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[DVD Review] ‘Midnight Son’ Is ‘Martin’-esque

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Some of the best vampire movies don’t stick to the classic fangs and widow’s peak clichés we’ve become accustomed to. Hell, Near Dark never even uses the word ‘vampire’ once in the movie and it’s still an incredible film. Midnight Son, written and directed by Scott Leberecht, follows the same lead in a Martin-esque style, telling the story of a young man coming to terms with bodily changes he’s experiencing. Changes that could be building to his full transformation into a vampire.

The gradual, believable build of these changes are only part of what makes this movie so good; Zak Kilberg as possible vampire Jacob is the other part. Tall, thin, pitiful – Kilberg’s even kind of pretty – awkward, but pretty. All of the elements that lead to a sympathetic character that the audience desperately wants to survive. Night watchman Jakob meets Mary (Maya Parish), a coke addicted bartender – who is also struggling to figure life out – and a romance quickly develops. Mary is drawn to Jakob’s drawings of sunrises: she is always trying to see something special within them while he cannot actually see at all as the rays burn his skin within seconds. Even with a deep connection the same issue is constantly interrupting their intimacy: blood. From Mary’s coke nosebleeds to Jakob’s urge to drink blood – the two are brought together and torn apart – making for a convincing, intense love story.

Midnight Son is just that: intense. But the force is not what most would expect: the potency comes from purposely-framed shots, moments of stress and pain shown on Jakob’s face, and universal feelings of claustrophobia. While there is some action, the feats that characters must conquer have the most punch and the romantic elements are more believable than most anything portrayed in film today. Midnight Son is an intelligent, beautiful movie that deserves a second viewing.

Extras on the DVD include the standard commentary with Scott Leberecht and Zak Kilberg. Also included are a few very short deleted scenes that actually would add continuity if inserted back into the film, having to deal with the building of Mary’s character for the most part. The largest extra, and the best, are interviews with the cast and crew. Writer/Director Scott Leberecht gives great insight as to the inspiration for the film, what vampire lore he wanted to concentrate on and how being a vampire fan sculpted his own characters. Zak Kilberg speaks of what drew him to the role, how he prepared and how filming at night was beneficial to him. Maya Parish is delightful in her interview – a huge contrast from the dark, addicted Mary. She will hopefully, along with Kilberg, get more roles from this piece.

The trailer on the DVD gives a few too many glimpses into the ending of the movie, yet still provides exactly what a trailer should provide – the need and want to see the film. The only complaint about this DVD is the box art, which features a classic two puncture vampire bite on Mary’s neck. After viewing this lovely gem, I feel this marketing gimmick will trick people into thinking the movie is far from what it truly is. Presenting it as a clichéd vampire flick, in the end, only takes away from the film’s true beauty. Midnight Son is too refreshing to think of it as anything other than extraordinary.

Score: 4.5/5

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‘Herencia Diabólica’ – 1993’s “Mexican Child’s Play” Finally Has a Blu-ray Release [Review]

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Did you know that there is a Child’s Play-inspired film from Mexico? If you didn’t, you can thank Vinegar Syndrome’s new label Degausser Video for making 1993’s Herencia Diabólica available for the masses to watch. Or at least for the VS hardcore fanbase, Chucky completists and anyone else who needs something like this in their lives.

Director Alfredo Salazar, known for his writing connection to the 70s Santo film series, also serves as the writer here to bring us a film seemingly inspired from the Child’s Play franchise. While it has been recently labeled as the “Mexican Child’s Play” (there’s a special feature on the disc with that very title), the killer doll concept is where the comparison should start and end. Despite having some seeds planted by that franchise, Salazar delivers a story that blossoms into something unique.

Tony (Roberto Guinar) receives a letter informing him that his aunt has died, and he has inherited her estate in Mexico. He quits his job and uproots his life in New York with his wife Annie (Holda Ramírez) to relocate south of the border and move into his new crib. Now I know what you’re thinking, what person just quits their job and drags their wife to another country without having reliable monetary income? Tony does, everyone, Tony does.

