KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE

Directed by J.R. Bookwalter
Written by Matthew Jason Walsh

Jeff - Matthew Jason Walsh
Mom - Cherie Petry

I've blasted this film in the past. Completely trashed it. I've laid 99% of the blame on Matt Walsh: I've said both his acting has writing lack talent. I've gone on record stating that I've disliked everything he's written with the exception of BLOODLETTING, a surprisingly great indy-production. I was completely surprised when I found myself liking this film upon a recent viewing.

Don't get me wrong, I still think Walsh's character, Jeff, comes across as a whiny brat who couldn't act his way through an open door. J.R. adds plenty to this movie with some competent direction; he creates some truly disturbing images.

The story is a character driven story about a boy and his mother. The catch is they are both vampires. It's a personal film that reflects the struggles we all face trying to brake out of our parents grasp and move into the world.

There are three kinds of parents in the world, those that allow their children to move on, those that push them away, and those that try to hold on to their children as long as they can. Jeff's Mom belongs in the last category.

Sometimes a person's reluctance to let go stems from fear. That fear manifests itself through anger, rage, and belittlement. The victim is left with so little self worth that they are too afraid to leave. Fear begets fear.

This is exactly the relationship Jeff has with his mother. He wants to be free and live a normal life on his own; she can't allow that because she won't be able to survive on her own.

There is a scene near the middle that takes place on Halloween. According the film, Halloween is a time when the vampires come out to feast on the living. Jeff and his mother trick a local 8-year old and his mother to step into their house. As soon as the door closes the killing begins.

It's not the murder of the 8-year old that I found so disturbing, it's the kill scene of the young boy's mother. With Mom slaughtering the young boy, Jeff is left to take care of the woman. Instead of killing her, he starts to fondle the woman and kiss her. When Mom sees this, she proceeds to beat Jeff mercilessly with a crucifix.

The scene isn't scary, far from it. Nothing in the film is very frightening, but I've found it achieves something on a higher level, it disturbs. I really can't explain why it bothered me the way it did; maybe it's the desperation of the characters that struck a cord. Whatever the answer may be, one-thing remains certain, I couldn't shake that scene from my head for a week.

Maybe you've already had a chance to view KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE, and like myself you found you didn't care for it. Maybe you should give it a second chance. You might me be surprised, I was.


KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE is not currently available for purchase. Head to the Tempe Video website to see Tempe releases.