It has a few cool moments..
My Step-Dad’s a Freakin’ Vampire (2009)
Directed By: David Matheny
Where to get it: MVD
The Prologue
Don’t you just hate it when your mom gets a new husband that turns out to be a vampire? Our protagonist in, My Step-Dad’s a Freakin’ Vampire sure does. and really who could blame him? I mean, I don’t suppose it could get much worse. Perhaps one day they could come up with a concept and have a whole string of these. Like, “My Step-Dad’s a Damn Zombie” or even worse, “My Step-Dad’s a Effin Republican”. I can smell the money on those even now as I sit here typing. But let’s worry about that stuff then and just deal with the poor kid with the vampire in the family now.
The Movie
High school student, Rusty Funkouser, finds out his brand new step-dad is a vampire looking to raise some serious hell. And so the plot rolls along with the step-dad trying to raise his army of the dead and Rusty (along with a few friends) trying to stop him and save the world! It’s very “Fright Night-ish” in spots, and I’m sure the younger horror fans (meaning teens) will get a much greater kick out of this than the older horror fans will. So, it’s a little mixed but it does have some very good things about it.
One thing I must bring up is the fact that I really REALLY didn’t like the lead here. And I don’t mean that in the way that means I didn’t like his acting. It’s a bit of a compliment to his work, because his character is a d-bag if I ever saw one, and he really comes across as just that in the film. While that is a nod of the hat to his acting, I would have liked this a lot better had the lead been a little nicer. Even when he goes from being bratty to becoming a bit of a hero he still never really becomes likable. His friends in the movie (while not as well acting in one case), do come across likeable in their own ways, so that at least helps.
Now while this movie does get kicked off in the typical way of an indie film, and does look like every other indie film you could find out there. The effects do pickup. There’s some CGI, then we notice the use of what appears to be green screen, and then the effects go full on and give us some really gnarly looking ghouls and zombies. I do think that the movie get a lot better from that point, and it really is the highlight of the entire film. It’s not a Michael Bay blockbuster, but it really does look great and it’s fits the film’s overall vibe perfectly. The film for some, may be hard to get into at fist, but once this part of the film gets kicked in full gear, I think you’ll like it a lot more than you originally did.
So the film has a well enough plot, it avoids getting too corny, and it it even gives us some cool effects during the last part of the film. So I’d say it’s a cool watch if you are bored. It’s probably more suited for the teenagers, but even if you aren’t a teen I think you’ll like a lot of what the film has to offer before it ends. And I also salute this movie for giving us an ending that feels like a complete ending, and a suited ending for the flick at that. You just don’t see stuff that feels like a complete story anymore. Most of what comes out today just works towards a sequel. So it’s got some stuff that are a little wacky, but ultimately it does enough to hold your attention.
The Conclusion
Perfectly acceptable film making here. With some cool looking monsters as well. Could have used a more likeable character, and even a female to lead to work with our lead, but it’s not by any means horrible or unwatchable. I do still stand by my statement that it seems to have a strange Fright Night vibe going, but instead of the neighbor being a vampire it’s the kid’s step-dad.
The Rating (6/10)
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