22, live in North Wales. I've done quite a few reviews that aren't on Ciao here: http://www.gamesboo...
22, live in North Wales. I've done quite a few reviews that aren't on Ciao here: http://www.gamesbooksfilms.com :)
Member since:19.06.2003
Reviews:221
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Having recently sampled in the delights of undiscovered anime classic 'Princess Mononoke', I decided it was time to investigate the genre a little closer. Blood - The Last Vampire was the next DVD I bought.
A manga animation, Blood is a curious film set in 1966, just before the Vietnam war started. Events focus around the young, mysterious girl Saya, who we first see travelling on an underground train, staring peacefully into space. Things begin to get a little more interesting however when she slaughters the other passenger in her carridge with her not particularly well-hidden sword.
It emerges that Saya is working with a team of undercover agents (think Men In Black-types and you've got it), whereby she seems to be some kind of demon-slayer, sent to kill beasties who can morph in and out of human form. The undercover agents track the beasts to a school not far from an American Military base in Japan, and so putting two and two together, they send the young girl there to investigate, and maybe even learn something (manners maybe)! The opening ten minutes or so fill you with intrigue - Saya is referred to as 'the last remaining original', and her appearance at the school shortly before the halowe'en party sparks off plenty of ideas in the viewers head.
Blood - The Last Vampire has oodles of
potential, but almost all of it's short-comings stem from it being an extremely short film, lasting just 42 minutes before the end credits role. Lots of questions are left relatively or completely unanswered - how exactly the demons came about, what eventually happens to them, why they even appeared in the first place...You are left in the dark as to these questions and many of the characters motivations.
As I've mentioned, the film is based around the escapades of Saya, who rather than creating a sense of wonder with her occasional bursts of extreme-violence and one-word sentances, actually proves a rather dull and disappointing character, who is difficult to relate to or truly understand. Again, as the film is so short, information as to her past, secrets and feelings are either very brief or extremely vague (or both), and she doesn't really develop as the film progresses.
Visually, it's fairly impressive stuff. Whilst some of the animations are a little unremarkable when compared to other anime's, the environments/backdrops are often close to life-like - staggeringly well-realised. For the most part, the places featured are dark and dingy in keeping with the horror theme, and the shadowing effects are put to full use - it's very stylish on the whole.
The action is backed by some decent orchestra-created anthems, but whilst 'Princess Mononoke's were grand, epic themes that really grabbed the attention, Blood's seem content just to cruise along in the background, and so consequently don't make as much of an impact.
The secondary characters are hardly memorable though they each play their part in proceedings, with a screaming nurse taking on the role of a person who always walks straight into trouble no matter how careful they are - it becomes a little tiresome watching her being saved by Saya repeatedly. Sadly, apart from her and the men in black (er, sorry...that's the two undercover agents, isn't it?), nobody else makes anything more than a cameo appearance.
The voice-acting is fair - oddly, half of the dialogue is in English and half is in Japanese with subtitles, which is just bizarre as at times foreign language is used when it isn't really appropriate. In our case this would be Saya's prolonged conversations with the school nurse - they converse in Japanese because, well...they can! This seems a little lazy in terms of the translation as the Japanese bits aren't relavant. I'm afraid I can't list any of the voice-actors because the end credits were in Japanese as well (!) but whilst none of the characters are exactly bubbling with personality, each is convincing enough.
It's a 15 certificate, but apart from a couple of blood-splattering moments the cartoon-violence really isn't that bad, and nor is the language - it's suitable for people of 12 and over at least. Considering it's a horror/vampire based film, there isn't a great deal of horror or indeed vampires to be found!
Much of what is in Blood - The Last Vampire is of a high-quality. However, because it's all over so quickly, it feels a bit rushed and unfinished. At £11.99, 42 minutes of action is not a lot, and despite the praise that has been heaped on the title because of it's effects, events prove lightweight and much too brief, and in terms of set-pieces, there is little any self-respecting horror fan wouldn't have seen a hundred times before. Action scenes are frantic but only last a matter of minutes and the ending is quite naff really. Ultimately, this is a well-crafted slice of anime action which is simply not long enough to fullfil it's complex plot's potential - it leaves you wanting another half hour.
*DVD Extras* There are plenty of extras on this featured-packed disc, it has a widescreen showing as well as numerous subtitled settings in English, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Portugese. More significantly though there is an excellent 'The Making Of' feature with a selection of mini-interviews with the artists, and scenes of the soundtrack being put together. Fans will also be pleased to know there is a picture gallery where a bunch of stills from the film can be viewed - there are not very many in truth but you can't really fault the package because of this. Also in here are short previews for other Manga films, original Blood - The Last Vampire trailers, and additional DVD extras if you have a DVD drive on your P.C (yeah, me neither).
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Production Year: 2000 - Horror - Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Carmen Electra, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, James Van Der Beek, Keenen Ivory Wayans
I loved this. I have literally JUST finished watching it and I think it it was fantastic. Good review. Donna x
DBZKing 03.09.2005 23:41
A good review, not too keen on the look of this, plus only 47/48 minutes, not too sure its worth the price either, yet if it does come cheap, it may be a purchase -Shaun
dead.letter 17.08.2003 19:19
There's so much great anime out there, I think I'll skip this one. Nice op. -d.l
Blood the Last Vampirebrings a moody atmospheric quality all of its own to the Japanese ... more
animated film tradition. In a few short enigmatic scenes, we learn of the young girl Saya who is working for nameless government agencies and is sent, after one of ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
At the Yokota Air Force base in Japan, a nervous American military is on the brink of the ... more
Vietnam War. But a greater threat exist within the walls of the heavily guarded compound: Vampires. A team of top-secret undercover agents dispatches a mysterious...
Blood the Last Vampirebrings a moody atmospheric quality all of its own to the Japanese ... more
animated film tradition. In a few short enigmatic scenes, we learn of the young girl Saya who is working for nameless government agencies and is sent, after one of ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
At the Yokota Air Force base in Japan a nervous American military is on the brink of the ... more
Vietnam War. But a greater threat exists within the walls of the heavily guarded compound: Vampires. A team of top-secret undercover agents dispatches a mysteriou...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: 2 good and 2 great episodes, excellent visuals, extensive selection of DVD extras, decent English-dub Disadvantages: Episodes and extras not quite as strong as in Volumes 2 & 3, a little heavy going for some tastes
![Blood - The Last Vampire [2000] [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78542213.jpg "Blood - The Last Vampire [2000] [DVD]")
Aug 16th, 2003
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