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ADDICTED TO MURDER 3: BLOODLUST
Written and Directed by Tom Vollmann and Kevin Lindenmuth
Produced by Kevin LindenmuthInterviewer - Bruce G. Hallenback
Joel Winter - Mick Cleery
Dorian - Nick Kostopoulos
Karen - Cloud Michaels
Santana - Frank LopezIt's been years since I've seen the first ADDICTED TO MURDER. I don't remember much about it, but I remember liking it. I wasn't as thrilled at this installment.
Kevin Lindenmuth has made a career out of producing anthologies with 2 or 3 other filmmakers, each directing a segment. Many work and many don't.
ADDICTED 3 is a two-man Collaboration with Lindenmuth and Tom Vollmann. On their own, each segment could work, but they are so different that together they don't work very well at all.
Lindenmuth's portion is a mock documentary about vampires in New York City. A filmmaker making a film about subculture, only he gets much more than he bargained. It's well acted and at times well written. The film falls when Mick Cleery's vampire hunter character from the first two films, Joel Winter, pops up for no apparent reason other than to kill the vampires.
There wasn't any purpose for Cleery to show up. He's there to connect the film to the first two, allowing Lindenmuth the ability to cash in on the success of his first film. Personally, I don't have a problem with that, it's just good marketing. But those who buy the tape wanting a continuation of the stories from before will be greatly upset.
Tom Vollmann's tale has no relation to the previous segment; it's linked through a few throwaway lines by Cleery. This is the standout segment of the film.
It involves a vampire lord, Santana, who has found sanctuary in a Chicago penitentiary. He and the head guard have an agreement, the guard lets the vampire out each night to rape, rob, and pillage, and vampire gives the guard part of the evenings bounty. It's a pretty good symbiotic relationship, the guard gets a piece or the action, and the vampire doesn't have to worry about anyone tracking him down.
To keep up appearances, the Santana will occasionally have cellmates. It's the relationship between the current cellmate, Dorian, and Santana that is the primary focus of the story. Dorian is a man of principle and morals. It was those same principles and morals that drove him to kill. He only has one love in this life, his daughter. After the Santana tells his story to Dorian, the Vampire holds Dorian's daughter's life over his head.
As I said before, both segments work well on their own, but the second shines so brightly that it over powers the first. The two are also so different in approach that they can't work as a single film. There is nothing to complement one another.
Lindenmuth's films were some of the first to hook me onto the underground scene. He's done better. If you want to see great Lindenmuth then seek out his feature length films, such as VAMPIRES AND OTHER STEROTYPES or the first ADDICTED TO MURDER.