Vampires: The Turning (2005)

   

Directed by: Marty Weiss

Written by:
D.B. Farmer & Andy Hurst

Starring:


Colin Egglesfield .... Connor
Stephanie Chao .... Sang
Roger Yuan .... Kiko
Patrick Bauchau .... Raines
Dom Hetrakul .... Niran
Meredith Monroe .... Amanda
Nophand Boonyai .... Suwan
Jarun Petchjaren .... Moo


Release Date:
Direct-to-DVD: January 2, 2005

 

 

 

Rating:

 

An American muay-thai fighter in Thailand named Connor (Colin Egglesfield) has a dispute with his girlfriend Amanda (Meredith Monroe) as she runs off and encounters the nasty vampire lord Niran (Dom Hetrakul) as he takes her and he tries to go to the aid of another group of vampire hunters in order to track him down lead by both Sang (Stephanie Chao) and Kiko (Roger Yuan) in which they have special vampire powers of their own.

 

An interesting beginning in which we spot some kung fu fighting and kickboxing in an arena as this looked pretty energised along with spotting a dispute between Connor and Amanda which seemed a little too performed and obvious without things seeming natural but later on we do have a nice moment with Amanda encountering Niran showing a wicked charming attitude towards her which looked carefully shot and focused as this grabs your attention very closely and having a feeling that he's a vampire that it draws you in to this situation along with nice shots on him about to bite her neck which also looked nicely done too and in a good slow motion too.
A perfect dark situation with a vampire coming up towards Connor and acting vicious towards him like a punk on the street and ready to attack him in which this looked truly intimidating imagining being put into the situation here as well as a perfect fast action moment on Kiko saving the day which catches you by surprise on what he does to this vampire in order to save him as well as a good coldness to his warning towards Connor which looked good and effective.
A nice red lighting situation when Connor tries to find Amanda in the gothic hallways which things seemed to look good and still as it gives you the creeps on what might happen that may or may not make you jump with an attack during this scenario as well as good close up shots on Kiko with his eyes opening which was a good still and creepy shot on this moment as it leaves an impression by what might happen here. Plus there's some nice shots on Connor spotting some people lying on the ground looking half dead which also gave a creepy and mysterious feel to the story. Looked well done here.
Alot of great fighting sequences with Connor towards Niran and his gang of vampire thugs which looked really hyped and fast when we see on what's going on here as well as one of them trying to attack him with his motorbike using a weapon and he dodges this thug showing perfect timing while watching all of this happening. Also a perfect moment with Niran picking up Amanda and putting her on his bike to take her away once again as this gives you a chilling feeling that Connor is going to lose her again since this was nicely drawn in.
A terrific action packed sequence with Niran insanely commanding his bikers for a deadly mission which added some nice cheesy gothic taste throughout all of this which the settings looked superb as well as Connor speeding away on his motorbike with Sang guiding him in which there's many terrific shots on him and the bikers chasing after him through a parking lot building which was perfectly shot as well as a clever moment on them crashing through a window going into sunlight and then spotting neat effects with the bikers crashing through as well and showing them turning into skeletal corpses due to this as this looked entertaining for anyone who enjoys vampire flicks.
A great focus between Connor and Sang with their heavy conversations as well as a perfect moment on him wondering what it would be like turning into a half vampire in which there's nice close up shots on her about to bite his neck along with a perfect lustful sequence between the two of them with some moments here that will psych you out on the effects used while they get it on with one another.
Plus some good strong moments with Connor talking to both Sang and Kiko on some sserious moments at a table as there's good shots on all what they're doing with a good solid scene alltogether which was also carefully focused with Connor questioning situations too as he wass the real eye grabber here with what he has to say towards Kiko. The scene was nicely written in and looking quite dramatic too.
Alot of powerful showdown moments between Connor against Niran with their martial arts and struggles towards one another as well as great close up shots revealing their white eyes and fangs acting vicious by what they say towards one another as this was carefully done and looking perfectly serious too. For people who like action in their horror will love this moment big time on how they didge one anothjer or attacking one another. Pretty powerful stuff here.
Bottom line is that this film had nothing to do with the first two films which is a total shame as I was still wondering on what became of the ending on the first flick in which that needs to be shown since it begged you for more. Maybe they'll make another one who knows. There were some similar elements used in this one like in the first two such as vampire slayers pulling vampires with a metal cable into the sunlight in order to kill them or binoculars that show body heat but that's about it. I almost gave this a 3 bat rating as the story seemed exciting but at the same time there was something that just didn't look right about this story which I couldn't explain at all even if I tried. A fun flick though nonetheless but may turn off you fans of the first two.

The acting still is in fairly good shape for the most part but certain one's needed improvement so let's take a look here. Lead actor Colin Egglesfield (Connor) really pulled his weight a great deal while performing his part showing off great aggressions in certain spots as well as going into action with his fighting really getting into this. Also does well stressing stuff whenever he spoke which shines off nicely here as well. Shows off alot of good enthusiasm and energy with his words as well as having a good vicious and hissing type of attitude too as this shows off good too offering a nice versatality here.
Stephanie Chao (Sang) was the best out of the whole cast in which she shopwed a good strong type of personality as well as an open minded type with a good caring attitude and really getting into the action whenever she needed to come across this way. She seemed to have this all patted down here a great deal. Also had the looks and the perfect sharp attitude and appeal too. Also does well acting weak in pain which she drew this in perfectly and acting nautral while doing all of this.
Roger Yuan (Kiko) really showed some good wisdom with what he did in the role that he portrayed as well as having some good expressionless types of behavior in certain spots of the story and does a nice job speaking strongly as well as being blunt on things which adds more good characterisitcs to his part in the film. Had the perfect looks throughout all this as well as doing a good job getting stern while explaining on his part as a vampire which also delivered out greatly.
Patrick Bauchau
(Raines) seemed to show a nice businessman type of attitude as well as stressing a situation to someone about the vampire situation which he did quite solidly for what we've spotted here as well as doing a good job by having a sort of closed minded personality along with coming across as a mellow type. He certainly had potential for his part here.
Dom Hetrakul (Niran) seemed to have the right looks to portray a cold blooded vampire leader but whenever he spits out his aggressions he seems to be a little over the top but at other times does it will with a nice mighty attitude. ALso does a great job with his hissing and vicious type of behavior adding more great touches throughout all of this. Also shows some great vicious and wide eyed expressions too along with perfect blocking with his martial arts performances drawing it to the extreme which also worked in marvellously.
Meredith Monroe
(Amanda) however didn't seem to get into character all too well with her emotional attitude in which she didn't seem to come across naturally but yet does a nice job acting weak with stuff so she wasn't too terrible but needed a bit of coaching by what she did throughout her performance here. She seemed to have the right looks for her part and left an impression by portraying a victim so that's what counted here.

A head is chopped off.
Mild bloody neck bites.
Vampire's bodies are melted from the sunlight but these moments are very quick.
Arrows are impaled in vampire's chests.
A metal pipe is impaled into a vampire's chest.

The music was very solid in this one as we have really sharp trombone playing going to a deep tone here for the darkest moments making the picture absolutely fitting. Also there's some nice violin composing like usual for a film. Plus some strong clanging and screeching sounds as well as great breathing and hissing effects too which sounded just as powerful and out there. We also hear some strong chanting sounds as this sounded very catchy for the story. All of this was perfectly put together by Tim Jones. The music is very different compared to the first two flicks but it's still very good.