Hollywood Vampyr

Plot synopsis:
Vista del Mar College, Los Angeles: Young Goth girls are committing ritual suicide. The last two were
daughters of one of the professors at the college. One of his colleague,
Professor Fulton [Muse Watson], sees the Goth movement as a deadly cult phase that kills
innocent kids. Fulton's student Tom Weidder [Jeff Marchelletta] doesn't agree. In his opinion,
Goths are simply "disenfranchised." Tom is friends with several Goths,
e.g. Fatal [Nora Zimmett] (an art student who has just discovered that she's pregnant
with the baby of coven-owner Anubus), Fatal's brother Blood [Trevor Goddard] (who runs a
"Children of the Night" website to recruit new members), and Anubus [Mark Irvingsen]
himself (Fatal's lover, a business administration student who opened a
vampire coven (The Black Rose) to cash in on the lifestyle and the
profits).Blood, an employee of Anubus, has amassed such a following that he
decides to start his own coven. His goal is to become King of the vampires
and start a new religion based on the idea that female vampires, when they
are no longer useful to the coven, should be willing to kill themselves in
order to fertilize the ground with their seed and spawn a dominant order
of male vampires with Blood as their holy father. Their reward is to be
granted immortality.Neither Tom nor Fatal can go along with Blood's goals. Tom is having
personal problems in that his mother is dying of cancer and Prof Fulton
has kicked him out of the program because of his bad attendance. In a fit
of rationality, Tom calls Fatal's child "another martyr for the cause." In
a fit of conscience, Fatal aborts the baby and comes down with a massive
case of infection, requiring her to be hospitalized for over a week. She
tells Blood that it was Tom who helped her come to the decision to kill
her baby. While Fatal is in the hospital receiving therapy, Blood pays Tom a
visit. Blood apparently believes that Tom is not lying when he denies any
knowledge of Fatal's decision, so Blood offers Tom a job in his
soon-to-be-opened coven "Syn City." Tom tells himself that he's going to
use this opportunity to investigate the thoughts and philosophies of the
Goths.Meanwhile, Blood vows to avenge the death of Fatal's child by ruining
Anubus. First is to steal Anubus's coven members. Then Blood torches
Anubus's club, which results only in the authorities suspecting Anubus as
torching his own club for the insurance money. Third, Anubus is arrested
on a "tip" that he was involved in grand theft auto. All this publicity is also playing havoc with Fatal's readjustment
after being released from the hospital. She returns to her dorm to find
her door spray-painted with words such as "Die" and "Bitch." She has to
hock her car to get the bail money for Anubus's release. Tom has taken on
the dress and attitudes of Blood's following and no longer wants to be
Fatal's friend. Fatal is tempted to try coke again, but resists and washes
it down the sink.Syn City -- Blood's Opening Night: It doesn't go well for Blood. He's raided by the police who tell him
that they're shutting down his club. Anubus attends the opening. Blood
shoots Anubus and then turns the gun on himself. Next scene, Tom is back
to normal, typing on his computer, and he even hangs his crucifix back on
the wall. On the other hand, Fatal returns to the club in full
vampire/goth dress. The moral? Up to you. [Original synopsis by bj_kuehl]

Tags: cult, gothic

Review:
A dark gothic story with a strong positive message. I saw this film at the Modesto Film Festival, I felt it was one of the best that screened. The cast was amazing. Trevor Goddard played a great villain and it was cool to see Muse Watson not play a villain. It was nominated for six awards, but only won one - Nora Zimmett for Best Actress. I think it should have won more, like for Best Feature &/or Best Actor. There was a Q & A session after with the writer and some cast members. It got great feedback from the audience. It is a dark themed story about Hollywood's real gothic subculture but has a very positive message. It's a learning arch and journey for the two leads Fatal (Nora Zimmett) and Tom (Jeff Marchelletta) as they search to find themselves. They struggle with acceptance, lifestyle, religious faith, drugs and their '"families." After a bumpy ride, cult suicides and murders Fatal & Tom both come out survivors and learn they can be their own unique selves to belong.. not as bad as i expected. Well, saw this at the video store, read the back of the box, saw the Brain Damage logo, and thought "wow, a cheesy movie! must see!"  I was surprised. The movie was actually fairly decent.  The acting wasn't bad, a bit over-acted, but, that is how the club goths tend to act anyway, over dramatic.  Not one I would buy to put in my collection, but definitely worth a watch.. Best inside look at the scene. Trevor Godard is phenomenal at he portrays the bad guy in this inside look at the GOTH scene. The acting from all actors is true to form.  The story is a nice mix of the ups and downs, in a very dramatic style, of the actors characters.  You believe them. A must see!. NINTH GRADE ART PROJECT. This is what happens when ninth graders write and produce a film. First off there is a difference between Goth and Vampire. The movie merges the two to the dismay of both Goths and Vampires and combines them into some cult religion which requires women to perform a ritualistic suicide. Trevor Goddard who played Blood, the evil Goth/Vampyr actually passed out during the making of the film when he saw fake blood. He is a cult leader who has a web site that reads like a bad Charlie Manson come on. "You are not alone. You are misunderstood, We are your family." Blood is the head of a cult called the Black Rose. Fatal (Nora Zimmett) is a girl in the cult who is pregnant and also does blow and smoke pot. Good thing she is off the heroin. There is Anubus (Mark Irvingsen) a club owner and associate of Blood. He is also a business student. Tom Weidder (Jeff Marchelletta) plays a gay student who helps Fatal and walks around with a goatee painted on his chin. Professor Fulton is the class instructor whose real name, Muse Watson sounds like one of the characters.This is perhaps the "Reefer Madness" of Goth films. It is idiotic. Unfortunately it lacks the camp value to be entertaining unless you're a real Goth.
Trevor Goddard fans will want to avoid this one, it is unbelievably bad. Even the phrase "Based on a Series of true Events" should tell you something about the film.