BLOODSUCKING BASTARDS

US, 2015, 86 minutes, Colour.
Fran Krans, Pedro Pascal, Joey Kern, Joel Murray, Emma Fitzpatrick, Justin Ware, Marshall Givens, David F. Park.
Directed by Brian James O' Connell.

The title is a very direct and doesn’t lie!

This is one of those small-budget horror parodies that plays at horror festivals and late-night shows, for the fans of the genre and the sendup’s.

The film opens and the first part of the action is an in an office, not unlike the television series The Office. Most of those who work there are slackers – and the company is keen on ideas but is working on male organ enhancement. Most of the workers tend to idle away the time in games and chatter. The main serious person is Evan, Fran Krans, who takes his work seriously, expects a promotion, is continually urging his fellow non-workers to get going. He is attracted to Amanda, head of Human Resources who has proposed to him and, diffidently, he has said no and she is quite upset with him.

The head of the office is played by Bill Murray’s brother, Joel Murray, who seems to be promising Evan a promotion but brings in someone from outside, Mike, Pedro Pascal. Evan and Mike have had clashes in the past at college, especially over Amanda.

In the meantime, the opening credits show visuals of bloodthirsty mayhem and then the plot goes back two days. Also in the meantime, and intern has been savagely killed and Evan has seen someone else dead in the bathroom but the body disappears.

Then comes the revelation that Mike is actually a Vampire and intends to transform the company into his own image and likeness, infecting all the workers and making a profit – and on the way, killing a number of workers including the boss.

The film spoofs the transformation into vampires, the behaviour of the vampires afterwards, one of whom still plays games with a fellow worker and speaks in a very civilised way, and also serves as an aide for the boss.

Ultimately, with practically everyone else turned into vampires, Evan and Amanda and their slack friend, Tim, have to spend a lot of time in bloodthirsty battles, being spattered themselves – but, ultimately walking away (to a possible sequel).

Since it is all quite seriously tongue-in-cheek, it somehow works in what it set out to do, use the conventions as well as mimic and mock them.