BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Paul Andrews Brotherhood of Blood starts near Brazov which is near Romania three weeks ago as an American building restorer named Christopher Clayton (Darrin James) & his photographer brother Tom (William Snow) rummage around an old Church there. Jump to Los Angeles Yesterday Morning where a Vampire hunter named Carrie Reiger (Victoria Pratt) contacts Tom to enquire about his brother Chris who has developed symptoms of Vampirism while in hospital although he seems reluctant to say anything, while out staking Vampires several hunters have noticed a strange recurring symbol used by the Vampires for some reason to either attract or repel evil. Digging deeper Carrie realises that Chris & Tom found something in that old Romanian Church, something ancient & evil that threatens both the Vampire & human race of immense power. The only way to stop this great evil is for Vampires & humans to work together but can an alliance be formed in time before the ancient prophecy is fulfilled?Written & directed by Michael Roesch & Peter Scheerer this low budget indie Vampire film tries to be a clever horror reworking of the seminal classic The Usual Suspects (1995) with it's interchanging time lines & the mysterious ultra bad guy Vlad Kossei whose identity & the way it is revealed is very similar to The Usual Suspects, in fact I'm not trying to boast or anything but I guessed the twist ending fairly early on & all in all thought it was quite predictable. The script which takes itself very seriously is passable for what it is (not much), it tries to big the mysterious Vlad Kossei character up so when his identity is revealed it's meant to have some great meaning but did anyone else think that during the final shot of Vlad Kossei walking towards the camera he looked like a dead ringer for Arnold Schwarzenegger from The Terminator (1984)? At just over 80 odd minutes long so at least it's fairly short, although I found the story predictable & dull if you haven't seen The Usual Suspects or have any intelligence then it may surprise you although that's doubtful. The character's are forgettable, no-one is that likable or particularly stands out & why didn't that Vampire played by Ken Foree not tell Carrie & her people what he knew straight away rather than wait, get tortured & let the big bad Vlad Kossei complete his plan?Obviously filmed on a low budget Brotherhood of Blood doesn't look the best with cheap sets, locations & effects work. The lack of budget probably meant there wasn't any money for CGI computer effects work which is a sort of blessing actually although the lack of budget means there's no money for any other type of effects work. There really isn't a lot of blood or gore here at all, a Vampire has it's finger cut off & it's fangs ripped out, there are a couple of Vampire stakings & some blood splatter but nothing else. I guess the makers wanted to rely on it's story but having ripped the whole tone & feel from The Usual Suspects without being anywhere near as good I found it hard to like Brotherhood of Blood.Filmed in Los Angeles in California on a supposed budget of about $500,000 Brotherhood of Blood is pretty rough round the edges & looks low budget. The acting is OK, Jason Connery happens to be the son of former James Bond actor Sean Connery while genre regulars Sid Haig & Ken Foree have small roles as Vampires.Brotherhood of Blood is a low budget indie Vampire horror film that tries to be clever but anyone with any intelligence or has already seen The usual Suspects will not be impressed by it's twist. A lack of blood, nudity & action doesn't help either.

ronringhoffer This movie stars Sid Haig & Ken Koree (Dawn of the Dead). The lead actress is very attractive and the outfits she wears is really the only thing that makes this movie even barely watchable. I watched this movie with several men and women who are big fans of horror movies and nobody liked it at all. I had to try and not fall asleep a few times. The main problem is that the movie is too talky, and almost all the scenes are shot in a small room. The sets are flimsy, and you can see the steel door and entire wall buckle when someone pounds on the wall.I did not realize that Jason Connery (son of the legend Sean Connery) was in the movie until after I watched it. He is one of the good guys, the only one with a British accent. He is pretty good in this but he is not in it very much. Sid Haig is pretty creepy and Ken Foree is fun, but the movie really blows. I was shocked to see that this movie had an average of 5.0 on a 10.0 scale on IMDb. I don't know what the other people were thinking of when they saw this. The movie has the feel of one of the really low budget Full Moon Charles Band movies shot in Romania. Charles Band made a bunch of excellent movies, but this resembles one of his quickie made turkeys.I have met Sid Haig and Ken Foree at several horror conventions and they are lots of fun and nice guys. I really like them both and am glad to see that they are still in demand. They both are a big credit to the horror genre. Unfortunately, this movie is really bad and has very little to offer. The lead actress looks sexy and is a good actress. She struts around in tight sleeveless tee shirts, showing off her nice body. If you are looking for a good horror movie, pass on this and look for something else.

