Bogieville

Horror in so many different categories can be difficult to know what to choose , especially if you don´t know what category of horror film that you want to watch. Considering i have been watching horror films since the autumn of 1986 ( that´s when i saw my very first horror movie A Nightmare On Elm Street 2 ) i have seen so many titles and different categories that i know what i enjoy most. One category i especially enjoy is known as vampires and there are so many good films to choose between. You have classics such as the 1979 horror TV miniseries Salem´s Lot from legendary director Tobe Hooper ( the director of the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ) and i have to mention the 1992 horror film Bram Stoker´s Dracula. I could easily talk about both of these titles but let´s focus on a completely different film. Some of you might have heard of the 2007 horror film 30 Days Of Night from director David Slade. If you have not seen this film it takes place in the town of Barrow, Alaska. This town is preparing for its annual period of the winter with a month-long polar night. A stranger arrives from a large ship and sabotages the town´s communications and transports. Barrow´s sheriff, Eben Oleson ( Josh Hartnett ) investigates what happened while a band of vampires, led by Marlow ( Danny Huston ) attacks and murder most of the population of Barrow. 30 Days Of Night turned out to be one of the best vampire horror films of 2007 with a really good cast, very well made practical make up effects and a powerful survival story included. Danny Huston as the vampire leader Marlow is one of his best acting performances, in my opinion. A horror film definetely worth buying on digital or physical media ( a lot of nice special features included ). Speaking of vampires i have been curious about the horror film Bogieville ever since i watched the review of this film from Geek Legion Of Doom. Is this vampire film better than i expected or is this film not worth a watch?

Small town couple Ham ( Arifin Putra ) and Jody ( Eloise Lovell Andersson ) are both out of work  and have no other option than leave town for other opportunities. They suddenly end up in a road  accident, thankfully not injured badly. While they look around the area they discover a trailer park area that they have never heard of. They are about to meet the trailer park residents, who are not your typical neighbors.

I barely read anything about this film before i watched Bogieville and i am happy that i made this decision. This is definetely a different approach in the vampire genre and i really appreciate the effort. To see a trailer park where vampires live out in the middle of nowhere, that helps the mystery of this location become more interesting. There are especially three details that i feel makes this a solid horror film and the most important detail is the practical make up effects. I have to say these vampires look much more creepy than your standard vampire design. I also feel that the vampire characters works surprisingly good in this film, especially the young vampire girl Lily ( with a solid performance from actress Poppie Jae Hughes ). The scenes where Lily get an oppurtunity to show how she function for each day, really give her character a deeper meaning. The third detail is actually the CGI effects and considering this film have a limited budget i am impressed over how good the vampire kills look. In general i would say the acting is alright, where especially caretaker Crawford ( played well by actor Jonathan Hansler ) stands out as one of the most interesting human characters. The horror scenes are quite effective thanks to the vampire cast and the conflicts between certain vampires is actually a bit fun to watch. This film is surprisingly long coming close to 1 hour and 50 minutes. For the most part it works, except in a couple of stretched out dialogue scenes between actors Arifin Putra and Eloise Lovell Andersson. At the end of the day i would say Bogieville is one of this year´s better vampire horror films. It has some minor flaws but im honestly surprised how good qualities this film have to offer fans of horror. Director Sean Cronin ( director of the wonderful drama film Our Kid ) proves with Bogieville that the vampire genre is alive with a great looking horror film. A great choice if you want to be prepared for Halloween weekend.

Rating: DDD