Trailer

Based on the 2000 anime movie of the same title, Blood: The Last Vampire is exactly just about that: blood and vampires.

If you’ve watched the animated movie, or read any of the manga and novels adapted from the original animation, don’t get your hopes up too high just yet. While the opening sequence (where Saya sits in a shadowed train, waiting for her prey) stays true to the original animation, down to the tiny details of camera angles, dramatic shadows and gratuitous profile shots, the rest of the movie follows merely the anime’s style, not necessarily its plot.

If you, however, are looking for neat action scenes and mindless slash-bash-splat-ouch sequences, this is the movie for you. Just… ignore the odd digital visual effects of blood globules spouting from severed necks. Otherwise, this film features a neat combination of sword-wielding and karate-kicking characters, leading to very exciting (if a bit dizzying) action choreography.

The lead actress, Gianna (alias Jeon Ji-hyun of My Sassy Girl fame), surprisingly did all her stunts, which is no mean feat. Besides the sheer amount of fighting her character, Saya, had to do, a lot of her action choreography was physically-demanding.

Another surprise is that she could actually speak English comprehensibly- at least at the beginning. As the movie progresses and the predominantly Caucasian cast shifts to several key characters (namely Kato, played by Yasuaki Kurata and Onigen, played by Koyuki), the amount of coherent dialogue seems to decline. I wouldn’t have minded, seeing as I expected a bit of ‘engrish’ already anyway, but it did ruin the final scenes.

Where the movie should have come to a decent conclusion, with questions being answered through Onigen and Saya’s final battle, I just stood there with a huge “???” expression, barely keeping up with the fight sequence while trying to process what they were trying to say. I gave up the moment I heard Saya’s distinct “NEBER!” What I did understand, however, were mind-numbingly cheesy lines, okay for an animated character to say, but somewhat humorous for a real, breathing actress in the throes of a violent supercharged sword fight.

Far from being an Asian version of the popular vampire fiction Twilight, Blood: The Last Vampire is more comparable to Wesley Snipes’ Blade Trilogy. While it doesn’t have the plot development that the Blade Trilogy has had the opportunity to develop over several installments, Blood: The Last Vampire admittedly has far superior action sequences.

This movie is entertaining, at the very least. Blood: The Last Vampire a satisfactorily gory film to de-stress to. However, despite cool action scenes and a passable plot, it’s something I’d watch it only if I were either impressed by the admittedly well-made posters plastered all over, or if I were a fan of the original anime, which it tries its best to follow. Otherwise, I’d suggest waiting for the dvd version to come out.

Overall, I’d give this movie 2.8 stars.

Movie Details
Release Date: 4th June 2009
Language: English
Running Time: 91 mins
Rating: M18
Genre: Action
Starring: Gianna Jun, Masiela Lusha, Allison Miller,
Directed by: Chris Nahon