BLOODSUCKING
CINEMA
MOVIE REVIEW

		Review by E.C. McMullen Jr.
BLOODSUCKING CINEMA - 2008 USA Release: Oct. 26, 2007 Province of British Columbia Film Incentive, Starz Originals, Anchor Bay Entertainment Rating: N/A

What if they took a DVD extra and sold it as its own DVD? Clocking in at 57 minutes, I bring you the documentary, BLOODSUCKING CINEMA. I'm not at all surprised by this development. There are any number of DVDs I've kept with truly crappy movies on them, just because the DVD extras were that good.

BLOODSUCKING CINEMA originally aired on Starz cable network, directed by Barry Gray, and featured such illustrious talking heads, nee Vampire movie experts, like Stuart Townsend (QUEEN OF THE DAMNED), Corey Haim (THE LOST BOYS), Kristanna Loken (TERMINATOR 3, BLOODRAYNE, BLOODRAYNE 2), Cheech Marin (FROM DUSK TILL DAWN), and Uwe Bolls (ALONE IN THE DARK). Yes, thanks to the Canadian Film Board, Uwe Bolls, Corey Haim, Kristanna Loken, Cheech Marin, and Stuart Townsend are now recognized experts of Vampire movies.

What fan of Horror Thriller movies in general and vampire movies in particular wouldn't drop everything to run right out and watch this documentary, just for the thrill of hearing these folks freely prattle on about their knowledge of vampire movies? Seriously, what more could you want?

What makes this DVD bearable is that there are also talking head interviews with Directors John Carpenter (HALLOWEEN, THE FOG, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, THE THING, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, THEY LIVE, IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS, VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED, GHOSTS OF MARS, VAMPIRES, CIGARETTE BURNS, PRO-LIFE),
John Landis (AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, INNOCENT BLOOD, DEER WOMAN),
Joel Schumacher (THE LOST BOYS, 8MM, PHONE BOOTH, THE NUMBER 23),
Stephen Sommers (DEEP RISING, THE MUMMY, THE MUMMY RETURNS, VAN HELSING), and
Len Wiseman (UNDERWORLD, UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION).

What makes this documentary even better are the interviews with SFX artists like Everet Burrell (DAY OF THE DEAD, RE-ANIMATOR, INVADERS FROM MARS, ALIENS, DEEPSTAR SIX, THE LOST BOYS, PHANTASM II, BLADE, FRAILTY, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, GOTHIKA, HELLBOY, BLADE: TRINITY, SIN CITY, PAN'S LABYRINTH, THE MIST),
Greg Nicotero (DAY OF THE DEAD, EVIL DEAD II, PHANTASM II, FROM BEYOND, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: THE DREAM CHILD, BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR, ARMY OF DARKNESS, BATS, THE GREEN MILE, CABIN FEVER, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE [2003], LEMONY SNICKET'S: A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, SPIDER-MAN 3, TRANSFORMERS), and the late great
Stan Winston (THE THING, THE TERMINATOR [all], INVADERS FROM MARS, LEVIATHAN, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, ALIENS, PREDATOR [both], JURASSIC PARK [all], THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, THE RELIC, END OF DAYS, IRON MAN).

Bringing up the rear are movie critics, Leonard Maltin and Harry Knowles. The crown jewel of the vampire experts is the creator of BLADE and longtime writer of DC Comics, Dracula series, Marv Wolfman. When it comes to vampires, Marv really knows his stuff. He knows what rules the fans want to keep and what new things they are interested in seeing. And naturally, there are the expected requisite movie clips.

So, I don't know, you think this is a mixed bag? I sure do. That said, the most truly poignant moment comes when SFX artist, Stan Winston, ponders the meaning of existence through a vampire's eyes and comes to the conclusion that long life and immortality aren't worth it if you have to be a vampire.

John Carpenter, on the other hand, is willing to go for it!

I'm willing to give this documentary, created, written, and directed by Barry Gray, Three Shriek Girls.

This review copyright 2008 E.C.McMullen Jr.

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