Leofwine_draca THE GODFATHER meets Dracula! This film from director John Landis starts off promisingly: the first half of this film is great, with lots of in-jokes and overacting from Robert Loggia, playing a leading Mafioso. The idea of vampire mobsters is interesting, and played for laughs for the most part with strong effect. I didn't care much for the lead, Anne Parillaud, who begins the film naked and removes her clothes numerous times during the long running length, perhaps this is a desperate attention grabber.There's some kinky sex involving handcuffs and lots of references to over movies for horror fans, such as the films Dracula and THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS playing on TVs. It's entertaining, but doesn't go beyond face value. With this and AN American WEREWOLF IN London, it seems like Landis loves making easy viewing horror films for horror fans. Watch out for a hilarious scene where Loggia begins to dissolve in the sunlight, without realising what's happening. There's also a lot of swearing in this film which may be off-putting to some although it ties in with the gangster genre well enough.One thing this film really does have going for it are the special effects. The main ones are the glowing eyes, which are effectively shocking the first few times we see them. The best effect in the film is the disintegration of one of the vampires in the sunlight. His flesh burns apart, his arm comes off, and finally his neck bursts open spraying blood and his head dissolves. Quite shocking really, I was surprised this film got a 15 certificate rating here in Britain. Overall, the film feels a lot like a pre-runner to FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, and I'm surprised that nobody seems to remember it these days as it's one of the most fun vampire films of the 1990s.

MARIO GAUCI As some of you may know, I not only consider Landis' AN American WEREWOLF IN London (1981) the finest "Wolf Man" flick ever but it is also, hands down, the greatest horror film to emerge during the last 3 decades. Still, while I have always been aware of this one – which deals with vampires – I somehow never got around to watching it until now! I did catch Landis' two good entries in the "Masters Of Horror" series, though, not to mention the debacle that was his episode from TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE (1983).Anyway, this is typical of the era in keeping nudity (right from the start, and some of which is surprisingly kinky!) and gore (as expected from a vampire movie, we get plenty of the red stuff) at the forefront. The film attempts to give a novel spin to the well-worn theme by making the heroine something of a femme fatale (a well-cast Anne Parillaud) – complete with first-person narration, where she rather uninspiringly refers to other humans as "food" – and throwing her amidst a modern-day world of 'cops and robbers' (thus continuing the noir analogy but which does not really lead anywhere!). The latter seems to emanate from a Martin Scorsese picture, what with the first such scene involving a man being beaten in the face with a toaster, but then it leans towards the heavy-handed when the mobster (Robert Loggia), vampirized by Parillaud when he takes her home for a fling, begins to infect his gang left, right and center! The hero (Anthony LaPaglia) is an undercover cop and he instantly catches the eye of the leading lady in that she does not want to convert him to her nature, even if his pursuit of her for presumably killing Loggia (which he had been meticulously planning to personally bring down) is relentless – she even glides over him in a POV shot inside a church! Once he realizes what she is (though, apparently, the word "vampire" is never actually used!), he naturally has a hard time convincing his colleagues...that is, until corpses start coming back to life with uncomfortable regularity. Herein, however, lies the film's main problem: the vampires here hardly act like your typical bloodsucker (which, by the way, they do not simply bite the jugular but rather tear right into the neck like an animal!). When aroused, their eyes glow and they give out feral sounds (which again resemble more a werewolf or, at least a panther, as this reminded me quite a bit of CAT PEOPLE {1982}!). Besides, the deathly make-up makes them look more like zombies than anything else! Other minuses, while we are on the subject, and especially in comparison with American WEREWOLF, is that the script (not written by the director himself in this case) shows little of the earlier film's knack in blending together the narrative's two styles, to the point that the comedy and horror here seem to belong in different movies but, also, the accompanying soundtrack pales beside that of the 1981 lycanthrope masterpiece (though one appreciates the in-joke of the mob being particularly fond of Frank Sinatra, given the singer/actor's notorious lifelong association with real-life underworld figures)! That said, a number of scenes are well done (notably Don Rickles' literal hospital 'meltdown'), Parillaud and Loggia (amusingly, he does not know what he has become at first and goes apeshit when he starts disintegrating in the sunlight) are terrific and, as usual, Landis incorporates his usual touches of the fabled "See You Next Wednesday" marquee and a handful of 'star' cameos, including genre authority Forrest J. Ackerman, directors Frank Oz and Michael Ritchie, and even fellow horror-meisters Dario Argento (then filming TRAUMA {1993} in the U.S.), Sam Raimi and Tom Savini!

Vomitron_G Easily one of my favorite vampire movies ever (together with Kathryn Bigelow's "Near Dark", amongst others). Since I get the feeling that this movie is a bit under-appreciated, you might get the feeling that my rating perhaps is a bit over-rated too. But can you blame me after having watched one too many crappy vampire movies over the years? Honestly, I love "Innocent Blood". It's a perfect mixture of mafia and vampire stuff, skillfully directed by John Landis. Comedy and horror in a successful blend. A lot of cool cameos (Sam Raimi, Dario Argento, Linnea Quigley...). We have some good actors who went on to act in HBO's "The Sopranos" later on (that, at least, has got to say something). Anne Parillaud is totally up for the part and perfectly believable as a sexy French vampire in Pittsburgh with a taste for Italian food. Some great special effects. Even the romance worked in this flick. Well done John Landis! If you've previously enjoyed his "An American Werewolf In London", then you should do alright having a blast with "Innocent Blood" too.

Backlash007 ~Spoiler~ Innocent Blood is John Landis' chaotic and hilarious take on the underworld and...the underworld. This is the movie where two genres unite: vampire films and mafia films. Who would have thought two of the most bloody genres would be so much fun together? Our first hero of this story is the centuries-old vampire, Marie. Marie has a conscience and only kills people who deserve it (hence the Innocent Blood title). Naturally she targets the mob; who's less innocent than them, right? Problems arise when she is interrupted dining on the Don so to speak. Sal "The Shark" Macelli doesn't die like he was supposed to, instead he becomes a vampire who goes on to recruit his whole "family" to the ranks of the undead. This creates a problem for our second hero, Joe Gennaro. Joe's an undercover cop who's trying to put away the Macelli family. As you can imagine, all sorts of comedic predicaments ensue. That's all I'm going to give away. The terrific cast includes some big names. Anne Parillaud of Le Femme Nikita fame stars as the sexy femme fatale. Anthony LaPaglia plays Gennaro and Robert Loggia is the scene-stealing Sal "The Shark." Speaking of scene-stealing, Don Rickles plays Sal's goofy attorney. The supporting cast includes Chazz Palminteri, David Proval, Luis Guzman, Tony Sirico, and Angela Bassett. Be on the lookout for some great cameos from some of the biggest names in horror. My only real complaint with the movie...Landis should have called it A French Vampire in Pittsburgh. That would have made a perfect companion piece with his American Werewolf in London.