When this movie was released in Indonesia on Friday, I was a bit disappointed that it did not play in the cinema near our home. So I had to postpone it till Saturday when we already made a lot of plans including seeing another movie. Anyway I finally saw it yesterday and had another movie marathon with my wife. OK, I will get on to it then.

Brief Story Line

A group of criminals were hired by Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito - The Gentlemen TV series, Maze Runner: The Death Cure etc) to kidnap a young girl later on revealed to be Abigail (Alisha Weir - Matilda the Musical etc). The group were known by their aliases with its leader Frank (Dan Stevens - Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Legion TV series etc) and included Joey (Melissa Barrera - Scream VI, Tanto Amor telenovela etc), the sniper Rickles (Will Catlett - True Story mini series etc), the muscle Peter (Kevin Durand - Take Point, The Strain TV series etc), the hacker Sammy (Kathryn Newton - Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Detective Pikachu etc) and the driver Dean (Angus Cloud - Euphoria TV series etc). 

Unbeknownst to them, Abigail was actually the daughter of powerful crime boss in New York city. When they find out, the group had to ready themselves for what would come after them. However, they did not realize the danger was actually from the inside.

So how would the story conclude? You could find out in this movie.

End of Brief Story Line

I was already aware roughly on this movie's premise when I saw its trailer and reading the brief synopsis. Hence I was looking forward to the time when Abigail would turn into vampire. What I did not expect though was despite it took longer than expected for the turning, the characters were actually pretty interesting and made the wait not boring. It also started with a brief heist-like kidnapping process that was quite fun and continued to the intro of the main characters with a bit of humor. 

As a horror movie, the appeal was on the gruesome killing by the night creature. My wife and I noticed that the vampire appearance was different from the usual ones (you would see it clearly once you have seen the film). I read that it was done intentionally by the co-directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett whose credits included Ready or Not, Scream etc. With such experience, it was no surprise that this film was entertaining. It was also quite highly regarded by critics. Audience seemed to enjoy it as well, though its box office performance might not be as amazing as the producers might have hoped for. It's too bad considering this is one of the better ones available in theaters.

The cast were the ones that made this movie enjoyable. Their portrayal of their roles were quite convincing with Dan Stevens once again proved that he was able to play various kind of characters, and Kevin Durand who provided the comedic moments. Sadly Angus Cloud had passed away before the movie was released, making this as his final film appearance. There was a brief appreciation words after the final scene of the movie, but there was no mid or post end credit scene. And obviously the movie would not have been interesting without the awesome performance of Alisha Weir with her amazing swift changes in facial expressions.

The vampire killings were exactly what I had wished for, as they were brutal, violent and very quick. Special effects were fantastic making them looked realistic. Let's not forget the make up department who made the gore feel very strong and the sound department as the sound effects were greatly enhanced. I was satisfied with the sound system in the studio that we saw this, particularly during certain scenes including those jump scare which successfully surprised my wife. I also like the way the story developed as it made the film did not feel like just a straight forward vampire killing type but combination of several plots. It was certainly refreshing.

Overall this was a fun and interesting vampire movie with its unique story. It had enough violence that you would normally see in such films, with a bit of mockery on their distinct characteristics as referenced in other vampire series/movies/books. The humor also added the element of fun and the characters were nice to see too. So if you are interested in seeing a not so standard vampire movie, then I think you would enjoy this like my wife and I did. But if you are not the kind who like gruesome gore movies, then better avoid this.

Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars