Let me get this out of the way right at the top: This is, at points, too light-hearted for its own good.
The execution is a bit ham-handed, and largely dispenses with the gore one might expect from a vampire movie. The running commentary on the narrative's events by one of the supporting characters, in the form of live broadcasts on her phone, is a gimmick that sours quickly from amusing to obnoxious. Given too that the protagonists are very young teens, one is reasonably led to wonder if this was produced by Disney for a teen audience, especially (unfortunately) during the ending scene when all are very giddily self-congratulatory about what they've done.
If you can get past the cutification of horror, this is otherwise a fairly solid movie. The plot is decent, if familiar, and the cast is quite capable. The obvious social commentary of the premise is admirable, and important, but isn't delivered so forcefully that it overwhelms the rest of the film. This is clearly geared toward a younger general audience: There's enough tension and suspense to keep the narrative going, but above all this is more fun than scary. As if to emphasize the point, the protagonists watch Wesley Snipes' 'Blade' to educate themselves on destroying vampires.
Not bad--not bad at all. Again, my main issue with it is that the content is otherwise "defanged" in an effort to expand its palatability, but even at that, it's strong enough to float by on its own, and there's something to be said for creating stories that everyone can enjoy.
The execution is a bit ham-handed, and largely dispenses with the gore one might expect from a vampire movie. The running commentary on the narrative's events by one of the supporting characters, in the form of live broadcasts on her phone, is a gimmick that sours quickly from amusing to obnoxious. Given too that the protagonists are very young teens, one is reasonably led to wonder if this was produced by Disney for a teen audience, especially (unfortunately) during the ending scene when all are very giddily self-congratulatory about what they've done.
If you can get past the cutification of horror, this is otherwise a fairly solid movie. The plot is decent, if familiar, and the cast is quite capable. The obvious social commentary of the premise is admirable, and important, but isn't delivered so forcefully that it overwhelms the rest of the film. This is clearly geared toward a younger general audience: There's enough tension and suspense to keep the narrative going, but above all this is more fun than scary. As if to emphasize the point, the protagonists watch Wesley Snipes' 'Blade' to educate themselves on destroying vampires.
Not bad--not bad at all. Again, my main issue with it is that the content is otherwise "defanged" in an effort to expand its palatability, but even at that, it's strong enough to float by on its own, and there's something to be said for creating stories that everyone can enjoy.