Oct 20 2008
B+ Movie Review: Razor Blade Smile
I don’t mean to keep leading off the week with a vampire movie, but there are so many to choose from. Vampires are an easy McGuffin to do in a low budget film. Find your actor. Put some fangs on him, instant villain. Or hero. Or tortured soul who wants to be a hero but must still hunt the night. Or whatever.
It’s always good to see when someone made an effort to put a twist on the vampire movie genre, though. And that leads into today’s review, Razor Blade Smile.
I picked up this film based entirely on the cover. Ample cleavage, huge gun, tantalizing tagline; the potential seemed enormous. Then I pressed play.
I can’t say Razor Blade Smile disappointed. I was expecting a film about a vampire who made her money and kept her self in blood by being a hitwoman. The movie delivers this, straight up. (She even grades the taste of her victim’s blood.)
What I wasn’t expecting was the subplot about the Illuminati, the love story, the subplot concerning the heroine and a goth club, or the dozen other little touches that this movie adds to distinguish itself from the other dozen vampire films that inhabit the direct to video rack at your favorite movie store on any given day.
The film is not without it’s flaws. The acting in places feels a little overdone. The film’s pace drags a little bit in the middle. The lighting in the movie kind of sucks, but that’s mostly due to the film’s low budget. (Incidentally, the film won an award I’d never heard of, the British “For the Film Making the Most of Resources Within a Limited Budget” award.)
But if nothing else, this movie is worth watching for the costumes. The PVC bodysuits and leather corsets are supporting actors in this pic and were worth the price of rental alone. The dialogue is also top notch, having some of my favorite lines ever delivered in a vampire film. (No I’m not telling you any. Go watch it. And pay attention to the heroine’s opinion of Bram Stoker.)
I don’t have any issue recommending this movie to vampire film fans, horror movie mans or even just people who like fetish wear. If you check this one out, make sure to watch until after the credits. It’s worth it.
Razor Blade Smile has won four B movie awards, but here I’m giving it a C. They did a good job, but it feels like with just a few tweaks it could have been better. That said, it’s definitely deserving of the following it has and it’s recent re-release on DVD. It’s got a permanent place in my collection, no doubt.
