Imagine the seedy, neon burst of colours of night-time LA from Ryan Gosling’s Drive witnessing a war between humans and vampires. That is exactly what Night Teeth is, with the same neon-like dreamy colour palette and high drama quotient. Directed by Adam Randall and starring Jorge Lendeborg Jr, Debby Ryan and Lucy Fry, the film is a typical vampire film that is fun enough to leave bite marks but not great enough to make a blood-sucking impact.
Set in the streets of LA, the film follows a quirky college kid named Benny trying to make extra money by taking up his brother, Jay’s job as a chauffeur where he is tasked with driving a bizarre pair of ladies across LA. The party animals want to visit every party and soon their night of debauchery takes a deadly turn when Benny is caught in between the raging egotistic battle waged by the blood-sucking vampires and the vampire-hunters against each other as they try to protect humanity. While Debby Ryan’s voice-over tells the audience about the distinct rules one must follow in this world, somehow the film falls flat.
Out of all supernatural entities, vampires have often caught more attention and buzz. Perhaps it is because of a general fetish regarding these creatures and their pale skin, blood-shot eyes and general commandeering aura that makes one go weak at the knees. Vampirism was made popular by Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula who not only revelled in gothic horror but inspired various films, including Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula.
While vampires in films like From Dusk to Dawn have had a comical impact, Twilight has spun a taboo love story. Shows like Vampire Diaries have romanticised the pale blood-suckers in the landscape of teen fantasy. Vampirism in films and shows has often been perceived in various lights and the battle between the shadow walkers and the humans is nothing original.
Night Teeth is extremely canon-compliant, inspired by its predecessors. The humans in the film are as clueless as ever, completely oblivious to the burgeoning existence of the supernatural world. With plenty of jokes regarding bites and blood, the overall visuals of the film are pretty impressive. Despite umpteen cliches, the audience might find themselves lasciviously gravitating towards the uber-hot corset-clad vampires and the sensuous Meghan Fox who, after Salma Hayek in From Dusk Till Dawn, is the most attractive vampire in the history of vampires. Her presence in the film is perhaps the most exciting scene as we cannot help but drool over how suave yet incredibly attractive she looks.
Watch out for Theon Greyjoy (hopefully free from Ramsay Bolton), AKA Alfie Allen as the entitled and hedonistic antagonist yet again. Also, try to be mindful of the mild traces of Stockholm syndrome as Benny and Blaire’s budding romance makes the innocent boy be careful about their captor’s secret.
Now streaming on Netflix, check out the trailer below:
