8/24/20 - Bit (2020) - 5+/10

Female empowered vampires that keeps the genre fresh and femme. It’s a concept that has legs and despite some of the cheesy “new cool” that it tries to go for, it stays vibrant and verdant. A youthful invigorating, taking elements of a True Blood or Twilight and either presenting a distinct and revelrous thumb of the nose at them, in jokes and all, or freshening them up.

The head vampire kills, figuratively and literally. Her story was quite compelling. We don’t get enough true drama, only in fleeting passes, but those bits are quite good. As for the audience surrogate protagonist, I had no idea she was trans. Perhaps there is more subtext to the film’s themes with that in mind, but I had no idea until looking more into the film after I had seen it. If gender identity is power in metaphor, taking it and spreading it means more.

Randomly, Rasputin by Boney M., a song I had oddly just heard for the first time mere weeks ago,was a particular highlight of the film, as we see the dark zombie path of “Dracula’s Brides”. Their subsumed sojourn and its subsequent rejection gives this trope a completely new spin and legs.

I was a little unsure about the ending and its open nature, leaving room for more. Still, this was a fun exercise in the vampire film lore. I can’t exactly say it would have the same cultural impact of a Buffy, but it is in the same young adult woman vein, but darker. It plays with the well worn toys and despite not leaving my jaw agape with intense greatness, it still left a bloody smile on my face.