Director: Ryan Coogler
Year: 2025
Country: USA/Australia/Canada
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
Returning home from a trip abroad, twin brothers try to go about their old ways involving shady business tactics to go legit by using the community to help out, but when the establishment is crashed by vampires looking to use it as their home, they must try to use their skills to stop them.
Review:
This was a generally phenomenal genre effort with a lot to like about it. Among the best qualities of this one comes from the sense of community that develops as it brings about a definitively twisted storyline that emerges over time. The first half, exploring the relationship between the brothers and the rest of their community as we see them try to use their old tactics to secure enough supplies and materials to make a go at a legitimate establishment for their kind, brings about a generally solid and likable starting point for what’s going on. By expressing it in this manner, notably following up on gangster-drama formulas about how they go about bargaining with others or intimidating them into submission so they can bring their plan to fruition, so that by the time the jupe establishment is created, we’ve already spent a lot of time with them and the rest of the community to the point where we know how much it means to them to get the whole process going.
This early work establishing the importance of community and the lifestyle they lead means that, when it comes to the actual operation of their blues joint. The power of the performances here makes for a startling impression, not just with the performances on display being exciting and thrilling, but also the symbolic nature of how it transforms the building itself into a raging inferno as the playing literally burns the roof off of the structure while everyone else dances around the smoldering ashes in jubilation. The rest of the time here is spent on the group trying to get the establishment up and running which includes a series of impressive elements ranging from the usual troubles of operating this type of feature from rowdy customers, insufficient supplies, and getting their own desires met so this section of the film manages to maintain a lively energy while setting up the rest of the film.
That comes into play when the vampires are revealed to be haunting the area and targeting the joint for how they’re holding the attention of the community, so that they’re racist viewpoint can come to the forefront even more. That allows this one to become immensely effective with the series of interactions present that focus on the creatures in the lodge attacking others and turning them, or slaughtering the dissenters, trying to fill their ranks with extra bodies as the various tools of general vampire lore come into play during the situations. From the inability to enter a domicile without being invited, the aversion to garlic, and the avoidance of daylight, make great appearances here in the different encounters as the group tries to survive the night against the creatures outside trying to get inside. Being that it all leads to the fantastic finale, where the big battle to stop their plan involves plenty of action and some great gore, there are some great elements within here.
There weren’t too many drawbacks on display to hold it down. The main issue with this one is the egregiously overlong running time that comes about as a result of way too much going on before anything starts going on. The crime-drama first half to this one involves the brothers going around the community, gathering supplies, and preparing for the opening of the entertainment venue that takes far more precedence over the overt vampire action that comes about, so the change in tone and structure can be somewhat jarring. As well, there’s also the issue with this one being far too preoccupied with sexual banter and dialogue than it should, oftentimes being somewhat put off by the content due to the anachronistic behavior exhibited, but also because of the bizarre sense of stupidity that exists for characters who are oftentimes far too smart to usually get distracted by this kind of content. These aren’t that detrimental, but they do hold it back somewhat.
Overview: ****.5/5
An impressive and highly enjoyable genre effort, this one manages so much to like that there’s little in the way of holding it back from being one of the higher-rated genre entries overall. Those with an interest in this kind of mainstream-friendly studio gloss, are curious about it, or who are fans of the creative crew, while only those turned off by these factors should heed caution.
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