I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The movie starts out with a lecture by a filmmaker... which at the end we find out is in an insane asylum.So this Vampire hires a detective (who- spoiler alert, is also a vampire) to find out who is responsible for a bunch of vampire-themed murders. Except they aren't investigating very hard, as the killer is filmmaker who pretty much spends the whole movie right under their noses.But this guy is the "nice" vampire who only takes enough blood to live and not enough to kill his victims. Or Something. The plot was kind of convoluted, and they padded it out with Second Unit footage that was better shot and more interesting than the first unit shooting.

First off, despite the video release date of 1991, it's hard to think of a film that screams "1985" louder than this direct-to-video vampire flick featuring the steamy, neon-lit streets of LA in the 80s. Honestly, watch it and tell me you disagree. That goth-punk band that keeps rearing its feathered mane throughout the film (Agent Orange, a real band from Orange County who are still putting out records) - is that not 3000% 1980s? Anyway, I digress... and I haven't even started the review, which I guess is probably bad.So anyway, while this is a distinctly B-grade vampire flick, it certainly stands out among other films of its ilk. Where to begin? First of all, it features George Chakiris, who won an Academy Award for his role in West Side Story in 1961 (and never again appeared in anything legitimate for some weird reason), in the leading role of Michael Fury, vampire hunter. Mr. Fury slinks through the neon-bathed streets of nighttime LA stalking a vampire, or a killer who thinks he is one. Van Vandemeer (played by Wings Hauser), a sleaze-bag "video art" director who totally epitomizes bottom-of-the-barrel Hollywood, keeps getting in the way of the investigation. And then there is Michael's vampire-obsessed co-investigator Lori, who dresses all in black and hangs around her apartment at midnight watching Nosferatu on infinite loop. I won't give away any spoilers, but suffice it to say that nothing surrounding the trio is as it seems, and there are several unexpected twists and turns before the film finally slams to a surprising finale that recalls the intro in a very clever way.Look, for a film that's obviously low budget, all this is very well-done. The acting is surprisingly classy, especially George Chakiris, who totally exudes grace and dignity and always stays perfectly aloof and serious and just acts totally cool in dealing with all the other morons the film pits him against. Why haven't we seen more of this man? Wings Hauser is also very convincing and appropriately scummy in his role as slime-ball erotic trash director.Pale Blood is also super atmospheric. Without featuring any really stunning camera-work or anything of that sort, it manages to maintain a very specific, creepy, neon-lit atmosphere, especially in Michael's condo, the kind of weirdly abstract, ultra-modern sort of place that seems like the natural habitat of an aloof, nocturnal dude like him.Finally, the plot is really pretty capably executed, including, as I said, a really awesome surprise ending, although there are indeed points that might elicit a slight groan (this is a B-movie, after all). So why hasn't anyone ever heard of this? I dunno, but it's not because it isn't any good. I'm guessing that there may have been some issues surrounding the film that caused it to be shelved for a few years after its production, which obviously took place sometime before 1990. If you still don't believe me about this, note that all the Agent Orange songs featured in the movie came out in 1986. I mean, if you'll tolerate B-grade cinema, you'll immediately appreciate all the dark humor, atmosphere, and unpretentious yet intelligent craft-work that went into this hidden gem.Finally, a note about the location - if this was really filmed in Hong Kong instead of LA, as the IMDb credits indicate, it sure fooled me, and I live in LA... yet another curious point about this curious and enjoyable little film.

This is a very original take on the vampire genre during a time when a barrage of modern bloodsucking blockbusters filled our theaters and living rooms with originality and real bite.. 'The Lost Boys, 'Fright Night', and 'Near Dark' (just to name a few) kept us mesmerized at all the different styles and flavors filmmakers had to offer. Here's an overlooked and unappreciated little classic in the wake of the success of those great movies. Michael Fury (George Chakiris) is a classy and restrained vampire who travels to L.A. to investigate the many bodies turning up with fang marks and drained blood, and he's concerned about the impact it may have on the way people view the vampire community. Wings Hauser is a perverted filmmaker who's responsible for capturing the girls and staging their murders in order to catch a real vampire for his twisted collection of homemade films, and possibly become famous in the meantime. Pamela Ludwig is an occult enthusiast who instantly feels a strong connection for Michael, and story begins to unfold into an excellent final confrontation for the last thirty minutes or so of this unique concept that does a pretty good job of avoiding most of the worn-out clichés. Good direction, lots of surprises are abound, and you just gotta love Wings Hauser's intensely psychotic screen persona. The only thing that mars the mix is a slow first hour and an awful 80's goth rock band that unnecessarily interjects the action with a cheese-ball soundtrack. But all in all, 'Pale Blood' is an above average genre picture in drastic need of an official DVD release.

Here's one of the more stylish and intriguing vampire fright features from the early 90's, a period when these pictures were seriously glutting the direct-to-video market. The chronically maniacal (and always delightful) Wings Hauser, who earned his B-movie cult stripes with his awesomely electrifying portrayal of the sublimely hateful'n'heinous psycho pimp supreme Ramrod in the great'n'gritty knock-out "Vice Squad," does his patented first-rate fruity'n'frenzied freakazoid act as Van Vandameer, a totally crackers psychotic video artist who's brutally butchering attractive young honeys in Los Angeles (the victims are thoroughly drained of their blood, which qualifies as par for the course as far weird s**t in L.A. is concerned). George Chakiris (the suave Latino gang leader in "West Side Story"), looking very pallid, handsome, elegant and uncannily youthful, gives a surprisingly fine, intense and sympathetic performance as Michael Fury, a dour, composed, reticent, decidedly undeadly and semi-heroic aristocratic European bloodsucker who hires diligent, energetic, outgoing private detective Lori (a spirited, beguiling Pamela Ludwig, a lovely lass who previously co-starred with Hauser in the passable post-nuke sci-fi/action item "Dead Man Walking") to help him track down Van Vandameer, who's the kind of contemptible good-for-nothing mortal miscreant who gives respectable real-life vampires a notoriously bad name.Hong Kong director V.V. Dachin Hsu brings a galvanizing surfeit of smoky, hazy, nightmarishly garish and bravura style to the reasonably artful, intelligent and original script, adding a few nifty, witty wrinkles to standard vampire lore (e.g., Chakiris sleeps in a portable leather suitcase come coffin -- complete with zipper! -- and doesn't like to drink Coke), neatly drawing distinct and engrossing characters, staging the frequent bloody violence with considerable flair (the climactic confrontation between Hauser and Chakiris especially swings), and injecting the funky, gleaming nighttime downtown Los Angeles locations with a finely atmospheric sense of pure skin-crawling dread. Moreover, incomparable trash movie goddess Sybil Danning can be briefly glimpsed walking down a street and the hip'n'ripping punk band Agent Orange perform a few thrashy numbers in a club. Crafty and involving, professionally done all around and a praiseworthy effort overall, this unjustly overlooked horror sleeper comes highly recommended, particularly to admirers of Wings Hauser's always deliciously loony, dynamic and exuberant bug-eyed histrionics.