[Blood:The Last Vampire]
Plot:Based on the Japanime film of the same name. Follows a vampire hunter named Saya, who is part of a covert government agency that hunts and destroys demons in a post-WWII Japan, and is inserted in a military school to discover which one of her classmates is a demon is disguise.

Cast:Chun Ji-Hyun, Koyuki, Masiela Lusha, JJ Feild, Allison Miller, Gianna Jun, Andrew Pleavin, Constantine Gregory, Liam Cunningham, Colin Salmon, Daniel Rosenberg, Ailish O'Connor, Joey Anaya.

My Thoughts:Very well done!

Review:Most adaptation films don't really turn out that well. But "Blood:The Last Vampire" turned out to be quite the cool little exception to that rule. The rule being a studio adaptation of pretty much anything ends up going to shit. Especially when it comes to horror. But "Blood" is a Japanese adaptation of a Japanime, which is why the overall product came out to be very excellent. It wasn't a watered down american production specifially made and tailor-made for american audiences. The film was bold, fresh, exciting, and brought a serious impact in every aspect of it's story and action sequences.

Director Chris Nahon helmed the movie which was penned by Kenji Kamiyama and Katsuya Terada. The spirited and far-above average writing from the duo, matches up well with Nahon's edgy and visually amazing style of directing. And carry the movie to all sorts of new heights. "Blood" is set in Post-World War II Japan. The movie has that throwback feel, and the characters, both positively and negatively reflect the historic tone and overall historic atmosphere in Japan during those times.

The movie follows a girl named Saya (Jun), who huts and kills vampires for a shadow group known only as "The Council". The council however are more akin to thinking Saya works for them, but she disagrees. Considering she is a vampire herself, minus the fangs (or so it seems atleast in this movie), they give her what she needs (blood), and in echange for that....she hunts and kills bloodsuckers for them. But Saya is growing weary of simply demolishing vampires with her trusty samurai sword and exceptional skills.

She wants the big fish, a very old vampire-demon. It isn't long after the films opening, where Saya makes short work of a vampire on a subway train, before she is sent to a military base which has come under the influence of vampires. Vampires which work for the aforementioned vampire demon. Saya arrives there with one goal in mind. Find the vampires hiding amongst the cadets in disguise, and cut through them to get to the vamp-demon.

In the middle of all of this, is Alice Mckee (Miller), a rebellious american teenage girl who's father General Mckee seems to always rub her the wrong way with his views on her behavior, and other things. Saya and Alice, although very different from one another, eventually cross paths and find out they have much in common. Which comes as a relief for Alice when the vampires set their sights on her, and Saya becomes her only hope for survival.

"Blood:The Last Vampire" is a film that you know going in, will have to deliver in one specific area in order to be effective. And that area is the action scenes. Just like it's Japanmime counterpart, the film really "brings it" when it comes to the key fight scenes and battle moments. The pics best fight scene coming in an alley way, which is where Saya and Alice are acosted by a slew of vampires. The action sequences are very well chorepgraphed, filmed, and scored.

Although one complaint could be that there aren't enough of them (the film only runs 88 minutes), the action scenes that the movie does offer up are top notch. Japanese actress Gianna Jun who plays Saya in the film, really brings a certain depth, range, and emotional aspect to her character. She's not just a vampire-killing machine, but also comes off as tormented and very emotional character.

Who can snap into defense and offense mode when need be, and also has a very high and honrable sense of duty and protecting those who can't protect themselves. While at the same time, able to stand on her own, even against orders which The Council sometimes give her. The villains in the movie are standard, with Colin Samon making an appearance early as one of the films higher ranking threats, and others which include a few rogue council members, the vampire demon herself, and many of her other minions.

But the villains really are not the focal point of the movie, and a lot of the story is kept focused on Saya, her mission, and her developing relationship with Alice, the daughter of General Mckee. "Blood:The Last Vampire" isn't a super bloody film, which may shock some people. But it's true, the movie really move so fast with the action sequences that there's hardly much blood except for some key spurts here and there. But compared to the "Blade" movies, which too follow a half-human half-vampire protagonist, "Blood" is quite tame when it comes to the red stuff. But it really doesn't need it considering the story is so strong, and the performance of Jun as Saya is so powerful.

Allison Miller also does a great job in her role as Alice Mckee, and gives the movie an american flavor, minus the pretentious, hyper-angsty, and super whiny persona of the average american teen girl in horror films. Making her character a very tolerable one, and easy to sympathize with as well. The films finale is a bit short, and while it does include Saya's battle with the enemy she has so long pursued, it can be partially written off for not being as impactful as expected, and not delivering that "oomph" that the rest of the films previous fight scenes did.

Still though, the movies finish is not nearly a disaster, but it does have it's flaws. "Blood:The Last Vampire" manages to pack a lot of action, spunk, suspense, intensity,and spirit into 88 minutes of reel time. It's a pretty good adaptation, that relies on performances just as much as it does action and swordplay.

Positives:Great performance by Gianna Jun as Saya, and furthermore Allison Miller as Alice. Intense and well-choreographed action sequences, good story, and visually amazing in many areas.

Negatives:The finale is somewhat short, and the final battle is not as intense as I expected it to be.

Overall:Three and a half out of four stars.





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