My quick rating - 5,3/10. I am always interested in seeing other countries' versions of classic horror themes such as "vampires." This one looks at a modern Italian tale of a half-human and half-vampire called a Dampyr. Being set during the Balkan wars was an interesting touch to add to the war of humans vs. vampires. Unfortunately, this is a very inconsistent movie. Sequel setup? They might want to see how well this one is received. Harlan Draka played by Wade Briggs is a Dampyr, half-human, and half-vampire, but he doesn't know it. Soon he will have to face his powers to destroy an all-powerful creature of the night that goes by Gorka (David Morrissey.) I mention the consistency since right off the bat it begins looking very amateur with some questionable special effects. But past the opening, a few scenes later the landscape is sufficiently barren to paint a grim picture while the camera work is quite tight and really looks altogether much more professional. This same level of quality swapping happens throughout this whole thing which is really quite bizarre. At first, Harlan is more or less a con man pretending to be a vampire hunter but soon learns he actually is one. Again, I found this reveal done in a sloppy fashion that could've been dealt with much better. When his true form is discovered in a nicely choreographed battle, he finds out that not all the vampires in the land which he now knows actually exist, are all that fond of Gorka. This is when he spares Tesla (Frida Gustavsson) who is another vampire siding with Harlan. The story itself is quite rushed and considering they are clearly planning on multiple movies, they surely could've developed this whole thing a lot more. In their quest for freedom from Gorka, they also recruit a soldier named Emil (Stuart Martin) who realizes that not every vampire is evil. That recruitment process again takes place during a really poorly thought-out scene that truly bugged me. Always was one step forward and then one back while this rolled along, with decent action scenes mooted by pointless ones. For an indie-level flick though, when this movie is on, it is nicely done giving praise to first-time director Riccardo Chemello. Knowing this is the freshman effort, I expect he will do quite well moving forward. For vampire fans, you do get something slightly different out of this one but it is still the student rebels against the master routine. Still worth checking out if fans of the genre. It isn't overly violent and doesn't play into tropes so in other words, it is playing it seriously. I'm on board for the inevitable sequel.
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