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Vampires: Los Muertos
Columbia/Tri-Star // R // September 24, 2002
List Price: $24.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Derek Bliss (Jon Bon Jovi) is a hunter for hire, but you won't find him listed in the Yellow Pages. He's a vampire hunter, equipped with a veritable arsenal of wooden weapons designed to put the undead permanently at rest. Normally he works alone, but when a big contract comes up, he is forced to look afield for a team to take on the challenge of a truly dangerous master vampire who is afoot south of the border.
Written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, Vampires: Los Muertos follows up on John Carpenter's Vampires, itself nothing out of this world but at least possessed of some originality. In the sequel, we get a fairly run-of-the-mill adventure set in the same world as the first film; it runs over the same narrative territory and even including some of the same plot elements, and certainly doesn't offer anything new in either the vampire mythos or the overall storyline. But all the same, despite recognizing that most of it was unoriginal, I still found it to be a reasonably entertaining piece, and I don't regret having seen it.
The main distinction between Vampires: Los Muertos and its predecessor appears to be that the second film is set almost entirely in Mexico. Considering that vampires have traditionally been seen as a European monster, it's a welcome change of perspective. Of course, this perspective isn't developed at all in terms of the storyline, but at least it offers a different visual setting. We get a sense of a land of small villages and monasteries scattered around in the great openness of dry, sun-baked plains, with the adobe architecture of the modern buildings contrasting with the stone of the pre-Columbian ruins underneath and around them. In one nice touch, the final showdown takes place on "el día de los muertos," the Mexican "day of the dead," which celebrates both death and life.
Vampires: Los Muertos doesn't have any outstanding merits, but neither does it have any outstanding flaws, which means that it ends up being a reasonably entertaining hour and a half. Though the plot at times doesn't bear too close an examination, the film is decently acted, with Bon Jovi believable as the protagonist and the remainder of the cast turning in acceptable performances in their assorted variations on the "hero's sidekick" role. In short, Vampires: Los Muertos is the kind of movie that's fun to watch if you're willing to kick back and let the primal reptile part of your brain enjoy the show without letting the analytic neo-cortex analyze it.
Video
Vampires: Los Muertos has been treated handsomely in its DVD transfer. The anamorphic widescreen image is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and it looks great. The print is very clean, with no noise and minimal edge enhancement. Colors are well-saturated and attractive, with many pleasing variations on gold and red tones of sunlight, fire, and the dusty Mexican landscape. For a movie about vampires, there are actually fairly few scenes that take place in the dark, but those that do, show good contrast as well.
Audio
The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack provides an immersive audio experience from the very beginning, with both music and environmental effects being supplied to the rear as well as the front channels when appropriate. All the dialogue is clear, and the various elements of the soundtrack are properly balanced to create a harmonious whole.
Extras
The main special feature on the disc is an audio commentary from director Tommy Lee Wallace. The disc also includes trailers for Vampires: Los Muertos, John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars, and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Last (but also least), there's a pan-and-scan version of the film included.
Final thoughts
I wouldn't recommend it as a blind buy, but Vampires: Los Muertos would make for a reasonably entertaining rental if you're in the mood for a fun, not too demanding action/horror movie. The excellent video and audio quality of the DVD means that viewers who already know that they enjoy the film shouldn't hesitate to pick up a copy.
Written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, Vampires: Los Muertos follows up on John Carpenter's Vampires, itself nothing out of this world but at least possessed of some originality. In the sequel, we get a fairly run-of-the-mill adventure set in the same world as the first film; it runs over the same narrative territory and even including some of the same plot elements, and certainly doesn't offer anything new in either the vampire mythos or the overall storyline. But all the same, despite recognizing that most of it was unoriginal, I still found it to be a reasonably entertaining piece, and I don't regret having seen it.
The main distinction between Vampires: Los Muertos and its predecessor appears to be that the second film is set almost entirely in Mexico. Considering that vampires have traditionally been seen as a European monster, it's a welcome change of perspective. Of course, this perspective isn't developed at all in terms of the storyline, but at least it offers a different visual setting. We get a sense of a land of small villages and monasteries scattered around in the great openness of dry, sun-baked plains, with the adobe architecture of the modern buildings contrasting with the stone of the pre-Columbian ruins underneath and around them. In one nice touch, the final showdown takes place on "el día de los muertos," the Mexican "day of the dead," which celebrates both death and life.
Vampires: Los Muertos doesn't have any outstanding merits, but neither does it have any outstanding flaws, which means that it ends up being a reasonably entertaining hour and a half. Though the plot at times doesn't bear too close an examination, the film is decently acted, with Bon Jovi believable as the protagonist and the remainder of the cast turning in acceptable performances in their assorted variations on the "hero's sidekick" role. In short, Vampires: Los Muertos is the kind of movie that's fun to watch if you're willing to kick back and let the primal reptile part of your brain enjoy the show without letting the analytic neo-cortex analyze it.
Video
Vampires: Los Muertos has been treated handsomely in its DVD transfer. The anamorphic widescreen image is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and it looks great. The print is very clean, with no noise and minimal edge enhancement. Colors are well-saturated and attractive, with many pleasing variations on gold and red tones of sunlight, fire, and the dusty Mexican landscape. For a movie about vampires, there are actually fairly few scenes that take place in the dark, but those that do, show good contrast as well.
Audio
The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack provides an immersive audio experience from the very beginning, with both music and environmental effects being supplied to the rear as well as the front channels when appropriate. All the dialogue is clear, and the various elements of the soundtrack are properly balanced to create a harmonious whole.
Extras
The main special feature on the disc is an audio commentary from director Tommy Lee Wallace. The disc also includes trailers for Vampires: Los Muertos, John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars, and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Last (but also least), there's a pan-and-scan version of the film included.
Final thoughts
I wouldn't recommend it as a blind buy, but Vampires: Los Muertos would make for a reasonably entertaining rental if you're in the mood for a fun, not too demanding action/horror movie. The excellent video and audio quality of the DVD means that viewers who already know that they enjoy the film shouldn't hesitate to pick up a copy.
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