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20 Years Ago, ‘Blade’ Was Ahead of Its Time as Marvel’s First Big Screen Success Story

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Blade

In the last decade, the Marvel cinematic universe has become a seemingly unstoppable box office juggernaut, but it was an adaptation of a horror comic released 20 years ago that proved Marvel comics could be successful in movie form. Released in theaters on August 21, 1998, Blade slayed at the box office and set the blueprint for not just the two sequels that followed but all future Marvel features; bankable leads and a director with a distinct visual style tailor-made for the eponymous Marvel character equals success. Twenty years later, Blade holds up well not just as an action horror film but for its historical relevance to the dominating genre of superhero adaptations.

In the case of Blade, having Wesley Snipes at the height of his popularity in the starring role plus special effects artist turned director Stephen Norrington meant bringing something wholly new to the big screen. Even better, at least from a horror standpoint, is that the studio behind the film is none other than New Line Cinema, or “The House that Freddy Built.” The dark tone is established from the opening sequence, with Traci Lords’ vampire seductress luring her victim into the bowels of a meat processing plant where a rave is being held. She loses her guest in the thick of the crowd just in time for the sprinkler system to unleash a torrential downpour of blood. It’s right as the unsuspecting date is about to become vampire chow that we’re introduced to Snipes’ Blade, a ruthless vampire hunter that easily dispatches all of the hired vampire security in the room.

Snipes plays Blade as a stoic killing machine; his mother was bitten by a vampire while giving birth, leaving him with the thirst and strength of a vampire, but the tolerance of the sun and garlic as a human. Blade is dubbed the protector of humans, but he’s really just a mean slaying machine embittered by his situation. When one of Blade’s victims escapes his clutches and bites hematologist Dr. Karen Jenson (N’Bushe Wright), Karen then becomes the audience proxy to submerge us in Blade’s violent, bloody world.

Through Karen, we learn the vampire world has a structured hierarchy in place, and that the primary antagonist is looking to become the blood god La Magra and rule the vampire race. That villain, Deacon Frost, bears no resemblance to his comic counterpart but that’s also a major win for the movie. Stephen Dorff is a highlight of the film, his ambitious but youthful vampire a perfect balance to the quiet detachment of Blade.

With an antihero that never loses focus on his sole mission of vampire genocide, it helps to make the vampires monstrous, and Blade nailed that aspect. Refreshingly, this action-horror doesn’t romanticize its bloodsucking beasts. Frost’s minion Quinn (Donal Logue) is gruesome as a burnt crispy corpse that tries to make Karen a meal. Pearl answered the question of what happens when an older vampire becomes morbidly obese, which in turn begs the question; how much does a vampire have to eat to become to large? It set the stage for the more horrific type of vampires that would follow in the sequels.

Blade is a character of few words, and both the script (by David S. Goyer) and the actors imbue the characters with depth without dialogue. Blade’s main ally and mentor Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) is seen in one of his earliest scenes haphazardly filling Blade’s Charger with fuel, spilling it everywhere, and then immediately striking up a match to smoke. It’s an unspoken moment that paints Whistler as a character with disregard for his own life, followed up later with the reveal that his character is dying from cancer. Frost’s lover and second in command, Mercury (Arly Jover), barely has a handful of lines in the entire film, yet she feels like a fully realized character because of her actions and facial expressions.

Blade demonstrated that a Marvel movie could be more than just action. The fight sequences, action scenes, and high energy soundtrack all made for an addictive action movie, sure, but Blade has more depth than it could’ve gotten away with. Snipes is Blade, and Deacon Frost is easily the best villain of the trilogy thanks to Dorff. It’s appropriate that 2018 marks the year that Marvel finally returns to horror with the upcoming Venom (and The New Mutants had it not gotten pushed back), 20 years after Blade’s release. But at the same time, Blade proved there was a fanbase for horror comic adaptations, so what took so long? Either way, save for some CG work that shows its age, Blade holds up remarkably well. Here’s to 20 more years.

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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