Director: Justin Dix
Year: 2020
Country: Australia
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
Adrift in the North Atlantic, survivors of a torpedoed hospital ship are forced to board a Nazi freighter for sanctuary only to find the ship entirely deserted save for a few seared and burned corpses, and the longer they stay there come to find the vampire being transported was responsible and must try to get off the ship alive.
Review:
This was a rather enjoyable and fun genre outing. Among it’s more enjoyable elements is the slowly-engrossing build-up that has some nicely chilling and suspenseful work here. The way of getting onto the ship and the way they begin to disperse throughout finding the derelict remains left behind makes for some fun times as the eeriness of the situation and the ship itself creates some fine atmospheric touches. The situation being stuck in the war with the need for covertness and secrecy is a fine touch as well as the series of discoveries made involving the items and people onboard which keep this one chilling.
The other element that works here is the strong second half where all the action here comes from. Realizing that the strange events have been responsible from a vampire stowed away in the cargo hold to be transported back to Germany, this one really picks up the action as the loose creatures start attacking and knocking off their numbers while inflating their own bringing the sleeping coven back to life. With their devilish appearance, brutal killing methods and an impressive tactic where they feel pain whenever one of theirs is killed or injured to make for a lot to like here.
This one does have a few minor drawbacks. One of the biggest issues is the fact that the beginning is incredibly slow-going and doesn’t have much going on here. The group would not be in the middle of the ocean as long as they are and still be sniping and fighting with each other, as this seems wholly unrealistic and designed to instill a sense of distrust in them for later. Those are just as problematic with scenes seemingly out-of-context for this distrust angle which is unusual and feels like nothing but cliches to drive this along where no one trusts each other only to make for an unappealing start to things.
The other issue here is that brought up due to the sluggish first half, things take way too long before they get interesting and the vampires are loose. It’s almost an hour into this before the coffins are found and they’re fully discovered as the culprits all along, they seem to come out of nowhere with the first hour preparing this to be about a haunted vessel rather than a demonic vampire clan as their true threat. With that slow-going build-up in place here, it can come off rather dull in addition to all the unrealistic group dynamics for a tough beginning and it’s real flaws to hold it down.
Overview: ***.5/5
Filled with some highly enjoyable elements but also with some pretty big flaws, this is still fun if problematic vampire entry that is highly watchable provided those issues aren’t that detrimental. Those that are intrigued by vampire films or period pieces will be the most impressed here as well as those looking for a solid and well-made creature feature, while viewers turned off by those factors will be less entertained.
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