Night Junkies (2007)

Director:

Lawrence Pearce

Writer:

Lawrence Pearce (writer)

Release Date:

2007 (UK)

Genre:

Horror | Romance | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Stripper | Vampire | Violence | Blood | Sex

Cast

Jay Brown	...	Dodgy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lauren Adams	...	Sultry
Giles Alderson	...	Vincent Monroe
Vass Anderson	...	The Grey Man
Jonathan Coyne	...	Max - The Boss
Beverley Eve	...	Party Girl
Sasha Jackson	...	Sabrina
Mark Joseph	...	Shady
Joe Rainbow	...	Scavenger
Philip Simon	...	Stunned Nerd
Katia Winter	...	Ruby Stone
René Zagger

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality/nudity, violence, language and drug content.

Runtime:

UK:90 min | 98 min (DVD)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:18 | USA:R | New Zealand:R18

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Night Junkies

Movie Connections:

References A Clockwork Orange (1971)

proud to proclaim myself a night junkie

As a puritanical fan of cinema and the concept of vampires, I have felt woefully let down by the spate of vampire flicks in recent years. The low budget ones especially have been cringe worthy. And then Lawrence Pearce comes along with his debut feature to restore my faith. It goes to show what someone with talent and vision can do on a true shoestring of a budget.

Night Junkies banishes the supernatural and elitist aspects that are always tied to the vampire genre, and gone too is the un-relatable overly brooding protagonist. Pearce's vampires are junkies in the truest sense of the term, and it is certainly a much more disturbing context, particularly with a view to the more than psychotic character: these are just people, albeit with a very unusual addiction. It creates a vulnerability in the characters that is endearing, and allows for the humanising moral debate within the vampires on who they feed on, or even if they could bring themselves to do it at all, giving them fantastic depth instead of emotional flat-lining.

Neither the sex nor the violence are at all gratuitous – although it is certainly shocking in places. Misogyny is not a keyword for this movie, but sexy certainly is. While most vampire movies flirt with the idea of eroticism, this film puts out. And the key thing to it is that it is never out of place, you never think that it is there for audience titillation; it flows smoothly with the plot, as it should.

The Tarantino references are well earned, and like all good Tarantino movies, this movie has plenty of lines to quote. The script is fantastic in fact; the dialogue is never over fussy or disjointed. And as with any script, the delivery can make or break it. Despite the general rule that low budget equals less than second-rate acting, this film refuses to conform. The acting is far superior to other low budget movies in the genre, divine in places I would go so far to say. And while the plot is certainly dark, it is never gloomy, there is a humour to it that us horror fans particularly enjoy, especially when it is done so well so as not to detract from the mood or to create moments where it becomes a parody.

I think one of the biggest joys of this movie is that it doesn't just appeal to a singular demographic or type of movie fan: it isn't limited to the enjoyment of the die-hard vampire or horror movie buff. It is enjoyable on both those levels, of course, but also for the drama and thriller audience this would hold a thrall. In fact the romance that unravels between Ruby and Vincent is truly captivating; it is a real romance, not the numb emotionally stunted whim so often portrayed in films of the genre that Pearce has managed to give the kiss of life. In short, seeing this film almost makes you feel that you have seen a number as it fills the need that each of the genres of horror, drama, thriller and romance fill – you finish it feeling satiated in the best sense of the word.

I can't wait to see what will come next from this director, and I can only hope and pray for another instalment in this world he has created so expertly.