The final installment to this year's Halloween Mini-series
Reel Features Season 5: Ticket 9: After Dark 2015 Part 2
Oh, boy...this was such a disappointment. Not only did they re-enact move-for-move the last act of the anime movie with the chiropteran trying to board the plane and Saya taking it down with her Katana, but it really was a pail imitation of the original anime movie.
The only positive aspects that I could grant the flick is that Jun Ji-hyun was amazing as Saya and she really enjoyed playing the character. I found that making the lead antagonist being revealed as Saya's mother was an interesting twist because that added some layers to her character. In the original, all we know is that she's the only original vampire left in the world next to the chiropterans. In this adaptation it's established that she's a vampire-human hybrid that has lived for 400 years whereas in the original there is nothing establishing her age, only that she's been around for decades as there's a picture of her from 1892 with the word vampire attached to her. There's more emotion attached to her when she rejects the idea of Onigen being revealed as her mother and refuses the possibility of ever being like her. But beyond that the movie really does nothing to offer anything new. The visual effects are so bad that it's not even good. When you have the Kendo instructor transform from human to creature, it lacks so much photo-realism that it looks like something that could have been concocted by a low budget YouTube movie from around that time. And when this is a major Hollywood adaptation and your low CG budget is on display for all to see - that really does not spell well for your movie. Aside from Jun, only Liam Cunningham puts in any real effort of acting and making the audience care about his character, Michael. Which I'm presuming was meant to be David from the original. Why they changed it to Michael is unclear, because fans of the original know who it's meant to be. Like with the original, the lead agent of the "Council" is Saya's liaison and provides her with the sustenance to help her stay alive without having to slay humans to feed off. She forms somewhat of a bond with Alice played by Alison Miller after having witnessed her father murdered on the US base and Saya realising that that people she works for can no longer be trusted since Michael's Partner, Luke, kills Michael. In all honesty, this movie is one of those flicks you should only give a look at if you're that genuinely curious. I enjoyed aspects of it and because I liked Jun Ji-hyun's performance as Saya. Look at it if you must. But you're better off seeing the original.
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AuthorThe long awaited Season 5 Archives
December 2015
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