Almas Sombrias

Well, the short version is the vampiric version of Romero's "Night of the Living Dead". The spreading infection. The group of dysfunctional family members. The house under siege (granted from within instead of from without). Add a solid dollop of Edward Albee's "American Dream" crossed with Lynch's "Eraserhead" and you MIGHT get the idea. It is gorilla film-making. Have no doubt about that. Overall, I still can't decide if I liked it or not. There is no adherence to mythology (in any universe I've seen vampire films from) so you kind of have to suspend disbelief over a deep pit of boiling lye. But, if you can, you might find it interesting. And, even if you can't, it has a certain "Train Wreck" like charm.

A callous slumlord brings a vampiric infection home to his dysfunctional suburban family on the same night that some of his tenants show up to teach him a lesson. Much bloodshed ensues. When someone asks me to a recommend a genuinely entertaining low budget, straight-to-video gore fest, this is one of the few that gets the nod. Director Desi Scarpone and writer David Birke manage to deliver some genuine humor and chills in this film. It is energetic, nervy, and often gratuitous – in both gore and nudity. The father is a fun character who revels in his corruption and evil. He's one of the few memorable characters I've seen in a recent DV horror film. Is this film for all tastes? No. Is it a shining example of film-making? No. Is it always coherent? No. But let's face it, if you're reading this review, you must already be a fan of bad horror films. You could certainly do worse than this.

Okay, this isn't the greatest vampire film ever made, but it does have something. Though the early part of the story seemed very unfocused, it did draw all the strings together to create a film that was satisfying, one whose characters did interest me. What I found most refreshing was that the people were people I could relate to--a middle class family and kids who loiter on street corners. The story wasn't typically clichéd, leaving me waiting eagerly to see what happened next. I also liked how free will and self-control emerge as the film's message. I'd almost suspect that this film inspired the new television Moonlight series.

'Dark Town' rides that dangerous line between worlds. Almost a fun gore flick and almost a cheap piece of crap. How much you enjoy it depends on how demanding a viewer you are.

A group of gangsters get caught up in a vampire out break when they attempt to rob a suburban home. It seems the father of the house has (for reasons barely explained) contracted vampirism and has decided to infect his family. Much blood letting ensues.

First the good: as already stated there is oodles of blood spilt. All kinds of vampire biting, feasting (almost like a zombie movie really) and other assorted human dismemberment are on display. Hearts are torn out, heads are lopped off, people are stabbed, shot, one woman even takes a broken bottle are carves up her bare chest. Which brings up the films other saving grace; an abundance of bared flesh. I am actually surprised the film got away with an R-rating. In summation, the film is watchable thanks to much fan service.

Now the bad: it is extremely low budget and not very well made. The locations and lighting either look bad or don't match. The script starts nowhere and ends nowhere, the acting is more like un-acting, and the director shows only limited flare for unique techniques. In short, it's technically defunct.

Gore hounds will be able to enjoy themselves, but expecting quality or uniqueness will only leave you disappointed.

5/10

I have seen plenty of vampire movies in my day. And this one goes from bad to worst. The acting is horrible with all of the performances reminiscent of a bunch of five year olds during a Christmas pageant. The plot line makes no sense offering no explanation for why any of this is happening and showing us that there is no consequence for evil taking over a neighborhood. I kept waiting for there to be some redeeming quality to this movie. Something to make it seem like I didn't waste an hour and thirty minutes of my time. Alas, even lesbian sex could not pull this one out of the gutter.

Maybe this is meant to be a parody. In which case...it still sucked (no pun intended). So do yourself a favor, if you see Dark Town at the video store, don't rent it. If it comes on cable, don't watch it. We have to send a message to these people that bad movies will not be tolerated.