Vampires vs. the Bronx – Netflix Review (2/5)

VAMPIRES VS THE BRONX is a new Netflix teen horror-comedy. We’re talking young teens so try to set your expectations accordingly. I liked the idea and concept but not so much the movie itself. Read our full Vampires vs the Bronx review here!

VAMPIRES VS THE BRONX is a new Netflix teen horror-comedy with a very interesting concept. To set your expectations at a realistic level, you should know that we’re talking about very young teenagers. Obviously, this will impact the language and level of violence.

While this is definitely a vampire movie, it does feel like it’s more for the family rather than horror fans. This is, obviously, totally fair, but if you expect something else, you will be disappointed.

Continue reading our Vampires vs the Bronx movie review below.

A great concept on Netflix

Essentially, Vampires vs. the Bronx is all about gentrification. The kids in this movie are seeing their local businesses disappear only to be replaced with franchises and hipster concepts. This is, of course, a comment on what is happening right now.

Both businesses and people are being driven out of the city by rent increases. In this movie, it’s shown in a rather funny way (i.e. a shop coming soon that will only sell butter), and I like how they’re poking fun at this very real problem. It’s a good way to not just become bitter.

Of course, instead of it “just” being all about money, this story turns out to be about vampires. Which touches on another real-life issue; The lack of attention to crimes again and the well-being of people in certain areas. The vampires know they can get away with a lot without attracting attention.

Stone-cold facts have taught them this and they’re right. Still, while the concept and premise are extremely relevant and real, the execution of this story isn’t the best. Essentially, this should have been a kitsch spoof that went all out instead of being limited by having a young target audience.

I get the idea; Get the whole family involved. I just don’t think they’ll be able to truly get the point whereas a much darker approach could have made for a better movie overall. This, in turn, would make the movie reach a larger audience and get the message out much broader.

Great supporting cast

I can’t say the lead actors are great because they simply are not. They might become great but right now they’re still on their way there. The three boys in the lead roles have some amazing moments and great scenes. However, at other times they seem to barely be able to keep it together. Not good enough.

Especially for a movie that actually has a very important message!

Fortunately, one of the other young characters is portrayed by Coco Jones who is a revelation. She immediately lifts each scene she’s in to have a much higher quality level. She’s natural and believable and should have been in much more of this movie!

Also, in key supporting roles we have the amazing Sarah Gadon (11/22/63, season 3 of True Detective) along with Shea Whigham (Death Note). Finally, Method Man is also in this movie and definitely delivers a solid performance as well.

Watch Vampires vs the Bronx on Netflix

Osmany Rodriguez is the director of Vampires vs the Bronx and this is this appears to be his first feature film as a solo director. He has directed a lot of short films, stand-up, and episodes of TV series though. In other words, he is far from a novice when it comes to directing. For one, he has directed 47 episodes of Saturday Night Live.

I wish I could recommend Vampires vs the Bronx without any hesitation but as a whole, this movie just didn’t really work for me. The idea, yes. The concept? Absolutely! But the actual movie? Not so much.

What I especially struggled with was trying to understand who the target demographic of this movie is. I can only assume that it’s for teens no older than 15 years old, which means it’s mostly for the family. If the target demographic is older, then the tone of this movie just seems off.

Essentially, I’m trying to say that I hope the target group will love this movie and that it simply was not created for someone like me. That would explain why I – being an adult horror fan who likes vampire movies and crude horror-comedies with vampires – didn’t enjoy this one.

Vampires vs the Bronx is out on Netflix from October 2, 2020.

Details

Director: Oz Rodriguez
Writers: Oz Rodriguez and Blaise Hemingway
Stars: Jaden Michael, Gerald W. Jones III, Gregory Diaz IV, Sarah Gadon, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Shea Whigham, Coco Jones, Joel “The Kid Mero” Martinez, Chris Redd, Vladimir Caamaño, Jeremie Harris, Adam David Thompson, Judy Marte, Richard Bekins, and Zoe Saldaña