Vampires vs. The Bronx (2020) Film review

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Introduction to Vampires vs. the Bronx

There is a long line of Movies that have the synopsis in the title –
Snakes on a Plane 2006, The Towering Inferno (1974), Lesbian Vampire Killers 2009. Joining this esteemed list is Vampires vs. the Bronx.

Vampires vs. the Bronx is a horror comedy. It takes aim squarely at the family end of the film spectrum and as it features Vampires, and has a little gore. Like many films these days you may think that Vampires vs. the Bronx is based on a comic or graphic novel. In fact, it is an original screen play, written and directed by Osmany Rodriguez (famous for being a Saturday Night Live film segment director.) Originally slated for release by Universal Studios, Netflix picked up the distribution rights and started streaming it in October 2020.

The Script/Screenplay

Vampires vs. the Bronx is directed by Oz Rodriguez, former Saturday Night Live director and been written by Oz Rodriguez and Blaise Hemingway

A mysterious corporation has arrived in the Bronx and is buying out the local stores. Their owners are apparently leaving the Bronx with cash offers they cannot refuse. Miguel Martinez (Lil Mayer) sets about attempting to organise a Bloc Party, fundraiser to save his local Bodega (convenience store) and expresses concerns to the locals that the neighbourhood is being gentrified. No one takes any notice as after all he is just a kid. After witnessing a Vampire in action taking out one of the local Gang members, Miguel runs into the Bodega and tries to convince the owner, and stand in father figure, ‘Tony’ (The Kid Mero) he had seen a vampire. Tony does not believe him, after all he is a kid! Eventually his two friends’ clock onto the fact that the vampire did not appear in a mirror. Finally believing ‘Lil Mayer’ the trio set out trying to save the Bronx from the Vampire infiltration, aided by a teenage girl with special vampire knowledge (Coco Jones) and a Priest (Method Man) who has a hard time forgiving past sins.

Think Goonies meets stranger things, and you get the tone of the movie.

There are a lot of comments on social media and other reviews that Netflix Vs the Bronx is a dumbed down vampire movie, and that it has been ‘Netflixed’ and sanitised of gore. After watching the film, I think these comments totally miss the point of Vampires vs. the Bronx. Not only is the film aimed at a younger audience, but Rodriguez uses the script to tackle underlying social themes. It is a type of storytelling not usually seen in more traditional Vampire movies.

We have a group of 3 Bronx kids: Bobby Carter, Luis Acosta, and Miguel Martinez (aka Lil Mayer) Miguel being the glue that holds the trio together. This group dynamic is strained with Bobby seemingly on the fringes of joining a Bronx gang and on course to end up like Lil Mayer’s father…deceased. This is a theme that crops up several times.

The kids are growing up and trying to impress the girls they are awkward, geeky have overprotective parents, and are acting older than their age, something most teenagers can relate to.

The Bronx itself – being from the middle of England the only awareness and preconceptions I have of the Bronx are that it is a no-go area, full of trouble and gangs. Here the Bronx is portrayed as a tight knit community. Everyone knows everyone else and family values drive the community. It is quite a refreshing take on what could quite easily be portrayed as a gang run ghetto.

Generation X’s fascination with social media is explored with a character live steaming various events.

Rodriguez and his team are clearly fans of Vampire fiction. Hints of other franchises are sprinkled all over the movie.

The colour red predominantly appears.

The Corporation taking over the Bronx is ominously called Murnau Enterprises and the company logo incorporates the image of Vlad the Impaler. The first Vampire film was Nosferatu (1922) directed of course by F.W. Murnau.

Stephen King’s Salem’s lot is seen being read.

Look out for Luis’s special vampire knowledge. He is well versed in how to handle vampires and convinces the trio to use the Blade movies as source material for training! Queue the on screen cameo of Wesley Snipes’ Blade.

This is no Shaun of the Dead level ‘funny’ movie, but it does have some nice comedic moments sprinkled through the film. These are delivered in a mix of one liners that embarrass the kids, ominous but witty posters in the background of shots, or dialogue the kids say when slaying vampires. It is this mix of ‘in your face’ and subtle humour that lightens what could otherwise be a very dark movie

Overall Rodriguez and Hemingway (Blaise, not the famous author) have created a smart family friendly script.

Standout Casting

The film is a who is who of talent, so I have picked out 3 performances that stand out good or bad…

Jaden Michael as Miguel Martinez

Jaden is an upcoming talent, at only 16 years old, he already has a list of notable credits including Blue Bloods. He takes the lead role in this film and does not miss a step. He is asked to not only provide comic relief but also deliver action set pieces when taking out Vampires. He is totally believable as the kid no one listens to and seems to be having a great time on set. Spot on bit of casting!

