Blood: The Last Vampire

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: April 2, 2009 (Japan) / July 10, 2009 (USA)

DVD Release Date: October 20, 2009

Plot 411: A secret government group pairs up with a vampire to find and destroy demons.

Review: Saya (Gianna Jun) infiltrates a U.S. military base on the pretense that she is a typical high school student. But she is far from ordinary. She is the last vampire in the world and has teamed up with a secret agency whose mission is to kill demons. Through her work, she hopes to confront and destroy the demon who killed her father. I didn't realize that this was based on anime, but the cinematography made it clear from the start. The special effects were extremely exaggerated, which I found a little off putting. I'd prefer blood to look like real blood. But because Saya was killing demons, I chucked the notion of "real" blood and figured the chunky blood was purely a demonic phenomenon. If you're into a lot of samurai-sword wielding, this movie is great. Jun does a good job at using the sword to dismember and kill literally dozens of demons. It's a sight to see. She does it with flair and skill. Most of the other characters are inconsequential, even the main human character Alice (Allison Miller). It's like they're just set decoration. Even when their actions have a major effect on Saya, it doesn't really seem like a big deal. Somehow I couldn't get emotionally invested in this film and didn't find myself rooting for Saya. In my opinion, everything just unfolded disjointedly. I was also confused about the title of the movie. For the entire film, I thought that Saya was a demon too (even though she drank blood from a bottle several times). Somehow I just didn't connect it because she never actually bites anyone or shows off her fangs. That's slightly weird for a vampire flick in my book.

Watch It: If you're knowledgeable about the anime and TV series. This may squish the apathy I felt while viewing it.

Skip It: If you're looking for a really good plot about demons and vampires. This is more action oriented.