a "fun" gore-festival

Rating: Null/10 (30 December 2003)

I love to brag about being a "film connoisseur". I'm of that breed that basically believes unless a film is depressing, realistic, witty, and thought-provoking, it's useless (unless it's art-house or foreign then that's ok). Well, okay I'm not that simplistic and stereo-typical, but I do have high standards. Occasionally though, I do enjoy a basically pointless thrill ride, and this is one such film.
Tarantino writes, and it shows very much in certain parts. Clooney gets some great one-liners. Harvey Keitel is perfect as the level-headed preacher and adds a very odd aura to the film. The movie is basically split in two - a very weird crime drama (like Tarantino writes any other sort), then an all-out vampire gore fest. Both parts are completely enjoyable, though it might require a slightly sick/macabre taste to call this "enjoyable". I'm not usually into all out gore violence, but like Natural Born Killers and Kill Bill, this movie has a way of making you like and want that extreme brand of campy violence. The vampire scenes are really great, and I thought the makeup was absolutely fine (noticed some people complained). This is one freaky film, but it somehow never crosses that line into the grotesque as most horrors do. It's full of blood, decapitations, and unnatural behavior to say the least, but it's not presented as serious, instead it is very absurd, knows it, and flaunts it (unlike most camp which is unintentionally campy). This is not the usual horror fanfare; it's a whole category all to itself and it's "fun".