Jóvenes nocturnos

In the quiet town of Allburg, USA, Lucy Barret (Ami Dolenz) and her grandmother Hillary Barret (Shirley Spiegler Jacobs) welcome Lucy's friend Cindy Thompson (Maya McLaughlin), who lives with her mother Karen Thompson (Karen Black) in River Junction and will spend a couple of days with Lucy. Cindy invites Lucy to go to swim in the crypt of the church on the Cherry Street, in River Junction, in a weird ritual. When the teenagers are swimming, an evil creature is revived and attacks Cindy.

Later, in River Junction, Father Frank Alden (Evan MacKenzie) summons his friend and school teacher Mark Gardner (Peter DeLuise) and shows Cindy and Karen locked in a room turned into vampires. Father Alden asks Mark to travel to Allburg to find the source of vampirism.

Mark arrives late night at Hillary's house and he finds that Lucy is trapped in her room since her grandmother has also turned into a vampire. Soon Mark and Lucy learn that the locals of Allburg has turned into vampires by the ancient vampire Czakyr, who is thirsty of the virgin blood of Lucy, and the only chance to save the dwellers is destroying the powerful vampire.

"Children of the Night" is a funny vampire movie, with a weird story that combines horror and comedy and released in Brazil only on VHS. The result is uneven but entertains in many moments with funny situations. Who in the hell would bath in a crypt with corpses like the two teenagers do in the beginning of the story? And the grandma removing her denture and showing rotten vampire canines? I could list many bizarre and hilarious situations but better off watching this flick. I saw for the first time on 15 November 2000 and today I decided to watch it again. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Crianças da Noite" ("Children of the Night")

Note: On 17 December 2021, I saw this film again.

Children of the Night (1991) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows two young women excited about their bright future and leaving their small town. Before departing, they take one last swim in their local creek, but when a necklace falls to the creek bed, it awakens undead vampires. The creatures rise, wreak havoc on the town, and go on a deadly rampage. Can those responsible for their return find a way to put them back to rest?

This film is directed by Tony Randel (Ticks) and stars Karen Black (House of 1,000 Corpses), Garrett Morris (Cooley High), Peter DeLuise (21 Jump Street), Ami Dolenz (Can't Buy Me Love), and Maya McLaughlin (Never Been Kissed).

Watching this was a mixed experience. The settings, backdrops, and lighting were solid, creating an atmospheric feel. At times, the horror elements, visuals, and storyline even reminded me of Nightbreed. The special effects, kills, and gore stood out in several scenes. However, the storyline felt contrived, and the acting and dialogue were inconsistent and often frustrating. The comedic elements were corny and fell flat, detracting from the overall tone.

In conclusion, Children of the Night had the potential to be a strong addition to the horror genre with its promising elements, but weak writing and uneven performances hold it back. I would score this a 5.5/10.

Two young women go swimming in a flooded church (a neat setting, though it recalls Argento's Inferno). The cross necklace one of them wears sinks to the bottom, somehow reviving a vampire. The vampire is in some sort of hibernation, a state in which its lungs and esophagus are outside of its body! Sometime later, a schoolteacher visits a priest friend who has a vampire captive. It, too, keeps its lungs outside its body. The teacher doesn't want to believe in vampires, but as he tries to help other people finds they are very real.

Most of the acting in this film is very, very bad. Perhaps it's intentionally campy, I don't know. However, I did like the flooded church, the weird vampiric hibernation, and a post-feeding scene where a vampire shoots some sort of cocoon out of its mouth that envelopes its body.

Not really recommended, but vampire fans might enjoy some of the original effects.

A man helps a teenage girl who claims she just escaped from the clutches of her grandmother who was holding her hostage at her own house. Believing the young girl, he tries to help her out, but soon realizes that just about all of the town's citizens are vampires and that the love of his life (Karen Black) is a vampire as well.

Salem's Lot clone still manages to be original and entertaining. The cast turns in performances that surpass expectations, and the effects are rather creative. Atmospheric, funny, and exciting film is highly underrated and definaitely worth a look.

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

Trust me when I say that I have seen much worse horror films than this one. This film is not too bad and director Tony Randel is getting better all the time. This movie was produced by the horror movie magazine Fangoria. I've read Fangoria for 17 years and you would think that they would come up with something better than this movie. Oh well, maybe they'll make a better one next time. Not a total waste of time however, if you're a horror fan.