Vampires vs. the Bronx - A Light Vampire Movie with its Own Charms

Still in the spirit of watching Netflix new (horror) movies, I continued with another one that was released a couple of weeks ago. I was not in the mood for something heavy, so this one suit my need as the synopsis hinted it to be interesting and light. OK let's start with it.

Brief Story Line

Set in the Bronx, a large real estate company led by its manager Frank Polidori (Shea Whigham - Perry Mason 2020 version etc) started buying off small businesses in the area resulting to many people leaving the neighborhood. A group of young teenagers consisted of Miguel (Jaden Michael) with his 2 best friends Bobby (Gerald W. Jones III) and Luis (Gregory Diaz IV) tried to save a bodega owned by Tony (Joel "The Kid Mero" Martinez), the place where they hang out since childhood.

Miguel's effort though was hindered by the people themselves who were eager to sell out and collect the pay. To make things worse, there were also vampires coming to the neighborhood endangering the lives of everyone he loved.

So what would happen to Miguel and his friends? Find them all in this vampire movie.

End of Brief Story Line

To my surprise, when I started watching this one, there was a strong Stranger Things vibe. Probably because the main protagonists were children albeit in their teens. The friendship among Miguel, Bobby and Luis were truly convincing and I could really root for them. Those scenes where Miguel was trying to get close to his crush Rita (Coco Jones) were adorable. I really think these kids were the stars of this movie and they were also the ones who made me hooked by it.

The plot was very simple and there was nothing surprising, though there was a twist which was nice enough. What I did not like though was the makeup effects of the vampires. I really think they ought to do better as they did not look convincing enough. The special effects were quite minimum, so do not expect something spectacular. Oh, the finale was not bad, but I felt it was rather too simplistic. Probably it was all to make the movie light and short (it only has 86 minutes duration including closing credits which did not have any mid or post end credit scene).

Aside from the 3 kids here, there were some more supporting cast like Sarah Gadon (The 9th Life of Louis Drax etc) as Vivian, Method Man (The Cobbler, Keanu etc) as Father Jackson, even Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Live by Night etc) whom I did not recognize until I saw her name later. Mostly they did their jobs adequately, but none were as memorable as the 3 lead.

As a horror comedy movie, I thought this one was OK. The good part was definitely the nice chemistry of Miguel, Bobby and Luis plus watching their effort to safe their neighborhood was a treat. But the vampires and the finale could have been done a bit better to satisfy us, especially with such bright beginning. But overall this is a light enough movie to enjoy with family. It's not kid-friendly though because there were indeed some killings (but not as gore like other vampires movies). So if you are looking for light vampire film, then this one should be to your liking, However if you want more violent vampires, then this one is not for you.

Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars