User Reviews

KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE is one of many shot-on-video indie horrors that director J.R. Bookwalter made during the 1980s and 1990s. This one has a mildly diverting plot involving a momma's boy who just so happens to have a vampire for his overbearing mother. At one point in the film, she goes mad on Halloween night and munches on a handful of trick or treaters unlucky enough to call at her door. The film looks very cheap and those horrendous shell suits and mullet hairdos don't do much to help that. It's a shame that the poor execution and rough edges spoil what could have been a diverting movie.

"Kingdom of the Vampire" is a certainly decent vampire effort that is really watchable.

**SPOILERS**

Returning home from work, Jeff, (Matthew Jason Walsh) finds that his Mom, (Cherie Petry) has managed to break her promise and kill again, insisting their vampire nature urges her on. Coming to gripes with his own vampire nature, he eventually finds peace with Nina, (Shannon Doyle) a neighbor who has an affinity for the hidden vampire. As they start they're romance, to the chagrin of his mother, who doesn't approve of the relationship, he finds that his vampire side comes out when he least expects it, forcing him to try to hide it while it keeps appearing. Finally forced into a confrontation he doesn't want to be in, he has to choose between the two in order to continue on with life.

The Good News: This here wasn't that bad and was pretty good. One of the best things is the totally off-beat nature of the family relationship. This here is really weird, using the family dynamic to extreme lengths, as there's the sequence where she kill little kids and force her own child to partake, but she forces her son to clean up the grizzly mess in the kitchen, and feels no shame in it. That it then grows outward to when their relationship sours and it resorts to a series of yelling, mental and physical abuse are also there and really makes the situation even better and more fun. There's even the rather harmful scene where a vampire is beaten down with a crucifix, which is enough to really get uncomfortable after a while. It makes the film's staking scene that much more impressive. It also has the presence to always be entertaining, even when it's not really doing anything of interest during the middle segment. As there's very little action beyond a nice fight in the parking lot of the store and a fantastic finale, yet there isn't a really long time of boredom that occurs. The last good part to it is the finale, which here is a really nice battle that finally allows the two sides to come to a nice, appropriate conclusion. From the rampant bloodshed that really throws the big gore into the film to the parallels drawn from earlier reports, this is an exciting and glorious conclusion that really makes it feel quite entertaining and better than it really is. These here are the film's good points.

The Bad News: This was a problematic film at times. One of the main issues is that, because of the romance angle, there's hardly any action at all in the film. There's only a few minor sequences that demonstrate anything remotely resembling an action sequence, and the rest is either the romance or home life angles. For those looking for something with a little life to them, it's not exactly going to be all that entertaining to watch these scenes dominate all the film's prime moments. There's literally a ton of moments where a big action scene, either them fighting off others or going out hunting, which could've helped out the film by doing the same thing but getting in something at can help the film move along a little quicker. That also comes into play with the film's short run-time, which here is barely over an hour. That doesn't allow for much time to have a lot of things going on, but it's enough to get some thrown in to make it somewhat enjoyable. The last issue is the film's low-budget, which really hurts the film's attempts at fixing anything. From the bloodshed to the wounds and the locations, it all looks rather cheap and obvious, ruing the effect to a degree. These here are the film's problems.

The Final Verdict: A low-budget, decent entry that does have some good points amongst a few fair flaws, this one is ultimately watchable at worst. Give this a shot if you're into the low-budget method or a fan of the company's output, otherwise let this one go in favor of other, more complete vampire fare.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language

KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE is a distinct improvement over Bookwalter's first feature, THE DEAD NEXT DOOR: this time around, he seems to have a much firmer grasp of the techniques of visual storytelling. There are also a couple of outstanding performances in front of the camera worthy of note- in particular, Cherie Patry, who does a great over-the-top turn as Moms, and Tom Stephans, who plays the sheriff. I cite both because their performances lend KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE that little something extra that can only come from seasoned players at the top of their game. Bookwalter's guidance may be surer this time around, but it's his stars who carry the day. Overall, a no-budget movie of merit.