Innocent Blood

I've always found this a "guilty pleasure," an extremely entertaining profane-gross-funny film about a female vampire who likes "Italian food," meaning she likes to kill members of the Mafia!!

I am a bit partial in favor of this movie, anyway, because I am fan of Anne Parillaud. She starred in two of my favorite films: Map Of The Human Heart and Frankie Starlight. To me, she's always great to look at listen to, especially with a comedy here. This is about as good as she's ever looked. I also enjoyed her narration. Also, with director John Landis, you almost always get a very entertaining movie.

The special effects in here are fun to watch and the general off-the-wall humor is great. If you appreciate dark humor, you'll like this movie. The filmmakers also did not go overlong on the action scenes. The film is almost a put-on about vampire movies.

The negatives are too much profanity, too much for a comedy. It sometimes gets ridiculous. Robert Loggia plays most of the profane characters I've ever heard on film, yet is very funny at times. The gore is overdone in parts, too, but nowadays - even watching television (i.e. CSI) - we're used to that now. My other complaint is why this DVD is not on widescreen. Why is it only offered in pan-and-scan?

If you don't mind blood, guts and foul language, this is a hilarious film.

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.

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 ****

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!

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.