Region: 0
Country of Release: America
Country of Origin: Canada
Distributor: Eclectic DVD / Music Video Distributors
Pros:
- So bad it's good. A definate movie to watch with mates whilst having a few beers.
- A father, Mary and Jesus chase a vampire on a scrambler motorbike.
- It's a musical horror with kung-fu elements and Jesus.
- You can't knock what was achieved with a $38000 budget.
- A great selection of extras.
Cons:
- Acting is atrocious.
- Colours are faded and washed out.
- Print is full of grain and cigarette burns.
- Poor lip-synching.
- Dialogue is often inaudible.
The Film:
If you're anything like me, the first thing you probably thought when reading the films title was this: "Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter? It sounds like it'll be one of those films that is so bad, it's good". Well, I can happily say, you're right. It is so bad it's good. Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter is the story of a city in turmoil, as lesbians are going missing in their droves. What's happening to them? Will they be seen again? To answer these very questions, Father Eustace (Tim Devries), a priest who is missing half his parishioners, sends out one of his assistants to get Jesus. As his assistant (the Apostle for Apostles) reaches him, things quickly turn belly up, and eventually Jesus is told the background about the missing lesbians. It isn't long until we find out what is happening to them. They are being turned into vampires! Due to this, Jesus takes it upon himself to save the world from the oncoming disaster. He can't do this in his robe and sandals though in the big city as he obviously doesn't want to be recognised. So off he goes with Mary Magnum, Father Eustace's assistant, to the clothes shop, so he can look abit more normal. It is in this scene, where they see one of Father Eustace's parishioner's Maxine and Mary and Jesus follow her on a scrambler motorbike to the Vampire's den. Like I said, so bad it's good. By the way, did I mention that the film is a musical that contains kung-fu martial arts? Did I also mention that Jesus also gets teamed up with professional wrestler El Santos? Oh, and how about what they use for stakes to kill the vampires? Well, I'll tell you now. The film is a musical with with a pretty cool heavy rock track that suits the film down to a masterful tee and also has scenes of (extremely badly choreographed) kung-fu. Not only that, but Jesus gets teamed up with wrestler El Santos making way for some hilarious fight scenes in which they kill the vampires with wooden stakes, toilet plungers, chopsticks and anything else they can get their hands on. Filmed on a miniscule budget of just $38000, I can't fault the filmmakers for what they have managed to achieve with the money. You have to remember that most blockbuster films cost $100million upwards! If you fancy a laugh, then get a few mates to come around and watch this because you will have great fun, though if you watch it by yourself, it may leave a disappointed taste in your mouth. At least rent it.
The DVD:
Video:
Eclectic DVD have offered us the OAR of 4:3 and, unfortunately, it is a poor print. The colours are extremely washed out and faded and there is a lot of grain and artifacting throughout. Also, there are the odd glimpses of 'cigarette' burns on the print. Saying this, the washed out look of the film, actually helps it along, giving it a very 1970's look. Also we must remember that the film was made on a very low budget and with that, in most cases at least, comes low production values. There might not be a better print around so at least this is watchable.
Audio:
We have been provided with original English dolby digital 2.0 stereo track for this release, and, like the video, it isn't free from problems. The film suffers from poor lip synching throughout and on some occasions throughout the film, the dialogue is unclear and sound levels inconsistant. I would definately have liked to see at least a dolby digital 2.0 surround track, or even more preferable, a 5.1 track in order to let the rock soundtrack really get you going. As it is though, the sound is below average and the major downfall of this disc.
Extras:
Audio Commentary - The first extra that we have been provided with is an audio commentary with director Lee DeMarbre, writer Ian Driscoll and cast members Phil Caracas, Josh Grace and Jeff Moffett.
They talk about making the film, provide us with some anecdotes and talk about what is happening in general. There are no quiet moments and they all seem to play off each other really well. You can tell that they all enjoyed making the film as it comes off in the way they talk. Worth a listen.
Interviews - Next up we have a massive selection of interviews with members of the cast and crew. Running for forty minutes, we are told various stories about what it was like to work on the film, how the film got made and how the low budget was maximised. Interesting comments but a lot is repeated from the audio commentary.
Deleted Scenes and Outtakes - Next, we are given thirty minutes of deleted scenes and outtakes taken from the film with optional audio commentary by director Lee DeMarbre, writer Ian Driscoll and cast membersPhil Caracas, Josh Grace and Jeff Moffett.
Extended Dance Sequence - Why this isn't included in the deleted scenes section, I do not know. This extended sequence of the dance scene is quite enjoyable but overpushed. You can see why it had to be cut down to help the pace of the film.
Trailers - We are given two trailers here. The first is a mock trailer for Harry Knuckles, a very funny trailer for a spoof kung-fu flick. We are also given the theatrical trailer which is your usual affair of showing most of the best bits in a two minute sequence.
