The Forsaken - Die Nacht ist gierig

The Forsaken opened here (the UK) yesterday with very little fanfare or publicity. Not being a big vampire movie fan, I went to see the film more out of curiosity than anything else. I was pleasantly surprised. The picture, written and directed by J S Cardone, attempts to drag the vampire film kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century. Of course, this in itself is nothing new. Over the past few years we have endured a number of films that mix the standard bloodsucking fare with the more modern way of life, so much so the collective movies have spawned their own sub-genre. Cardone's film stands out, though. More subtle than 'From Dusk Till Dawn' and a hell of a lot more convincing than last year's 'Dracula 2000', The Forsaken unfolds with a po-faced seriousness often lacking in the modern horror film. So much so that Cardone's film emerges as a dirty, dark, grubby little feature which mercifully eschews ironic, post-modern banter and throw-away comedy lines in favor of a sustained and bleak atmosphere. The film has many strong points. Despite both leading men coming from successful teen-oriantated television shows (Kerr Smith from 'Dawson's Creek' and Brendan Fehr from 'Roswell'), The Forsaken never feels like a teen horror movie. It is rough and unpolished, dark and mean.The cast are solid. Smith makes for a sympathetic hero and Fehr convinces as a man with a mission. Schaech steals the picture, though, as the head honcho. Looking a lot older than I suspect he actually is, complete with a grey wisp in his hair, Schaech wanders through the film with an air of quiet menace that serves the picture well. His jagged, sculptured face tells a thousand stories and he restrains himself from overplaying. One interesting fact about the movie is that, as far as I am aware, there are no shots of glaring fangs in the movie, no sharp teeth. The only 'vampirism' I can recall seeing were Schaech's elongated finger nails. Fresh.

Of course the film is not perfect. It is littered with sudden outbursts of loud, obnoxious songs obviously placed to market the soundtrack album. Which is a shame, because the score, when heard, is really rather good. Schaech is under-used, and the gimmick editing employed to signify his murderous rampaging is confusing and redundant. The film will not be to everyone's taste. Too off-the-beaten-track for mainstream audiences and not enough splatter for the gore-hounds, the film is left stuck somewhere in between. The film also contains a number of misjudged scenes that border on being needlessly nasty and vile. The killing of a state trooper is particularly grim. But these are minor gripes.

The Forsaken is a good film that, I suspect, will be loved or loathed by anyone who takes the time to watch it. I loved it.

I just picked up this film while perusing the horror section at my local video store. The box states "...sexiest vampire movie since 'The Lost Boys'!".

The only things those two films have in common is that they're both aimed for a teen audience, both seem to have a 'token female', and both are rife with homoerotic subtext.

This film is, without a doubt, a 'B' movie. It is most definitely not the best vampire film I've ever seen, and it's not even the best 'B' vampire film I've seen. But if you go into it expecting a 'B' movie, you'll enjoy it. It's even better if you make fun of it a little, ala Mystery Science Theater 3000.

It wasn't a film I would buy, or even rent again. But as something to throw in on a cold, rainy night when I had nothing better to do? Enjoyable.

You know, sometimes you'll see a B-movie horror flick where the story really grabs you and you think, man, if they just had a better budget, cast, effects, this really could have been something. Then in turn you'll see a movie with a decent cast, director and money to spend, but its obvious the script was written two days before shooting began.

I'm sorry to say that the Forsaken is more of the latter and less of the former. For us boys, there's plenty of explosions, car chases, the odd bit of nudity, but the plot is so wafer thin it falls to pieces at the first breeze.

As a 'popcorn' 'no-brainer' of a movie it's pleasant enough, the cast perform well with what little they've been given, but for me personally the ending felt like it had been 'tacked on' in a rush. That and the fact the whole thing feels like a marketing ploy to earn a sequel spoiled it for me really. Still if you're at a loose end and you like your horror flicks might be worth a watch for Johnathon Schaech (Star turn in my opinion) as the head vampire. Just don't get your expectations up.

While most of the reviews were negative, this review is a positive one since I am a sucker (no pun intended) for vampire tales. THE FORSAKEN is a throwback to such 1980s classics as THE LOST BOYS, NEAR DARK, and THE HITCHER. While it's not nearly as good as those three flicks, it certainly is an interesting and occasionally intriguing picture. Unlike most teen horror films that have come out in the past five years, it is smart, original, and is actually scary at times. It's a fun horror movie that isn't perfect, yet still worth watching for its somewhat new take on the vampire tale. However, one can't help but get the feeling that THE FORSAKEN could have been so much more and it might have been had it not been heavily edited before its release due to the political climate at the time. Something tells me prior to being edited to death by the studio, THE FORSAKEN was something special. There are moments where one can see a better movie in the mix. Hopefully one day there will be a director's cut so audiences can see what J.S. Cardone originally intended the film to be like. I give it 5/10. It's not bad, though it's not great.

Young man (Kerr Smith) delievering a car to Florida picks up a hitchiker (Brandon Fehr) along the way who manages to get Smith mixed up and eventually bitten by a group of vampires.

Well casted horror film offers realistic performances, nice atmosphere, good editing, well chosen soundtrack, some interesting twists to vampire folklore, and one of the sexiest casts to appear in a horror film in quite some time.

Rated R; Graphic Violence, Nudity, Profanity, and Sexual Situations.