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ETERNAL BLOOD
Directed by Jorge Olguín
Written by Carolina García and Jorge Olguín
Director of Photography - Jose Luis AvvedondoM - Juan Pablo Ogalde
Carmila - Blanca Lewin
Dahmer - Carlos Borquez
Professor Romero - Jorge DenegriWhen Fangoria started their DVD line a few years back, I was easily one of their harshest critics. Merely saying I hated those early imported titles would be an understatement. I found them either pretentious or dull, and often both. Fortunately, I stuck with the line in hopes that things could only get better. This past year, Fangoria has had a string of successes with titles ranging from DEAD CREATURES to SLASHERS to ONE HELL OF A CHRISTMAS and peaking with the Japanese ANOTHER HEAVEN. Continuing their lucky streak, Fangoria releases ETERNAL BLOOD, a South American spin on the vampire genre from Chilean director Jorge Olguin. .
Recently, the vampire film has been all to common. In the last 2 weeks I've reviewed no less than 6 movies with another 4-5 coming up. Some have been utterly dismal, as is the case with THIS DARKNESS, due to their need for adherence to the more gothic elements of modern vampire lore. Others, such as STRANGE THINGS HAPPEN AT SUNDOWN and DEMON UNDER GLASS, excel because they provide their own unique spin on what is easily the most tired and hackneyed of all horror genres. What makes ETERNAL BLOOD so much fun is that it blends the best of both worlds to create something totally new, gothic noir.
ETERNAL BLOOD opens with the breathtaking Carmila spying the intoxicating "M" in one of her classes. He notices her too. The two waste little time with coy flirting, they know what they want - each other. Once the connection is made and the two plan their first date, M is gunned down in the streets with WILD BUNCH-like fury by a sect of the Catholic church dedicated to the eradication of vampires.
So much for everlasting true love.
Like so many horror movies today, ETERNAL BLOOD opens with a teaser, only here it isn't a wasted throwaway. Instead, it sets up the rules for the rest of the movie to follow. The priestly gunfight is part of game similar to Vampire The Masquerade that M and his friends play constantly blending elements of their real lives into the games events. Earlier in the day, M did indeed make a date with Carmila, and the attraction is hot and heavy. Only she's never role-played before. Like 99.99999% of women, she found the scene regulated to freaks and geeks making up for a spanking case of social leperacy. But M is hot, so she figures gaming can't be all that bad.
Silly girl.
The more Carmila learns about M's gothic world, the more intrigued she becomes. She quickly becomes utterly consumed by both the game and the gothic lifestyle. The only problem is M is losing touch with reality and starts seeing vampires come out of the woodwork. Soon, both can't tell when the other is playing the game and when they aren't.
Much of the movie relies on style, but Olguin and writing partner Carolina García never loose sight of the importance of their story. Once the rules are set, the movie never breaks them. While there are numerous twists and red herrings, the movie doesn't cheat the audience by breaking formation or forging ahead with gaps of logic. What might at first appear to be reality should often be giving a second look, and the same goes for the fantasy gameland. And ETERNAL BLOOD never reveals which is which until the closing moments, and it kept me guessing the entire time.
The review disc was marred by a number of misspellings during the subtitles, which will hopefully be corrected by time the full disc is released. Since the screeners didn't contain the English Dubbed track, I can't comment on how much justice the translators and voice actors do the source material. Also, set to be included are other Fango trailers, behind-the-scenes spotlights, and alternate endings...which I wish were included on the screener. Like you, I guess I'll be buying the final release. Yes, the movie is just that good.