BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE
Directed by Chris Nahon
Produced by Bill Kong & Abel Nahmias
Written by Chris Chow, based on the Production I.G. anime film
Released by Samuel Goldwyn Films
Hong Kong/Japan/France/Argentina. 89 min. Rated R
With Gianna, Allison Miller, Liam Cunningham, J J Feild, Koyuki & Yasuaki Kurata
 

A sexy teenage girl has a secret. When she’s not undercover enduring the taunts of her high-school classmates, she uses her superhuman abilities to kill vampires and other not-of-our-world demons for a shadowy group called the Council.

If the premise sounds more than a little bit Buffy-ish, it’s not just you. But Blood: The Last Vampire draws inspiration from many other sources as well. It’s Buffy dressed like the anime character Sailor Moon, with flashbacks and swordplay from every Kung fu film ever made, a hint of Highlander, and the family relations of Star Wars (no, that’s not a spoiler, it’s obvious from the outset). In case these references didn’t clue you in, the film is a modern B movie complete with scenery chewing acting, surplus army materials, ham-handed allegory, cheesy special effects, and a general lack of coherence.

It's set in 1970 as America launches air strikes against North Vietnam from Japanese airbases, one of which has been infiltrated by demons for reasons that are never really articulated. Saya (our heroine, whose name even sounds like “slayer” when spoken) goes undercover as a transfer student to rid the base of baddies as she seeks revenge against the monstrous Onigen (Koyuki). The film moves briskly from one set piece to another with more joy than logic, with lots of violence, gymnastic swordplay, and girl-on-monster action, and that’s perfectly fine. The film is completely enjoyable without being at any point convincing or coherent.

Director Chris Nahon draws much visual inspiration from manga and anime (which makes sense as the film is based on an anime film). The film is shot quite attractively and is often beautiful to look at. Quick cuts and cheap computer-generated imagery, however, undermine some impressive stunt and wire work and diffuses the tension, but I suppose they are this generation’s mark of cut corners. The worst offender is a demon who seems to be a pixelated cross between Panthro from TV’s ThunderCats and a devil dog from Ghostbusters.

A lot in Blood feels like a sequel, offering shorthand rather than background or explanation. For instance, the only clue to the film’s titular vampire is a character drinking red liquid out of a jar in a paper bag. There’s no bloodsucking, no long teeth, no turning into the undead, no stakes through the heart. Nor is there explanation for the Council or how Saya (Gianna) became associated with them, or why the demons set up shop at the airbase. The director’s omission of all that exposition offers more time for sword swinging action, but leaves the viewer playing catch-up throughout the film. Douglas Yellin
July 10, 2009