Warner. Director John Landis; Producer Lee Rich, Leslie Belzberg; Screenplay Michael Wolk; Camera Mac Ahlberg; Editor Dale Beldin; Music Ira Newborn; Art Director Richard Sawyer
Anne Parillaud
Robert Loggia
Anthony LaPaglia
David Proval
Don Rickles
Chazz Palminteri
Teens and genre fans should eat up John Landis' latest mix of horror and camp comedy. They will 'ooh' at the various gross-out scenes and nifty special effects, 'aah' at the film's sensuality and Anne Parillaud's easy nudity, and savor the numerous in-jokes and horror references, from cameos by other goremeister directors to clips from various late-show staples.
Using a set-up (by first-time screenwriter Michael Wolk) that can best be described as Fright Night meets Landis' The Blues Brothers, the director also benefits from a toothy performance by Robert Loggia as a mob boss who, endowed with vampiric powers by the mysterious Marie (Parillaud), goes on a rampage.
Marie ends up dining on several of Loggia's henchmen as well. She normally kills her 'food' after draining it but doesn't get the chance in Loggia's case, forcing her to team up with a cop (Anthony LaPaglia) to stop him.
Making her US film debut, Parillaud (Nikita) struggles a bit with enunciation and a quickly abandoned voiceover narration but nonetheless has charisma to spare, oozing sexuality, playfulness and menace all at once. LaPaglia is likable and properly confused as the cop, while much of the rest of the cast provide a convincing gallery of Godfather rejects.
Cameos include sci-fi/horror guru Forrest J. Ackerman, directors Frank Oz, Sam Raimi, Tom Savini and Michael Ritchie, plus Don Rickles as the mob boss's lawyer. Tech credits are top-notch.
(Color) Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1992. Running time: 113 MIN.
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