Woodyanders Ferocious and mysterious vampire prostitute Nico (a pleasingly saucy portrayal by Natasha Gregson Wagner) prowls the streets for victims in Los Angeles. Nico teams up with renegade vampire Dallas (smoothly played by Casper Van Dien) in order to protect herself from a secret community of bloodsucking snobs who want to destroy her. Meanwhile, the batty Dr. Frederick Van Helsing (a gloriously hammy Rod Steiger) enlists the assistance of a motley crew of black gang bangers to aide him on his mission to eradicate vampires off the face of the earth.Director Richard Elfman keeps the entertainingly loopy story moving along at a zippy pace, maintains an engaging campy tone throughout, and delivers plenty of gore, nudity, and deviant sexuality (it turns out humans can be transformed into vampires if they do the nasty with a bloodsucker!). Matthew Bright's wickedly witty script not only puts a few fresh spins on the standard vampire premise (in an especially nice touch, Van Helsing is depicted as an ex-Nazi), but also pokes hilariously wacky fun at the haughty, decadent, and superficial lifestyle of the Californian upper-class. Moreover, it's acted with zest by an enthusiastic cast: Gabriel Casseus as easygoing homeboy Time Bomb, Kim Cattrall as the sultry and predatory Ulrike, Craig Ferguson as jolly Brit Richard, Robert Pastorelli as fearsome top dog the Count, Natalya Andreychenko as the elegant Panthia, Natasha Lyonne as ditsy party girl Rachel, and Udo Kier as the suavely depraved Vincent. Robin Brown's glossy cinematography provides a slick'n'stylish look. A total hoot.

Leofwine_draca REVENANT (originally titled MODERN VAMPIRES) is a low budget vampire comedy that was marketed as a straightforward vampire horror flick here in the UK. Either way it's a dog of a film, shot on what looks like no budget and in the dark, and made as a TV movie too. This spoofy yarn supposedly reveals the real life of the modern Hollywood vampire, which seems to involve hanging around in nightclubs and acting incredibly vapid and self-centred.A plethora of gore gags and lame make-up effects are thrown into the mix to try to make something stick, but the truth is that this is a lamentable film indeed. There's nothing worse than an unfunny comedy, and REVENANT is exactly that; I can honestly say I didn't laugh once. John Landis's INNOCENT BLOOD is a perfect example of the genre at its finest and this film doesn't even come close to the quality of that movie.Bizarrely, Rod Steiger makes an appearance as Van Helsing here, so you have to feel for him a little. But wooden actors like Casper Van Dien and Kim Cattrall both should know better. There's a mercifully brief cameo from Udo Kier, but for much of the running time we have to put up with the appalling grating accents of Craig Ferguson and his buddies. As I said, it's a dog of a film.

rcas Personally I think this movie is a riot.. =] I first saw it in San Francisco when it was being screened in an artsy movie house as "Revenant".It isn't remotely meant to be serious.. in fact it is the campiest movie I've seen in quite awhile! I would think that any fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 would enjoy this style of cinema. It has more of a "B" movie vibe, more like "Eight legged freaks", "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", or "Pricilla Queen of the Desert". It has quite a few familiar faces too, and of course Casper's butt is always a welcome site.. ::smirk::

Dr. Gore *SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*Certain actors appearing in a B-movie scream quality. I'm talking about such heavyweights as Mario Van Peebles or Ice-T. Now add Casper Van Dien to that roll call of B-movie greatness. I long for the day when all three of those giants show up in the same movie. I can see the video box now: VAN Peebles and VAN Dien in "Kill Shoot II!" My VCR would explode with delight."Modern Vampires" continues Van Dien's tradition of quality B-mayhem. He's a vampire in L.A. and things happen. My God, how could you ask for more? The blood and naked breasts are out of control. One scene in a clothing store has Natasha Wagner making out with another vampire woman. WOO-HOO! Loved it. Rod Steiger shows up to kill some vampires and he brings some gang members with him. If you're a Van Dien believer like I am, check this one out. I'm not saying this movie is scary or even pretends to be a horror movie, but it delivers the sleaze to please.