Innocent Blood (1992) (blu-ray film review).
I bought the 1992 film Innocent Blood a couple of months ago and finally got around to watching it last night. Warner Bros Archive releases are typically for TV series and films that they don’t expect to have a wide audience but are meant to please dedicated fan groups. Considering this film was directed by John Landis, you would have thought it would be a certifiable hit, especially since they plug An American Werewolf in London on the cover.
Marie (played by Anne Parillaud) is a vampire living in Pittsburgh. She has two passions: blood and sex, but she doesn’t play with her food. Once she’s fed, she normally shoots her victims in the head to prevent them from rising as vampires within a few hours. She also tends to prey on the criminal classes. I should point out that she doesn’t exhibit fangs—just strong teeth to bite your throat out. It’s all very messy and requires a good wash afterward. The vampires cast reflections, which is just as well for getting cleaned up. Marie bites mob leader Sal ‘The Shark’ Macelli (played by Robert Loggia), but the arrival of the police prevents her from shooting him.
Instead, Macelli revives, recovers from the shock of what he has become, and relishes it, turning his own men into vampires. Marie is trying to avoid the police but ends up being befriended by Detective Joe Gennaro (played by Anthony LaPaglia), and they must work together—on her schedule—to stop this vampire outbreak.
There’s a lot of comedy in this film, which you would expect from John Landis. Whenever a TV is on, there’s a vampire film playing, and it’ll probably be a game for fans to identify the Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee films that pop up. There are also many quick cameo appearances, which, if you don’t spot them, are shown in the end credits. The cast certainly looks like they’re having a good time, especially Robert Loggia.
As with all Warner Archive releases, there are no extras, but it’s a fun film that will likely get a few more viewings.
GF Willmetts
August 2024
(pub: Warner Bros Archive Collection. 1 blu-ray disk 154 minute film. Price: varies)
cast: Anne Parillaud, Anthony LaPaglia, Robert Loggia and David Proval
check out website: www.wb.com/warnerachves
