On Innocent Blood - A Review

Innocent Blood is a well-respected vampire flick you might not have heard of. From director John Landis, this mob/vamp -flick shows up on cable pay channels from time to time, but remains relatively obscure. In fact, when I saw Don Rickles onscreen, I realized I'd seen Innocent Blood at least once before, but hadn't paid much attention. That isn't fair to the movie, because it's actually pretty good.

Landis is a master. Stephen King often said comedy and horror are the two hardest genres because, if you screw them up, they become the other (which, by way of bad paraphrasing, means comedy becomes excruciating and horror becomes laughable). Landis knows how to do both quite well, and often mixes the two. While Innocent Blood is pretty straightforward, Landis' trademark dark humor is apparent throughout.

Innocent Blood was released in 1992 and, in less capable hands, would have come across as little more than an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of mob movies and White Wolf's Vampire RPG. But it's unfair to dismiss Innocent Blood as such, because it's an earnest, and really good, movie. The slow start eventually gives way to a fun story that almost works, but falls just short largely because there's too much going on and Landis tries to play a lot of straighter than necessary.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010