Brotherhood of Blood (2007)

Absolutely Fantastic

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Blistering performances.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Well well, again written by those who wrote Bloodrayne and Blade and Alone in the Dark. Do I need to say more, all those didn't do well at the box office except Blade. This one features Ken Foree and Sid Haig. Why I ask myself did they agree to be involved in this peace of a turkey. The vampire teeth are to say the least not frightening. I met Ken twice and Sid once; Sid was a bit of a shy person not easy to talk with, Ken by the other hand was very polite. At the convention there were a lot of problems concerning shoots with the stars, Ken was on of those who staid hours with the fans after wards long after closing time. But here he delivers a stupid role, even Sid who can do a lot better I ask myself why. The storyline never convinced me, and as the blood flows frequently it is also never frightening. My God, this really is a waist of time. But the real horror happens at the end, it's an open ending, aaaaaaaargh don't deliver us part 2!!

I must admit upfront that seeing that sometime cohorts of Uwe Boll (Micheal Roesch & Peter Scheerer) wrote and directed this film did fill me with some dread, but I also resigned myself to watching all of the films in the "Ghost House Underground" set, so with great reluctance & extremely low expectations I popped it into the DVD player. It turns out that lowering my expectations was the right move on my part as the film was dreadfully bad and I started to even feel sorry for Sid Haig and Ken Foree, two horror film icons who truly deserve better. More of a character piece than a vampire tale, but all the characters are bland and lifeless (no pun intended) Maybe it's time someone put a stake in the vampire sub-genre as it's done.My Grade: DDVD Extras: a short 5 minute behind the scenes featurette; interviews with actors Victoria Pratt, Sid Haig, & Ken Foree; storyboard to screen comparison; trailer for this movie; and trailers for "Dance of the Dead", "No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker", "the Substitute", "Dark Floors", "Trackman" "Room 205", & "the last House in the Woods"

On my constant search of occult joys (like for example,Subject Two) in the world of low-budget horror cinema,I find very frequently very bad movies (like Dark Corners and Five Across the Eyes);unfortunately,I am very accustomed to that.But I think the most painful thing is to find a movie with great potential which was destroyed by some element of its production;it can be on a narrative,technical or creative level.Brotherhood of Blood is one of that movies which could have been much better if it was not for a fatal weakness : the disastrous direction.The main concept from the screenplay is good and pretty original.But,that good potential is completely destroyed because of Michael Roesch's and Peter Scheerer's extremely bad direction.As screenwriters,they showed some ingenious things on the screenplay which would have made of this an interesting movie.But their work as directors completely ruins this film making it very mediocre when it could have been good.Their directing is bad because of the badly illuminated cinematography,horribly structured scenes,uncomfortable close-ups and specially,because of the horrendous edition with continuity problems and with sudden changes of rhythm and tone.That lack of a global vision and of a correct structure of scenes and the weakness of keeping the flow of the narrative totally destroy this film,making bad what could have been a good film with a better directing.By the way,during the final credits of the movie,the first person listed on the section "special thanks" is "director" Uwe Boll.Speechless...I suppose that even the slight influence of this pathetic director has the power of ruining other movies like this one.The bad directing is also seen on the performances,which result very amateur,in spite of having some veterans of fantastic cinema.I do not wanna attack the actors...they have made solid works on other occasions (for example,Sid Haig,Victoria Pratt and Ken Foree).I think the fault is from Roesch and Scheerer,who clearly need a lesson on how to direct a movie.The only positive elements are on the screenplay,specially on the main concept,which is very good.But the pathetic direction ruins that good potential.Brotherhood of Blood is one of that movies which make me angry,because they represent wasted potential.I think that with another director/s,the result would have been a solid film.But,like this,I do not recommend Brotherhood of Blood because it is a very mediocre horror film.I think this movie will be useful to show film students how NOT to direct a movie.

Roesch & Scheerer's Brotherhood of Blood is quite a claustrophobic little vampire film, mostly taking place within the congested confines of rooms within a warehouse as vampire Pashek(Sid Haig) fears his powerful brother Vlad Kossei(..for whom he burnt alive many years ago for this vampire's blood-thirst was so intense he wiped out villages in short order)has been resurrected by an artist perhaps having found his remains in a church in Transylvania. Being held captive is the artist's brother, Tom(William Snow)by Pashek's follower Fork(Wes Ramsey)and his vampire minions as they prepare for Vlad Kossei's arrival. A small vampire hunting unit, led by Keaton(Jason Connery)and Carrie(Victoria Pratt, another in the long line of female bad-asses, with a very athletic figure, often grimacing, dead-serious demeanor, with no fear at all as danger presents itself)find themselves almost nearly wiped out by Vlad Kossei it appears. Pashek mentions to Carrie, herself kidnapped by the vampire brood, that if Kossei is able to see his family line successfully killed off by another, the mighty vampire will become all powerful and invulnerable. Cult star Ken Foree has a lucrative role as vampire Stanis who is tortured by Keaton and Carrie in acknowledging who Kossei is and what he's up to.Very low budget, and given some extra mythology, but overall still follows many of the same vampire customs(..vampire bite turns you into one of them, sunlight burns their flesh when introduced, they crave human blood for survival). Pashek admits that vampires and humans came together in unison to stop Vlad Kossei and that this would be the only way to stop him once again. Kossei's resurrection came thanks to his skull's fangs cutting a certain human's hand. The violence is often cleverly disguised by specific movements and set-ups of the camera with blood scattering throughout(..and the sound effect of flesh ripping), although there is a pretty nasty fanged tooth removed from Foree's mouth as hunters Carrie and Keaton have him bound to a table, starving him of blood, wishing to gather information as to who could wipe out their entire unit. I found the confinements of the action in small, singular locations rather tiring..the film is very dialogue driven, with Haig given ample screen time devoted to telling us about his people's history, specifically about Kossei and his reign of terror. Pratt, as I mentioned before, is a tough broad who is often on the winning side in battles with her enemies. Her character and vampire Fork had a relationship before he was turned into an undead bloodsucker. Pretty neat twist..many will probably see it coming, while others might find it quite a surprise.