Centuries old vampire Anna (Alanna Bale) spends her time working in a library and hunting down humans for food with her fellow vampires Boris (Benjamin Sutherland) and Nina (Ella Jonas Farlinger). One day she happens upon alcoholic Robbie (Luke Bilyk) on the street and agrees to let him stay at her home so he can get sober and turn his life around. Oddly drawn to him, Anna is inspired by Robbie’s attempts at sobriety and decides to try kicking her thirst for blood in a bid to regain her humanity.
It’s fair to say that vampire movies have been done to death in the horror genre whether it be classics like ‘Nosferatu’ and ‘Interview With The Vampire’ or the more recent young adult aimed ‘Twilight’ series. Still, the horror genre keeps trying to churn out new angles on this already well-covered sub-genre, and the results are wildly varying. ‘Kicking Blood’ from director Blaine Thurier attempts to do something different while not being wholly original. The film compares Robbie’s alcoholism with Anna’s need for blood, treating them both as an equal addiction, which doesn’t quite stock up. Alcoholism is a disease whereas the mythical vampire needs blood in order to survive.
It’s not particularly clear why Anna takes pity on Robbie, a character the audience only fleetingly gets to know before he takes up residence with the vampire. Perhaps it’s her fascination with humans, displayed by the way she behaves towards her work colleague, or maybe she actually just longs to be human again? The inevitable romance between the two is predictable from the moment they meet but it never feels particularly earned. Anna clearly tells him she won’t sleep with humans (and Robbie seems completely unphased about the existence of vampires), but within 30 minutes she’s doing exactly that and willing to give up everything for someone she barely knows.
The performances from the cast are fine. Alanna Bale plays Anna as quietly curious and mysterious, which provides intrigue for the audience even if the payoff never arrives in the screenplay. Luke Bilyk is given barely anything to work with so it’s hard to feel for Robbie’s struggle with alcoholism or understand how he’s found himself at rock bottom.
‘Kicking Blood’ sadly never elevates itself beyond watchable. While there are interesting ideas throughout the screenplay, the film never manages to find its own original voice and that unfortunately means it doesn’t stand out from the already crowded sub-genre. Even at only 80 minutes, the film feels too long and it sits somewhere between ‘Twilight’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’ but without the redeeming qualities of either.
Cast: Alanna Bale, Luke Bilyk, Benjamin Sutherland, Ella Jonas Farlinger Director: Blaine Thurier Writers: Blaine Thurier & Leonard Farlinger Certificate: Unrated Duration: 80 mins Released by: XYZ Films Releasing Release date: 31st March 2022
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