When Russian writer A.K. Tolstoy, Second cousin of Leo, wrote the novella upon which this newly released film is based, it must have been pretty scary. It would have been 1839, somewhere between the first published vampire story and a half century before Dracula.
It’s not exactly a vampire story, but close enough – a kind of vampiric creature known as a Vourdalak,
operates with the same fundamentals: a thirst for blood, of course, but also the need to “convert,” if you will. An interesting variation on the theme in this particular story: it’s all in the family. You only hurt the ones you love – family and friends.
This makes for some interesting dinner table talk.
So here we are, closing in on two centuries later, and this adapted story falls short on scares and aesthetics, the main distraction being that half of the characters are dubbed in English by poor voice actors and the attendant “lip flap” that goes along with dubs. Meanwhile, other characters speak in the film’s original Spanish with subtitles. I spent way more time than I should have trying to figure out what scenario led to such a disastrous decision.
Set in present day Argentina, a family living out in the country has an illustrious set of ancestors – their photos adorn the living room. But there are secrets, and our protagonist, a young woman who’s fallen for a cute guy, is about to find out what’s what.
Come to think of it – there’s also some zombie stuff going on in the sense that you can’t be exactly sure who “has it” and who doesn’t. Not until it’s too late, anyway. For instance, Dad has gone out to hunt down one of the Vourdalaks, but when he comes back, how can the family be sure that he hasn’t been turned into one while out and about? That’s a Zombie thing, right?
I’m sorry to say that the film drags and waits until it’s too late before giving us some sensory reward in the final act. There will be an audience for it, but it’s not for me
A.K. Tolstoy’s A Taste of Blood is available On Demand and on Blu-ray | 1 ½ out of 4 Stars
Stars German Palacios, Tomas Carullo Lizzio, Naiara Awada, Lautaro Bettoni and Alfonsina Carrocio.
