The concept behind Alice and the Vampire Queen sounds like something one is better off reading instead of witnessing it as a film. Here, Writer-director Dan Lantz fashions a world that’s very suited to exist as an RPG scenario in White Wolf’s Worlds of Darkness. This game organises the various undead and monster factions into groups, and some operate shops to cater to their kind; mortal patrons are often unaware, and when they get caught up in their imagination, what results can either be pleasant or painful.
And when the matriarch pines for something tasty, sometimes “recruiting” outside their circle is required. Here, the title character gets a deep look through the looking glass about not only herself, but in what lurks in the night. Nobody respects Alice (Shelby Hightower), and her attitude isn’t exactly sweet. Whatever changed her, and that paranoia defines her. This introduction plays through the rest of the film when she’s “taken.”
Actually, she hasn’t been turned yet, but what she learns about the vampire underworld is enough to make her slightly afraid. Her tough as nails attitude saves her from some craziness. And when the gore and blood hunt is also a spotlight, trying to decide which part of this movie is better is tough. It’s like asking me what I love to order more–a steak made rare or going à la carte!
When the Queen of the Vampires (Brenna Carnuccio) is a picky eater, I sort of feel for her. There’s Charles (Graham Wolfe) who is tasked with finding people to be cooked up, and Gordon (Chris James Bolan) who is in training. The colourful cast of regulars (the diners) define some crazy moments, and it’s mostly hammed up to make a suspension of belief impossible. You’d think they’d be more astute when at the table, but what’s shown is a lot more primal.
The operation is more like a strip club where the floor shows get relatively bloody to sate many a vampire’s appetite (pardoning the pun) before the main course is offered. But apparently a war is brewing (hence the role playing game reference) between the clans, and Alice gets caught up in the middle. If she doesn’t decide on which side she wants to be with, she’ll be out of a job!
This plot is worth following just to see how it’ll play out. I just wish there weren’t a lot of diversions. Lantz puts in plenty of campy moments, perhaps more than absolutely needed, and when he camps it up, the humour shouldn’t go unnoticed. At first, I didn’t want to think of this film as a horror comedy. The moments felt a bit too much, and had it leaned on more of the hyperrealistic and be more like True Blood, I’d probably enjoy this movie more.
3 Bites out of 5
Alice and the Vampire Queen Movie Trailer
