I'm a sucker for a decent vampire movie, (no pun intended), so I decided to give "Blood Vessel" a shot.
The premise is that a group of people is adrift in a liferaft on the Atlantic sometime during WWII. They happen upon a passing ship, which happens to be a German vessel. After some debate, the group decides to board the ship.
One of the problems that I did have with this movie was the make-up of the group. We have Americans, Brits, a Russian, and an Australian on the liferaft. Americans and Brits were often in the same areas of campaign in the European Theatre. Americans and Brits, side by side with Russians and Australians was virtually unheard of. In addition to this, two of the Brits are Intelligence operatives; one is a spy, and one is a code breaker. This is THE most unlikely group of Allied Forces to ever find themselves together in a lifeboat in the Atlantic during WWII.
The other issue that I have with this movie is the utter predictability of it. There are virtually no surprises, and the characters all fall for the same traps that we've seen a bazillion times in other horror movies. This prevented me from giving the movie a higher rating.
Our intrepid band boards the ship, and finds a little girl, a la Ellen Ripley and Newt in "Aliens". The little girl even bites the woman who reaches for her, as Newt had bitten Ripley. The difference is, this little girl is a vampire... which should be a surprise to absolutely no one. This is not actually revealed until later in the movie, however.
The "villains" in our group are an ugly, aggressive, offensive, bigoted, greedy American, and the cowardly Brit code breaker. The American, being dull-witted and greedy, ends up breaking open a huge box that is intricately carved with arcane, foreboding symbols. Of course, he's stupid and greedy, so he breaks it open in search of Nazi gold bars. Instead, he finds the vampire patriarch, who promptly kills the dim, greedy American.
Our group finds a German Officer who had sealed himself off in one section of the ship. The German officer is terrified at having been found, and despite the group's efforts to avoid bloodshed, the German officer opens fire on them with a pistol. Gunshots are exchanged and the German officer is killed, and a member of the group is mortally wounded.
What follows thereafter is the usual trope of the group members being picked off, one-by-one. The ending is one of the most predictable endings that I've ever seen, and will surprise no one. If you are shocked by the ending, you should strike yourself repeatedly about the head with a ballpeen hammer, as you are too stupid to live.
Despite these flaws, the movie is at least a decent diversion, and worth a watch if you keep your expectations on the low side
The premise is that a group of people is adrift in a liferaft on the Atlantic sometime during WWII. They happen upon a passing ship, which happens to be a German vessel. After some debate, the group decides to board the ship.
One of the problems that I did have with this movie was the make-up of the group. We have Americans, Brits, a Russian, and an Australian on the liferaft. Americans and Brits were often in the same areas of campaign in the European Theatre. Americans and Brits, side by side with Russians and Australians was virtually unheard of. In addition to this, two of the Brits are Intelligence operatives; one is a spy, and one is a code breaker. This is THE most unlikely group of Allied Forces to ever find themselves together in a lifeboat in the Atlantic during WWII.
The other issue that I have with this movie is the utter predictability of it. There are virtually no surprises, and the characters all fall for the same traps that we've seen a bazillion times in other horror movies. This prevented me from giving the movie a higher rating.
Our intrepid band boards the ship, and finds a little girl, a la Ellen Ripley and Newt in "Aliens". The little girl even bites the woman who reaches for her, as Newt had bitten Ripley. The difference is, this little girl is a vampire... which should be a surprise to absolutely no one. This is not actually revealed until later in the movie, however.
The "villains" in our group are an ugly, aggressive, offensive, bigoted, greedy American, and the cowardly Brit code breaker. The American, being dull-witted and greedy, ends up breaking open a huge box that is intricately carved with arcane, foreboding symbols. Of course, he's stupid and greedy, so he breaks it open in search of Nazi gold bars. Instead, he finds the vampire patriarch, who promptly kills the dim, greedy American.
Our group finds a German Officer who had sealed himself off in one section of the ship. The German officer is terrified at having been found, and despite the group's efforts to avoid bloodshed, the German officer opens fire on them with a pistol. Gunshots are exchanged and the German officer is killed, and a member of the group is mortally wounded.
What follows thereafter is the usual trope of the group members being picked off, one-by-one. The ending is one of the most predictable endings that I've ever seen, and will surprise no one. If you are shocked by the ending, you should strike yourself repeatedly about the head with a ballpeen hammer, as you are too stupid to live.
Despite these flaws, the movie is at least a decent diversion, and worth a watch if you keep your expectations on the low side