इनोसेंट ब्लड

I'm not really into the vampire movie thing, but this film is not serious and does not take itself seriously. That said one must bear in mind that there is an incredible amount of bloodletting, so if gore isn't your cup of tea I'd recommend you miss this one (unless of course you're a Parillaud, LaPaglia or Loggia fan in which case ignore my preamble, they are all great!!)I thought the film at 112 minutes was a little too long and at times lost pace; but if you like blood, sex and nudity than that shouldn't be a problem. I think John Landis made this film specifically to entertain and amuse his director chums including Sam Raimi who has a cameo part. The use of Dracula and Hitchcock films screened on as many televisions as possible throughout the movie is a witty touch. I particularly liked the blood swirling down the shower drain in the style of "Psycho" as vampire Marie sluices off after her latest kill. The photography is in many scenes quite unexpectedly lovely. For example the sex scene in the motel is strangely beautiful, gentle and tasteful in the middle of this bloodbath of a movie, and came as a pleasant surprise; as does in general the photography of the snowy Pittsburgh streets. Naturally the film is an utter load of tosh, but there are some great one-liners in there. And Parillaud and LaPaglia make a very sexy duo.

See this movie just for the performances. Anne Parillaud gives one of the most sensual performances I've ever seen, no kidding, and her script is a work of genius. No red-blooded male will regret watching the movie for that alone. The gangsters are caricatures of course, but really good ones, Robert Loggia is pure entertainment, very similar to the main baddie from Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (for a recent comparison). Always classic Don Rickles is outstanding. In fact all the baddies here are brilliant. Also see Rocco Sisto from the Sopranos, among others. Angela Bassett from Gotham I think. I loved Elaine Kagan as well. The whole thing reminded me, of all things, the first Ghostbusters. I'm beginning to notice the style of big movies is often similar in the period 1980 to 1995. The whacky plot is straight out of a junior high school notebook pad, and kudos to Warner Bros for being brave enough to produce it. There is one scene that features effects as the lead is making love. Wow. That was classic. Brilliant ending. The whole thing is a corny, cringe-worthy, smiling, ridiculous, over-the-top, Bat-crazy jumble of silly effects, stunts, revolvers, comedy one-liners and absurd horror, and has my undying congratulations!

The movie had some little funny quips early on. It only got better. It was the humor that made this move. It also had some interesting twists on the usual vampire story.

Glossy horror / comedy about sexy vampire Marie (Anne Parillaud) who only kills those that should be dead. While feeding on a local mobster (Robert Loggia) she is disrupted and forced to leave before she can finish him off. He returns to life and sets up shop turning the members of his criminal family into vampires. Adding to Marie's problems is her relationship with a police officer (Anthony La Paglia) out to nab Loggia. Loggia is terrific in a dynamic performance. He steals the whole show. Parillaud has some rather sexy moments. And the film does a good job of balancing the comedy and horror.

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

John Landis is not the type of director who goes for any deeper meaning in his films outside of the occasional well-staged car chase in heavy traffic; however, this time, working with Michael Wolk's first-rate screenplay, he excels in narrative as well as in visual form. An undercover cop in Pittsburgh, posing as a thief for the Mob, becomes attracted to the scintillating French woman who is hellbent on killing kingpin Robert Loggia (seems she's a bloodsucker by night--and forgot to "finish the food" the evening she put the bite on Loggia's Sal the Shark!). Not terribly bright, but full of puckish black humor and one exciting, masterfully staged sequence after another. And when things calm down a bit, as with the motel sequence between hot twosome Anne Parillaud and Anthony LaPaglia, Landis is adept at smoothly changing the movie's rhythm. It's an impressive, gory, foul-mouthed, yet adrenalized and satirical piece of work, Landis' best. *** from ****