And what’s the first thing they do once they arrive in Mexico and check out the estate? They hit the bedroom, naturally. We are treated to a sex scene with an erotica song that feels like a knockoff of “Sadness” by Enigma (remember them?). Sounds fun and all, but the scene takes place completely in the dark and we see absolutely nothing. Maybe that’s why the sexy-time tune was pumping, so we could know what was exactly going down.

While Tony goes on a job interview, Annie explores the estate’s grounds in a tedious chore to experience, going room by room, plodding along. But it does lead us to her discovery of our antagonist—the evil clown doll, Payasito! Of all the things in the house, she decides to bring this monstrosity down to show Tony when he gets home. What an exciting way to celebrate (sic)! Then out of nowhere, she spouts off some exposition about rumors that Tony’s aunt dabbled in the dark arts and now we know where our title Diabolical Inheritance (the English translation for Herencia Diabólica) originates. For those of you who keep score for things like that.

Before proceeding with this review, you really need to visualize what Payasito looks like to truly embrace the rest of the film’s shenanigans. While Chucky resembles a cute ginger child, Payasito resembles a small clown that is much larger in stature than Chucky. That’s because Payasito is performed by an actor (Margarito Esparaza) in clown cosplay whenever he’s on the move (like Mannequin 2), and makes some really horrible facial expressions. Chucky dresses in “Good Guys” overalls and a striped shirt, but Payasito wears a new wave Santa hat while sporting a Sgt. Pepper jacket and Peter Pan tights. As you can now tell, he is quite beautiful.

Back to our story, Payasito begins to spook Annie cerebrally until she becomes unnerved to the point of having a complete mental break down, making her easy prey to eliminate. She dies but the unborn child survives, with Tony believing that her death was caused by her mental instability. Fast forward some years later and the couple’s surviving spawn has grown into child Roy (Alan Fernando), who at this point has already bonded with Payasito to help him over the loss of his mother. Dun-dun-duuunnn!

Meanwhile wealthy Tony remains single, still grieving his late wife, until his blonde assistant Doris encourages him to move on with his life and start seeing other people. And by other people, she naturally means herself. As the old Kanye West song lyric goes, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…”, and it seems that she might be until we learn more about her character. Doris is played by the stunning Lorena Hererra who has an extremely extensive resume in Mexico, and she carries most of the film quite well during the feature’s second half. The singer and former Playboy centerfold for their Mexico edition is by far the most recognizable face in the cast.

Doris and Tony do indeed hookup and she moves into La casa de Herencia, where she does her best to impress Roy and lessen his obsession with the doll. There is a scene where they go to a nearby park without Payasito that is filled with famous fairytale figures, such as Pinocchio, Cinderella and King Kong! What, you didn’t know King Kong is a fairytale? Me neither. But Roy continues to be obsessed with Payasito after their trip, much to Doris’ chagrin.

Her actions to separate him from Roy gets Payasito angry, setting up the film’s most memorable scene. We already know that Payasito is a devil doll like Chucky, but now we learn he also has the power to invade people’s dreams like Freddy Krueger! Does Payasito enter the dream world and concoct a creative way to kill Doris in her sleep? No, he harnesses his power to sexually assault her instead. Yes that actually happens. After she awakens, Doris grabs the doll and tosses him into a lake, only to find him waiting for her by the time she gets back to the house. So now we know he also maintains the ability to “transport” like Jason Voorhees too. This doll is the total package!

More insanity happens before we close out the film with the longest victim chase sequence ever. It makes the previously mentioned painful house search scene seem like an eyeblink. It feels like it’s the film’s entire third act, filled with so much padding that you could soundproof an entire three-story house.

So how’s the transfer? Considering it was created using a mix of VHS and film source elements from 1993, they did one heck of a job! The work they put into it is especially noticeable in the dream invasion sequence, with the pulsing multi-colored psychedelic visuals. Super trippy stuff. Even the film’s score provides a pretty chill vibe, during the times when Payasito isn’t on the prowl.

If anything you read has piqued your interest in the very least, you should give it a shot. But if not, it is best to leave this doll on the shelf.

Herencia Diabólica is now available to purchase at VinegarSyndrome.com.

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