Suck

Suck...2009...91 minutes...rated R...starring Rob Stefaniuk, Jessica Pare, Paul Anthony, and Malcolm McDowell...written by Rob Stefaniuk...directed by Rob Stefaniuk

Your manager is trying to get you to fire him, your ex-girlfriend has decided to spend the night partying with some goth freak, and your band is going nowhere. This state of affairs is where Joey, the main character of the film, starts in this offbeat Canadian film, playing with the whole vampires-meet-rock and roll concept that many horror fans know and...well, we know it, if we don't love it all the time. Soon the band...with a newly vampirized bass player...is hitting the road, coming to the states, and being pursued by a crazy one-eyed hunter named Eddie Van Helsing. (Yep, the hunter is indeed the role played by Malclom McDowell) Hijinks ensue.

So, the concept may sound tired and played, and certainly the production is not a big budget affair...but it holds up. Part of what makes the film feel sincere are the cameos done by Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Moby, and Henry Rollins. The dialogue has some shining moments in it as well...and a fun game the film plays with the audience is "Spot The Album Cover". Now, I'll admit that I didn't expect a huge classic when I clicked on this selection, but the film tickled me. There's almost no real fright in the movie, fyi, but a fair amount of gore.

Now, allow the Dark Angel Of Self Important Reviews to tell you what I think this film did correctly that some big budget films (Silent Hill: Revelation, I'm specifically looking at you) have not done. It's very simple, really: if you have Malcolm McDowell in your film, by Jove USE Malcolm McDowell! Sure, he wasn't at his most sinister, but he has a good amount of screen time and isn't just adding his name to make the movie have credibility. Okay, that's not *ALL* he's doing here...I'm not completely delusional.

Anyways, it's light fun in the supernatural genre... sure, there are better movies to watch, but it's sincere and not a terrible way to kill an hour and a half. I give it 3 tablets of "aspirin" out of 5.