slayrrr666
"Desert of Blood" is a really problematic, if decent at times entry.**SPOILERS**Discovered in the Mexican desert, Luis Diego, (Justin Quinn) buried for several decades, awakes as a vampire and joins with Carlos, (Mike Dusi) a small-time criminal, to set out on a quest for vengeance. When he begins, Maricela, (Brenda Romero) and her friends Heather, (Natalie J. Horton) and Samantha, (Tori White) decide to come down to help out her family, and upon both groups meeting up with each other, decide to become friends over his stories about a past friendship with the family. As they stay to help out and more and more bodies around the town turn up missing, they start to question who he really is, and as soon as local Cris, (Naim Thomas) helps them to realize he is a vampire and that his quest is still going on, they all race to stop it from being completed.The Good News: There was a couple of things here that worked. One of the best points is that the few vampire encounters on display are somewhat enjoyable. There's not a whole lot of them, but they are really good and some of the only times when the film has any sort of momentum going forward. The encounter in the garage is really nice, where the reversal of whether the expected attack was going to occur then or not was really well-done and made for an exciting time, and the bar encounter is really fun and enjoyable. Also really nice is the first scenes out and about roaming the countryside, which manages to feature some pretty nice kills and a lot of vampiric action taking place to a great time overall. There's also the fight with the renegade vampire in the brothel, which is short but really good. The big part, though, is the finale where it's all brought out, and with all the different elements brought in, from the vampire's tactics to their defenses and combined with a great setting that plays a part of everything mixes together into an exciting, full-on interesting and exciting encounter that certainly ends the film on a bright note. The last good part to this one is that the few times it's actually gory on-screen it's all worthwhile. There's a couple bloody bits to the neck with splatter shooting out onto the surroundings, burnt skin through exposure to crosses or sunlight, a cross impaled in the chest and an impaling with a pool cue through the chest, even though none of them are truly spectacular. Along with an atmospheric opening, these here are the film's best parts.The Bad News: There was some really big problems with this one. One of the film's biggest problems is that there's really just a lot of scenes that go on-and-on for no reason, making this one awfully dull. There's a couple different reasons for that, none more important than the romance angle. There's been a ton of them in the genre before, so it's no surprise it features one as well, but this one is just so hastily built together and haphazardly organized that it doesn't feel in the slightest bit logical or realistic, and just not believable. Having been saved from a potential rape, the only thing that's learned during the whole romance is each other's name, and yet that's enough for a deep commitment and difficulty in believing and accepting the vampiric tendencies of him later comes as a complete surprise, which doesn't make sense since nothing is given as to why that would be so. It's incredibly distracting and takes the viewer right out of it. There's also the fact that, besides featuring a clichéd angle lamely, there's a ton of time devoted to the family and the friendship between everyone, which is just over-developed to the point of it taking up a ton of screen-time. These elements here just make the film last to long that it doesn't have much of an opportunity to get many vampire scenes in, even though he's there but not in action. That may just be as well, since this is one of the most physically underwhelming vampires in the genre. There's nothing about him that gives off any kind of intimidating presence, there's barely anything that really screams as though he's going to be doing anything that will be difficult to overcome or prove dangerous to those going up against him, and beyond the mere fact that he's a vampire, really doesn't do much of anything to really make him intimidating. The last flaw to this one is the fact that there's a lot of off-screen kills that really tone down the amount of gore potentially could've been used. There's about an even amount of physically on-screen and off-screen, which is pretty bad and should've been favored more to one-side. These here are the film's flaws.The Final Verdict: While not one of the worst entries in the genre, it doesn't have a whole lot to really recommend about it either. Really only worthwhile for the most hardcore vampire-film completist, while those who are looking for more rewarding fare or not a fan of the genre should heed caution.Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Nudity and a clothed Sex Scene
joemamaohio
In Mexico, a tourist uncovers a tomb with a cross on it. He removes the cross, and a vampire known as Louis Diego is resurrected after being put down there 35 years ago.Hell-bent on revenge, Louis targets the people who put him in the coffin - only to find out most of them are now dead, except for his former love Sarita (Yvonne Rawn), but she doesn't even want to live and suffers a stroke after seeing Louis.Louis sets his eyes on Sarita's niece, Maricela (Brenda Romero), and begins to fall in love with her. He struggles between the vampire urges and his love for Maricela.This movie would've been better if: 1) it was longer (we didn't even get a chance to really feel for any of the characters) 2) it had better actors 3) it had an overall better story 4) it was something totally different.All-in-all, "Desert of Blood" will be one of those films that, once you watch it, you instantly forget about it. It's that bad.
synchrogrl
While I'm not exactly advising Anne Rice to step down, this is definitely one of the better indie vampire flicks I've seen (and I've seen more than I care to admit to the general public!). The acting was a little self-conscious, but good overall, with a few moments that were downright beautiful. The writing seemed purposefully camp, which is a risky choice, but I found myself caught up in it. And Justin Quinn is pretty hot, in my opinion.I think fans of campy and fun will walk away pleased, while people who are more into mindless violence and pure horror are going to be disappointed. It looks as if the producers spent more of their budget on getting actors with some credentials, rather than on gallons of fake blood. I think this indie spirit sets this film apart from slash-and-gore-and-someone's-intestines films. It doesn't try to be next summer's blockbusting box office hit. It aims for more modest goals, and it reaches those with panache.This is an amusing and tongue-in-cheek tribute to the vampire genre.