Method Man as Father Jackson

Father Jackson is a gruff catholic priest who does not tolerate bad behaviour and has seemingly thrown one of Miguel’s friends out of church. It is more of a cameo appearance but he is central to the plot, how else are the Kids going to get holy water? Played both straight and for laughs, Method man lands a little gravitas to proceedings and did make me smile when I realised who it was. (Insert your own joke about method acting here)

Coco Jones as Rita

This casting and character story arc poses a bit of a problem, firstly Rita is only shown in the background of scenes for the first half of the movie. It is not until the second half of the movie Coco gets anything to do, and then it is not a lot of support. Her character does not seem as well thought out as the boys and seems somehow shoehorned into the screenplay.

Secondly, I am not sure what age Rita is supposed to be, but if by my reckoning Coco was in her 30’s was this was filmed and it shows, she powers over the boys physically she doesn’t look even close to the boys age and when you notice it, it’s a little of putting. That is not to say Coco Jones performance is bad, I think she pretty much nailed what she was given to do. Her character just needed a little bit more thought in the writer’s room.

Sound/Music/Score

Will and Brooke Blair have created the music for Vampires Vs the Bronx. They have created a score that in parts encapsulates Bronx culture but in other parts is restricted to generic beats in the background. To his credit director Rodriguez removes the background music in certain scenes. Letting the ambience of the Bronx filter through. This provides much needed ambience to the film. As for the sound quality Netflix provides the film in 5.1 not ATMOS. Its clear enough, but some well placed effects could have been used during the Vampire attacks. Vampire Vs The Bronx is on of those films pleasant enough but with no real style.

Visual Effects

This film may have started out with a theatrical intent but the fact Netflix brought it and made it a straight to video film means the budget is also a little restricted. The vampires look a little TV movie cliché. Pale skin – check, light hair – check, fangs – check, long gowns for cloths – check. I know this is a kids movie but something more creative with the vampire style would have been welcomed. The rest of the cast get to wear clothes that look typical for their characters and overall the wardrobe dept have done a super job. The set design is also really good. I mentioned earlier about posters in the background, The attention to detail in the scenes makes the Bronx stand out in a whole new light.

Video Quality

Blake McClure has handled the Cinematography for Vampires Vs the Bronx. This film features A LOT of dark scenes, (not surprising really as vampires are notorious for being night creatures). Its great to see McClure is able to handle the scenes really well. The dark scenes do not suffer from graining indicating the McClure really knows his stuff when working in low light. McClure also lets the low light scenes just happen and avoids the temptation to swath the scenes with light, preferring instead to work with ambient lighting. McClure has also strayed away from vastly colour grading each scene the same. This adds to the realistic tone that Rodriguez attempts to set, and gives the film a certain grounding that suits the locations.

Vampires Vs The Bronx is presented in HD and that’s a shame as those dark scenes I mentioned would greatly benefit from Dolby Visons ability to handed tonal shifts or even some basic level of HDR would make a huge improvement. As it stands Netflix’s HD stream isn’t at all bad, it’s just not as polished as it could be and undoes a lot of the great work McClure puts into the film.

Vampires vs. the Bronx: Overall Thoughts

This is a fun almost family friendly vampire flick, that has more layers than a film like this should have. It’s great to see that the story is a little bit more fleshed out (pardon the pun) than the title suggests. It’s easy to see why Netflix picked it up as it is well produced, and the effects are fine for this type of film. Vampires vs. the Bronx does not have ‘Underworld’ levels of gore, but it doesn’t need to and it knows it. Essentially is a Spielberg type kid’s adventure, that has a lot of fun referencing other vampire franchises along the way. I wonder if this will become a cult hit?

The Silver Hedgehog Rating: 3.9 'Recommended'

The Script / Screenplay
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Casting

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Music / Score

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Visual Effects and Costumes

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Video Quality

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If you want to watch gore, fire up Blade, if you want to watch a group of kids going on an adventure, saving the Bronx and destroying vampires, then watch this.

Words Garry
Editor JJ
Images The Movie Database

Review Extras

Age Rating 12

Release Date 02 October 2020

Director Oz Rodriguez

Written By: Oz Rodriguez and Blaise Hemingway

Cast: J

aden Michael,

Gerald W. Jones III, Gregory Diaz IV,

Sarah Gadon,
Cliff “Method Man” Smith,
Shea Whigham,
Coco Jones,
Joel “The Kid Mero” Martinez,
Chris Redd,
Vladimir Caamaño,
Jeremie Harris,
Adam David Thompson,
Judy Marte,
Richard Bekins,
Zoe Saldaña

Producers: Lorne Michaels, Erin David

Runtime 1h 25min

Editor for Silver Hedgehog JJ

Images : Netflix

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