Videodrone B-Sides for July: 'Midnight Son' is a Respectable Twist on the Vampire Film

While some of these films secure a limited release and an occasional review in an actual newspaper or national magazine, most of these films are reviewed only on websites that specialize in genre movies or home video releases. I offer links to them where I can.

It's vampire love and blood lust in "Midnight Son" (Image), which played in both Montreal's Fantasia Festival and the Toronto After Dark Film Festival and picked up some good notices. Zak Kilberg is an aimless young man trying to adjust to a sudden aversion to sunlight and a craving for raw meat while falling in love. Scott Weinberg, at Fearnet, writes that "Despite a few familiar tropes and a slightly slow beginning, "Midnight Son" is precisely the sort of indie film that guys like me love to discover."

The DVD features commentary by writer/director Scott Leberecht and his three stars, deleted scenes, and interviews. Read more reviews here and watch the trailer at Videodrone.

"Cherry Bomb" (Well Go) and "The Girl From the Naked Eye" (Naedomi) both promise that never-fail exploitation formula of sex and violence. In this case, however, both films earn a fail from the critics.

"The Girl From the Naked Eye" (Naedomi), starring Jason Yee as a bodyguard out to avenge the murder of a prostitute is a "Sin City Lite" according to Alison Willmore at The AV Club, all stylized action and hard-boiled clichés with a largely Asian-American cast. "It’s an intriguing cultural twist, but too bad the film itself is so derivative, it could have been assembled from Robert Rodriguez’s discard bin." Dominique Swain and Sasha Grey get featured billing but only small roles. No supplements. More reviews here.

"Cherry Bomb," a throwback to the drive-in action films of the eighties, stars Julian Jean as an exotic dancer looking for revenge on the men who raped her. It's unrated, but that doesn't mean a surfeit of extreme violence or titillating nudity awaits, which seems to defeat the purpose. Blu-ray and DVD, with commentary, deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and outtakes. Reviews here.

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