Blood: The Last Vampire Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Blood: The Last Vampire Blu-ray Movie Review

A reference quality soundtrack accompanies this lackluster Vampire flick.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 15, 2009

Welcome to the other side of the looking glass.

A teenage Japanese girl in a school uniform, bloodsucking vampires, swords, explosions, decapitations, any number of physical impalements, slicing and dicing, and copious amounts of (bad CGI) blood; Blood: The Last Vampire has everything a growing boy needs. For slightly more demanding viewers, however, this Blood may prove too thin when it comes to what's behind the thick veneer of blood-drenched, sword-wielding schoolgirl chaos. Slightly too complex for a movie of this sort, not particularly interesting, and far less impressive than dozens of other Vampire films out there, Blood: The Last Vampire makes for one of those shoulder-shrugging "so what" sort of movies. It's not particularly bad, but it's not in the least bit memorable, either. Sounds an awful lot like most other movies.

Saya is about to unleash a whole lot of CGI blood.

Young Vampire hunter Saya (Gianna Jun), herself half Vampire/half human, has joined forces with "The Council," an organization bent on the elimination of bloodsuckers. Saya has her own motivation, though; she seeks not to eliminate garden-variety Vamps but instead to hunt down and destroy Onigen, a powerful Vampire responsible for the death of her father. While in her pursuit of vengeance, The Council assigns her to infiltrate a high school located on a U.S. military base outside of Tokyo. She discovers a nest of Vampires has infiltrated the school and saves the General's daughter, Alice (Allison Miller), from certain death at the hands of two particularly hateful Vampires. With Alice at her side, Saya continues to seek her revenge as she hacks apart Vampires that stand between her and destiny.

Though Blood: The Last Vampire is based on the 2000 anime film of the same name, it's hard not to think first and foremost of "Buffy Vampire Slayer." No, bloodsuckers don't turn to dust when killed in Blood: The Last Vampire, and Blood and "Buffy" share little in common outside the teenage girl vampire slayer angle, but as something of the genre's standard-bearer, the "Buffy" comparison -- particularly with a film like Blood -- is inevitable. What Blood lacks in wit, charm, a good story, and memorable characters (all hallmarks of "Buffy"), it attempts to make up for in the copious amounts of blood that flows freely from each of the seemingly countless gashing wounds seen in the film. The blood in Blood looks so terribly fake and chunky in every shot that it lends to the film a more cartoonish feel rather than delivering anything quite so graphic and realistic as to place it on the same plane as a Saw movie, which is where Blood: The Last Vampire seems to want to go. Either that, or the decision was made somewhere along the line that it might be too much for even gore hounds to handle if given a more realistic appearance. Regardless, the bad special effects serve as a major distraction from the film, and every drop of blood draws attention away from the story and towards the unattractive CGI that almost ruins most of the action scenes.

Still, Blood: The Last Vampire is fine for what it is, a modest Vampire film with a hook that's already been done -- and done better -- but trying to up the ante with the aforementioned splattering of blood. Nevertheless, in an age where the video game business seems on the verge of one-upping Hollywood, where many games feature movie-quality story lines, and where the line between what's real and what's digital is becoming more blurred with every new blockbuster Playstation 3 release, it's hard not to see video game elements in Blood: The Last Vampire. Though there's no movie tie-in, Blood seems tailor-made for the digital realm. Perhaps the film's signature scene features Saya fighting off a horde of Vampires while attempting to save Alice. Wave after wave of bloodsuckers come straight at Saya, and she strikes them down seemingly ad infinitum. Finally, she reaches the point where she must contest with a single, stronger being -- the "boss," so to speak -- for one of the film's more pivotal scenes. The scene goes on and on and on, and it's eerily reminiscent of something out of a video game that only asks of its players to mash on the controller until either their character or all the enemies are dead. That's much of Blood's problem. It's fairly unoriginal, and what novelty there is is canceled out by sheer repetition and predictable arcs. Through it all, however, Director Chris Nahon shows some promise behind the camera, making good use of lighting and shadows for something of a noir-ish feel and demonstrating some skill through several wonderfully-composed shots. Likewise, lead actress Gianna Jun handles her character's somewhat challenging arc well as a determined, emotionally scarred, and powerful warrior. On the other hand, the remainder of the cast turn in stilted performances but don't drag the movie down quite as badly as those awful special effects.

