In the remains of post-apocalyptic Earth, the small pocket of human’s that remain eke out a humble existence… but their lives are subject to static of the fang-bang variety as groups of viscous vamps feed off them with wickedly wild abandon.
Enter: John Shepard (Costas Mandylor, the Saw franchise, and that rad live-action Fist of the North Star adaptation from the mid-’90s… which desperately needs a special edition release… but that’s another story), a crossbow wielding bad-ass with a bit of a secret who strides this Neo-Wild West with leather-clad purpose… namely the desire to pull a stake n’ bake on the Vampire Master (screen heavy par excellence Robert LaSardo) along with his paranormal paramour, the Vampire Queen (American Pie’s Tara Reid).
Slowly John acquires a rag-tag group of companions to aid him on his quest… but will their combined might and Shepard’s grim determination be enough to eliminate those demonic vein-drainers and bring piece to a shattered planet?!
There’s a lot to dig on with Bloodthirst, the latest release from Mahal Empire (Party Bus to Hell, Bridge of the Damned) in conjunction with Lionsgate… for starters the story by long-time genre filmmaker Massimiliano Cerchi along with a screenplay by Adrian Milnes is a cool blending of vamp pic and Spaghetti Western and the keen visual sense of director Michael Su keeps things looking suitably stylish and blood-drenched in equal measure.
The film it looks freaking fantastic as well, with characters that are like living Tim Bradstreet illustrations (in particular his work with RPG Vampire: The Masquerade)… all dirt-dusted leather and fangs with a steampunk meets western flick vibe that is just plain fun as fuck to look at.
Of course, good-looking characters are only part of the appeal, but thankfully the actors in those ghoulish get-ups are more than up to the task at hand with Mandylor playing the no-bullshit, “Man With No Name”-style hero who walks Revenge Road to absolute perfection, while his opposite numbers LaSardo and Reid are fang-tastic (I apologize for nothing… nothing!) are pure horror comic-book villain awesomeness that contribute immensely to the enjoyment of the piece!
The supporting cast is great too with solid turns from Rich R. Rendon, Johnny Huang, and Bishop Stevens leading the way as Shepard’s biker compatriot Rico, a newly elected sherrif in over his head, and an anti-vampire militia leader respectively.
Also of note are the excellent practical effects and make-ups that thankfully eschew CG nonsense for in front of camera with a weight and visceral quality unable to be matched digitally.
As far as special features present here, we only get the film’s trailer, so the fright flick has to speak for itself…
Bottom line, Bloodthirst is a freakishly fun, vampire-laden western that is comic book cool drenched in that ol’ red sauce we horror hounds crave… and that’s a gruesome good time indeed!