Scarecrow-88 Roesch & Scheerer's Brotherhood of Blood is quite a claustrophobic little vampire film, mostly taking place within the congested confines of rooms within a warehouse as vampire Pashek(Sid Haig) fears his powerful brother Vlad Kossei(..for whom he burnt alive many years ago for this vampire's blood-thirst was so intense he wiped out villages in short order)has been resurrected by an artist perhaps having found his remains in a church in Transylvania. Being held captive is the artist's brother, Tom(William Snow)by Pashek's follower Fork(Wes Ramsey)and his vampire minions as they prepare for Vlad Kossei's arrival. A small vampire hunting unit, led by Keaton(Jason Connery)and Carrie(Victoria Pratt, another in the long line of female bad-asses, with a very athletic figure, often grimacing, dead-serious demeanor, with no fear at all as danger presents itself)find themselves almost nearly wiped out by Vlad Kossei it appears. Pashek mentions to Carrie, herself kidnapped by the vampire brood, that if Kossei is able to see his family line successfully killed off by another, the mighty vampire will become all powerful and invulnerable. Cult star Ken Foree has a lucrative role as vampire Stanis who is tortured by Keaton and Carrie in acknowledging who Kossei is and what he's up to.Very low budget, and given some extra mythology, but overall still follows many of the same vampire customs(..vampire bite turns you into one of them, sunlight burns their flesh when introduced, they crave human blood for survival). Pashek admits that vampires and humans came together in unison to stop Vlad Kossei and that this would be the only way to stop him once again. Kossei's resurrection came thanks to his skull's fangs cutting a certain human's hand. The violence is often cleverly disguised by specific movements and set-ups of the camera with blood scattering throughout(..and the sound effect of flesh ripping), although there is a pretty nasty fanged tooth removed from Foree's mouth as hunters Carrie and Keaton have him bound to a table, starving him of blood, wishing to gather information as to who could wipe out their entire unit. I found the confinements of the action in small, singular locations rather tiring..the film is very dialogue driven, with Haig given ample screen time devoted to telling us about his people's history, specifically about Kossei and his reign of terror. Pratt, as I mentioned before, is a tough broad who is often on the winning side in battles with her enemies. Her character and vampire Fork had a relationship before he was turned into an undead bloodsucker. Pretty neat twist..many will probably see it coming, while others might find it quite a surprise.

westonfreaky Counter-cinema in its simplest definition is cinema that through its own cinematic practices, questions and subverts existing cinematic codes and conventions. Counter-cinema usually lies in independent film-making and often attempts to combine genres of film that would, on the surface seem to not go together. In "Brotherhood of Blood" the directors cleverly combines the 'vampire' genre and the 'mystery thrillers' sub-genre in an art-house context. Both genres are embodied by a certain mysticism. The curious thing about "Brotherhood of Blood" is that this film is the most realistic and human vampire film that I have seen. I suspect that this is because the film focuses on both worlds; that of the hunters and that of the vampires. Both worlds seem to offer something that the other wants, though humanity (not being human) seems to be the ultimate goal. What follows in the film are continual contrasts between both worlds, the one whose people live at night, and the other whose people live during the day. But there are strong parallels drawn between both groups. We see that they have more in common than they would admit. We must remember that each one of these vampires was at one point a human being. The film seems to be implying that even in the most extreme of transitions (from human to vampire), one cannot completely leave behind the rites that you previously cherished so deeply.