Blood: The Last Vampire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Blood: The Last Vampire shows its fangs through a film-like 1080p, 2.35:1-framed transfer. Parts of the film take on a decidedly golden tint, while others are bathed in red. This isn't a particularly dark film, but it does feature several nighttime and rain-drenched exteriors that tend to look better than anything else found in the movie. Though the image appears just a bit soft in some places, fine detail can be exceptional, too. Leaves on the forest floor in chapter 13 are colorful and intricately detailed and superbly rendered to the point that viewers (should they be so inclined), could pause the disc and count them. A nighttime downtown scene in chapter four reveals seemingly every drop of rainwater on a wet street and each bead that glistens off a black car; signs and other objects along a strip of shops are sharp and clear, and the image enjoys a nice sense of depth in the shot. Such observations hold true for much of the movie. It's deep, clear, sharp, and generally wonderfully detail. Faces can occasionally appear more devoid of texture and detail than other objects, but close-ups -- particularly those of Kato -- do reveal fine lines and hairs nicely. Flesh tones appear generally neutral, blacks are inky and true, and a fine veneer of film grain rounds out a handsome 1080p transfer from Sony.

Blood: The Last Vampire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Blood: The Last Vampire slices into Blu-ray with a robust and reference quality DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This is the stuff listeners with big sound systems crave; every action scene delivers loud but clearly-delineated sound effects that transform the living room into one of several combat zones. The opening subway scene places listeners in the middle of the rumbling car as it rattles about while zooming down the track, and several exterior shots feature the train zipping on by as clearly as if the listener were standing on the platform. Surround speakers are fully utilized here and throughout, delivering both discrete effects and supportive atmospherics while carrying part of the musical load, too. Gunshots in chapter 10 buzz through the soundstage and are accompanied by a powerful thudding sensation that works the subwoofer and reverberates through the chest. The low end works even harder during a particularly hard-hitting chase scene in chapter 14, as well as during the film's climactic confrontation; the bass thumps not as a jumble of undefined roars but with a precision that rivals some of the best soundtracks on the market. The track also excels in its delivery of more subtle, supportive atmospherics. Whether a jet flying high above the high school in one scene, appearing and gradually disappearing on either side of the soundstage, or background chatter inside a restaurant in chapter nine, the track is up to any task -- big or small, loud or subtle -- that the movie can possibly throw at it. Also featuring startlingly clear musical cues (Edwin Starr's "War" and Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" never sounded this good) and pitch-perfect dialogue reproduction, Blood: The Last Vampire's lossless soundtrack does its part in making a mediocre movie all the more enjoyable.

Blood: The Last Vampire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Blood: The Last Vampire carves out but a few extras for consumption. The Making of 'Blood: The Last Vampire' (480p, 19:07) methodically moves down the list of primary cast as they share their thoughts on their characters and, later, on one another. The piece is intercut with plenty of behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the film. Battling Demons: Behind the Stunts (480p, 16:48) features a more in-depth look at the work behind the special effects, emphasizing the wire stunts utilized throughout. This disc also features storyboard galleries (1080p) for three scenes: Gym Fight Sequence, Powell Chase Sequence, and Monk Fight Sequence. Rounding out this collection of extras is BD- Live functionality and 1080p trailers for Moon, District 9, The Informers, The Sky Crawlers, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Resident Evil: Degeneration, What Doesn't Kill You, The Da Vinci Code, Casino Royale, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Blood: The Last Vampire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A decent but unremarkable film, Blood: The Last Vampire features competent execution, fine acting from its lead character, a generic but passable story, and terrible special effects. Vampire film aficionados won't find anything of much relevance here, special effects enthusiasts will walk away disappointed, but the film's target audience -- young teenage boys -- will probably enjoy it as a slice of mindless entertainment. Sony's Blu-ray release of Blood: The Last Vampire is of typical Sony quality, delivering strong high definition picture and sound presentations, accompanied by a few extras. The technical quality is good enough to warrant a purchase for fans, but all others are advised to rent first.