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A patient wakes up in a hospital room. It is cold and sterile. This is definitely not his mob-funded home. The confusion wears off when he realizes he should be dead. A vampire – his boss – devoured him last night. So how is this possible? His eyes begin to glow. He is hungry. And that nurse across the room looks scrumptious. Her neck; it’s so very veiny and inviting. Yum. A smile spreads across his mouth. He licks his lips and climbs out of bed.
And then she opens the blinds.
The result of this rather thoughtful action is a hilarious madcap scene in which comedian Don Rickles, who has just been turned into a vampire, is essentially burned alive. His limbs fall to the floor. Flames and ash fill the room. Doctors come rushing in and, witnessing the flailing to and fro as the sunlight comes pouring into the room, simply stammer and stare. And the nurse? Well, she just screams and screams and screams.
This is the darkly amusing territory of director John Landis’ Innocent Blood, a horror comedy that simply gets better and better with each passing year. Critics and audiences alike did not originally warm up to its rather subversive strides across the screen. There was a dismissive attitude in the air surrounding its original release as its many nods to classic horror flicks and other monster b-grade flicks were met with questions. Landis was having fun and few were able to pick up on it.
Much has changed in the 25 years since its debut and now the Warner Archive Collection celebrates the blood-gushing movie with its debut on blu-ray. Vampire fans everywhere ought to be truly proud of this release as it is unrated and supports a strong 2k restoration by Warner's Motion Picture Imaging staff.
Whoever the mad genius was to imagine actor Robert Loggia playing an out of control vampire rampaging through the criminal underworld of Pittsburgh is a certified mad genius. And the fact that, upon discovering the sheer intensity of his newly acquired power, he goes around chomping necks and bringing his fellow mob friends – actors David Proval, Rocco Sisto, and Chazz Palminteri – into the vampire guard so freely, Innocent Blood remains an entertaining and rather sticky bloodbath.
The film, written by Michael Wolk, remains energetic in this modern day viewing. It is also damn fearless in its attitude toward sex and violence as it traverses through the grimy streets and successfully flips the basic cops and robbers crime family storyline with a nice shot of horror. In it, a French female vampire (and seductress) Marie (Anne Parillaud from Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita) hunts down the worst or the worst in the city. Her complicated path, as she does not enjoy having to kill in order to remain among the living, eventually brings her face-to-face with members of the mob.
Enter Anthony LaPaglia as Joseph Gennaro – an undercover cop trying to infiltrate the mob – who winds up joining forces (and body parts in a super sexy scene WITH HANDCUFFS!) with Marie in hunting down Salvatore "Sal the Shark" Macelli (Loggia) as she winds up creating the ultimate foe in one of her intended victims. It’s a mistake she won’t make again.
With genre cameos from Forry Ackerman, Sam Raimi, Dario Argento, Frank Oz, Tom Savini, and Linnea Quigley sprinkled throughout the film, Innocent Blood remains an underrated classic of the horror comedy circuit. It was always ahead of its time but now, with this release, it might have just found the perfect platform for its midnight snack.
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: R for vampire violence, and for sexuality and language.
Runtime: 112 mins
Director: John Landis
Writer: Michael Wolk
Cast: Anne Parillaud, Anthony LaPaglia, Robert Loggia
Genre: Action | Crime
Tagline: For generations the Mafia preyed on the innocent. Tonight someone is preying on them.
Memorable Movie Quote: "I was sad, I was starved. It was time to treat myself. Then I though - "What about... Italian!"
Theatrical Distributor: Warner Bros.
Official Site:
Release Date: September 25, 1992
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: September 19, 2017
Synopsis: Marie is a vampire with a thirst for bad guys. When she fails to properly dispose of one of her victims, a violent mob boss, she bites off more than she can chew and faces a new, immortal danger.
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor: Warner Bros.
Available on Blu-ray - September 19, 2017
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A, B
The nightlife of Pittsburgh is alive and well on Warner Archive Collection’s 1080p release of Innocent Blood. It is presented with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio and features a solid DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix to help navigate its HD release. It is unrated and has been digitally scanned with a 2k restoration. The results – thanks to the still fantastic work of cinematographer Mac Ahlberg – are indeed glorious and crisp. Tall and dark shadows have thick lines and edges. Color – especially blues and reds – are intense and brooding. This release is a pretty sweet upgrade of a film that deserves a far better reception than it ever got.
Supplements:
Commentary:
-
None
Special Features:
There is one trailer included with this release.
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
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