in all this is pretty entertaining (if you can just roll with the obvious cheapness and the really unpleasant soundtrack).
Also, the CGI missle effect is hilariously terrible.
Pretty much what you can expect from a TV movie on vampires in space. Machismo in spades, a bit of bullshit (or a lot depending on what you expect from it). Granted, it has one or two decent action beats and Michael Ironside was amusing in the cartoony way you hope for.
Oh, and Sting gives the sex scene ten on ten.
Meaty and overtly masculine like a Carl's Jr commercial showcasing a Jessica Rabbit type model chomping down on a burger called something like "The Reno Rattler" while mötley crüe wails in the background implying that you'll be knee deep in trans fats and cleavage.
This does, however, have the ambitious story that shows some depth of passion towards the material and the effects aren't lazy or looked over.
It's fun, really. Michael Ironside wears fake pointy ears and the last shot of him you can literally see the clip on his ear and the transparent prosthetic. There's a ton of moments like that reminding me some 80's backyard horror cinema.