Movie Review: "Bloodthirst" (2023)
Bloodthirst Movie Review
Written by Stuart D. Monroe
Released by Mahal Empire
Directed by Michael Su
Written by Massimiliano Cerchi and Adrian Milnes
2023, 88 minutes, Rated R
Released on October 31st, 2023
Starring:
Costas Mandylor as John Shepard
Tara Reid as the Vampire Queen
Robert LaSardo as the Vampire Master
Wesley Cannon as the Ultimate Vampire Master
Sarah French as Brooke Thompson
Elissa Dowling as Elena Thompson
William “Bill” Connor as Daddy Thompson
Rich R. Rendon as Rico
Johnny Huang as Charlie
Review:
The good folks at Mahal Empire always make it fun and entertaining while burning the indie torch brightly. They’re back at it again, this time with a post-apocalyptic vampire western…and if the phrase “post-apocalyptic vampire western” doesn’t get you at least a little bit excited, then you may be on the wrong website. I’m just saying.
John Shepard (Costas Mandylor; Saw franchise, Death Count) is a badass vampire hunter in danger of becoming one after an encounter with the Vampire Master (Robert LaSardo; Bridge of the Doomed). It’s a race against time in a world populated by two warring vampire factions and a rapidly shrinking human population (which is of course bad news for the vampires as well). Shepard must battle the combined forces of the Vampire Master and the Vampire Queen (Tara Reid; American Pie franchise, Art of the Dead) while contending with a mercenary army of unscrupulous living humans and a pair of sisters who spend their time riding around in a souped-up dune buggy and killing vampires with garlic-laced shotgun shells. Looming over all this is the Ultimate Vampire Master (Wesley Cannon; Night of the Tommyknockers) and his master plan for total control.
There’s certainly a lot going on in Bloodthirst from the standpoint of diverging and intersecting storylines, and not every issue is resolved or even explained all that clearly. However, it’s quite forgivable as the journey of John Shepard is portrayed with grit and resolve by Costas Mandylor which proves what a criminally underrated talent he is. His natural charm shines through, and this is fully his film. That’s not to say that the other actors aren’t turning in killer performances. Tara Reid is more inspired here than she’s been in some time, showing a penchant for playing the villain that I didn’t know she had. Mandylor’s John Shepard character is complimented nicely by his motorcycle-riding sidekick, Rico (Rich R. Rendon; Attack of the Unknown), and Rico’s sidekick, Charlie (Johnny Huang; Bridge of the Doomed), who provides the comic relief.
The vampires are your general pale humans in black robes, but they can walk in the daylight. The Vampire Master and the Vampire Queen are a couple of serious baddies, though, and Robert LaSardo reminds us of just how much quiet menace he possesses. The blood is plentiful but not overly gory, though these vampires are definitely messy eaters! The Ultimate Vampire Master is a different beast altogether; he appears as more bat than human in a highly competent SFX makeup job.
The stark desert setting may be the main star of the film, ultimately. Bloodthirst is a beautifully shot film that maximizes the cinematic and production value from its excellent shooting locations. It doesn’t feel like a low-budget film. Layering the theme of humanity versus nihilism in that stark post-apocalyptic setting makes for a hell of a ride that’s loaded with elevated performances.
But really, it all comes back to my original query: who doesn’t love a good post-apocalyptic vampire western? That’s rhetorical, of course.
Grade:
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
