“Vampires vs. The Bronx” Review
Osmany Rodriguez’s comedic horror film “Vampires vs. the Bronx,” about vampires trying to take over the Bronx, was released on Friday and is available for streaming on Netflix.
“Vampires vs. the Bronx” stars actor Jordan Michael who plays the part of Miguel Martinez alongside actors Gerald Jones III as Bobby Carter and Gregory Diaz IV as Luis Acosta. Martinez’s group of friends plan on saving the Bronx from the vampire invasion.
“Vampires vs. the Bronx” is about Martinez and his friends who initially try to save their favorite bodega from being bought out by a big corporation by hosting a block party. However one night, Martinez is running away from a thug after accidentally hitting him while handing out flyers and witnesses the thug get killed by a vampire.
Martinez and his group of friends then decide to do some investigating when they stumble across a nest for the vampires. They know that they now had to save the neighborhood from these unwanted guests.
The film’s set in a Bronx neighborhood, most of the time at night since vampires will die if they’re exposed to sunlight.
The film’s dialogue made it relevant with the times by adding present day slang that audiences would understand. It ultimately made the film more enjoyable because it added to the fact that this is based in the modern-day Bronx.
The actors alongside Rodriguez did a great job in the film making darker scenes more comedic. They added laughs through scenes that would be scary for audiences keeping them entertained.
While being comedic, there were some scenes in which parts didn’t make sense. For example, when the kids went to church after getting into trouble. The pastor, instead of being forgiving as pastors normally are, he threatens the kids. Although the kids did end up stealing holy water, so he was right to be suspicious.
The kids used the holy water to fight the vampires, but the film also used it to help indicate if vampires were close by boiling it, which is not true even for vampire folklore. This was disappointing, but considering it’s a fiction movie, it added to the story.
Rodriguez did a good job putting the folklore of vampires into the story and at the same time, adding his own unique aspects to it that could revolutionize vampire movies. Audiences who enjoy a good vampire film with traditional vampire folklore are probably not going to enjoy this film.
Rodriguez did a great job making the film entertaining enough so that viewers would keep their eyes glued to their screens for the hour-and-half-long film. However, some mistakes in storytelling make the movie feel less realistic than it already should have been.
Rating: 3/5
Nicholas Mancuso is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact, email nbm9@psu.edu.
