The first thing that would surprise people who set out to watch this movie is the lack of the cheesy elements of that period. I would even say that may be one reason which would turn off people from this movie. The movie doesn't have the trademark 80s style.
I heard about some romance elements in the movie and I imagined it would be prominent. On the contrary, the romance elements are quite minimal and personally I don't think there is a huge amount of chemistry between the leads. But honestly that doesn't matter too much. One of the highlights are the performances of Bill Paxton, Joshua John miller and Lance henriksen. They basically save the movie from just being a mediocre teen movie to an exciting ride.
The interesting thing about the characters is how each vampire has had a normal past and then they had to adapt to the new reality. They had to adapt to a situation where they needed to kill. At first it is difficult but then they start to enjoy it and finally they become killing machines who can feel no remorse, no pain. And then they are unstoppable since nothing can kill them other than sunlight. It is interesting how the main character is sometimes attracted to the new lifestyle but is not cold blooded enough to complete the transformation. Not only that, when it starts hitting close to home, he wakes up to the problems of the new lifestyle.
There are quite a few scenes like the bar scene and the hotel shootout which are impressively done and Bill paxton's scenery chewing performance is most prominent in these scenes. Obviously there are elements of dark comedy but they are not too prominent (thankfully).
One of the big problems that bring down the rating a little is the ending. This is what prevents the movie from being a classic. I was a little unsatisfied with the last few scenes. One would expect a brutal gang like this to finish the job with a lot more ruthlessness and with no mercy. Instead they try to drag the situation and then obviously get into trouble in the end. It is not in tune with the rest of the movie, I feel.
I loved the soundtrack by Tangerine dream and as expected it really suits the tone of the movie. They were the voice of the 80s for me, so here too they do a perfect job with the dark touches.
I liked it very much and it does have some classic touches but it has some flaws such as the ending.
7/10
I heard about some romance elements in the movie and I imagined it would be prominent. On the contrary, the romance elements are quite minimal and personally I don't think there is a huge amount of chemistry between the leads. But honestly that doesn't matter too much. One of the highlights are the performances of Bill Paxton, Joshua John miller and Lance henriksen. They basically save the movie from just being a mediocre teen movie to an exciting ride.
The interesting thing about the characters is how each vampire has had a normal past and then they had to adapt to the new reality. They had to adapt to a situation where they needed to kill. At first it is difficult but then they start to enjoy it and finally they become killing machines who can feel no remorse, no pain. And then they are unstoppable since nothing can kill them other than sunlight. It is interesting how the main character is sometimes attracted to the new lifestyle but is not cold blooded enough to complete the transformation. Not only that, when it starts hitting close to home, he wakes up to the problems of the new lifestyle.
There are quite a few scenes like the bar scene and the hotel shootout which are impressively done and Bill paxton's scenery chewing performance is most prominent in these scenes. Obviously there are elements of dark comedy but they are not too prominent (thankfully).
One of the big problems that bring down the rating a little is the ending. This is what prevents the movie from being a classic. I was a little unsatisfied with the last few scenes. One would expect a brutal gang like this to finish the job with a lot more ruthlessness and with no mercy. Instead they try to drag the situation and then obviously get into trouble in the end. It is not in tune with the rest of the movie, I feel.
I loved the soundtrack by Tangerine dream and as expected it really suits the tone of the movie. They were the voice of the 80s for me, so here too they do a perfect job with the dark touches.
I liked it very much and it does have some classic touches but it has some flaws such as the ending.
7/10