Suck

mmmmmmmmk. I do love a good surprise and this film doesn't disappoint. Keep in mind I'm not into all the goth, vampire, teen-angst-I-hate-my- parents-and-desperately-need-attention-from-anyone scene, but this film entertains throughout. It's well thought out and continues to flow throughout with plenty of amusing tidbits and darker yet somehow still light-hearted moments which will make just about anyone lolz. I particularly enjoyed the direction and choice of cast here. Everyone seemed to fit into their roles brilliantly, including all of the famous rock n rollers from days of yore. Nice to see everyone is working and keeping their sense of humor as opposed to overdosing and kicking off way too early.

There are a lot of fun visuals going on in this movie which take the viewer on a journey deep into the minds of the characters, but pulling back just at the right time to make way for some genuinely humorous moments. The direction ranges anywhere from B to A at any given moment and transitions nicely between the two. Thankfully the B moments retain some brilliance as well saving them from being misguided and flat.

For someone who isn't that into this particular kind of music, I somehow managed to find my way through the audio tracks and ended up actually liking a few in the end. They are believable, at times heart-felt and yet hilarious when called for. This Is Your Brain On Drugs was particularly entertaining :)

I must say that Alex Lifeson is evolving into quite the actor! I've thoroughly enjoyed his stuff on the most recent RUSH dvds and it just keeps getting better and better. His scenes in this movie had me in tears laughing :)

I highly recommend this film to anyone who is into the whole vampire meets rock n roll thing with a twist of funny.

For those not into the Twilight genre of pretend vampire movies, this is an interesting film from Canada.

The band sucks, and so does someone else. The second sucking will cure the first.

Rock legends Alice Cooper, Moby, and Iggy Pop contribute to the fun, which also includes cartoon scenes interspersed throughout.

And, what would be a vampire movie without Van Helsing. Malcolm McDowell fills that role splendidly.

More yucks than gore. So, it is really a very soft R, almost a PG-13. Put drugs in a film and it overrides everything else.

I'll skip the review of the regular stuff and jump right to what makes this movie unique. First off, we get a parade of cameos from legendary alt-rockers We have Alice Cooper as the headmaster vampire (not far from his real life persona), Iggy Pop as a hopelessly old school studio engineer, Henry Rollins as a hilarious loud mouthed DJ, Alex Lifeson (guitarist extraordinaire for Rush) as a creepy border crossing guard, Carole Pope (80s punk icon) as a club bouncer, Moby as an arrogant rival band singer, and who knows, probably a few more I missed.

"Suck" relies on these cameos to give the audience a little wink. So if you're unfamiliar with these people, you might miss out. It's never too late to look them up on youtube though. There are other little inside jokes too; for example, there are a number of visual homages to famous album covers (if nothing else, you'll recognize Abbey Road). Digging deeper, there are funny ironies such as Moby playing a character named "Beef" whose gimmick is to play with raw meat on stage. In real life, Moby is a strict vegan... and it's hilariously obvious that the "raw meat" is nothing more than some strips of rubber with red food dye.

A lot of this stuff comes at you fast, and even the most hardcore fans will probably miss a few gags. So don't worry if you have to watch the movie multiple times.

OK, all that aside, the story itself is pretty basic but with an interesting metaphorical spin to it. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's not a movie about vampires as much as it's about the vices of success... whether we're talking about drugs, glamour, or "selling out". How far will a struggling musician go to win fame? And at what cost? That's basically the only serious part of the film, and the rest is totally tongue-in-cheek. Don't expect realism. In its place expect absurdist humor (such as the fact that nobody gets caught for murdering people in the open, or live on national radio). Again, this may be a metaphor for the fact that many famous musicians never got caught for their extravagant drug habits even though they flaunted it in public. With that in mind, "Suck" becomes a biting satire of not just the fame-seeking rock stars, but also of the mindless fans who will condone and glorify anything.

I saved one of the best performances for last. Malcom McDowell plays an ominous character with a fetish for flashlights. He brings his usual larger-than-life presence to the screen but with a nice comedic air. Check out the outtakes on the DVD and you'll see that he had a great time playing the part.

Even if you have no idea who some of these famous cult musicians are, you'll still find the movie entertaining, funny & interesting from start to finish. Similar films include the Australian flick "Garage Days" by Alex Proyas, "Thunderstruck" (about a bunch of AC/DC obsessed fans), and on the more serious side, "Sympathy for Delicious" which tells a great rock'n'roll metaphor.

But like I said up front, this film's power lies in its ability to connect with "cult audiences" using cameo appearances to create quirky characters. In that respect I'd compare it to "Coffee and Cigarettes" by Jim Jarmusch (featuring Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, The White Stripes, etc). If you recognize at least 50% of the people I've mentioned, then don't hesitate to see this flick.

That's what the director (and lead actor) was afraid of in the question and answer session after the theater showing at Montreal Fantasia Festival. What if his movie called "Suck" sucked ? Well it doesn't but it's not that great either. I'm not quite sure it's an humorous alternative for Twilight fans either (or people sick of it) as they're two very different beasts. Suck is a rock horror comedy with vampires. The only female of an unsuccessful band gets turned into a vampire and the band then starts gaining success because of her very charismatic presence. We see the band travelling from city to city, trying to deal with their changed band mate while being tempted themselves by the dark side.

Jessica Paré, the actress playing the female band member, is mesmerizing to look at with her white skin, pale blue eyes and red lips. One could understand the fascination she would create. The other highlight of this film are the roles played by famous musicians such as Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop. They're a bit longer and juicier than cameos but although they play well, they basically play themselves and nothing particularly challenging (except for Moby, a pacifist vegan in a surprising performance). I admit the crowd reacted very well to the film but a Fantasia crowd is quite generous with this kind of genre film, especially a Canadian one. I personally found it sometimes amusing but not hilarious except for a few bits (one of them being a visit to a convenience store).

Suck's writing did not impress me as it often felt too easy or cliché. The low-budget production had a Canadian and straight-to-DVD flavor to it. From a technical standpoint, it was quite bland with too many cuts from one head to another in dialogue scenes often making it feel as if the two actors were not even in the same place. The spinning vampire and the crossroads showed a bit more inspiration. The several musical numbers felt as if they were there to pad the thin story. To be fair, the original songs were rather good but it sometimes made this comedy skirt too close to the musical genre, something I'm personally allergic to unless Tim Burton is somewhat involved. I think "Suck" would be a decent rental provided you have a few friends to watch it with interested in the subject material and/or knowing the (in)famous guest stars. I think young Twilight fans, perhaps sucked into renting it because of vampires, might be disappointed because the vampires are lame (they have powers but not really shown) and the little romance there is kinda sucks as either serious or parody.

Rating : 6 out of 10 (good)

After ten years on the road without success, rock band The Winners are on the verge of splitting up. Their luck changes, however, after Jennifer (Jessica Paré), the band's sexy female vocalist, falls victim to a vampire and becomes a member of the undead, drawing in the crowds with her supernatural stage presence. Pretty soon, the other members of the band are joining the ranks of the undead in their bid for fame and fortune.

It's a brave move to call your movie Suck, such a title inviting the obvious derogatory comment from those who don't quite appreciate your vision. Thankfully, Rob Stefaniuk's offbeat musical vampire road movie should avoid such harsh criticism from the majority of viewers: although it doesn't quite achieve the cult brilliance it so clearly strives for and some of the comedy falls flat, the fun cast (which includes rock stars Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins and Moby) and some surprisingly good songs make this moderately entertaining for the duration.