Vegas Vampires Movie Review

After the sun sets in Las Vegas, vampires spring to life. They search for innocent (if anyone can be classified as innocent in sin city) casino and nightclub patrons to devour with their fangs. Head Vampire Q (Alex Wilkinson) is out for more than just blood, however; he's on a mission to find a beautiful bride with whom he can breed generations of vampires and continue his reign.

Meanwhile, the Vegas police department is searching for the killer behind a series of slayings in the city's most popular nightclubs. Conflicts emerge between Officer Johnson (Tommy "Tiny" Lister), Officer Patterson (Glenn Plummer), and head detective Burns (Daniel Baldwin) who want to suppress the truth that vampires are taking over the city. Soon, Patterson is found dead... victim of a bite to the neck. Johnson is left to crack the case alone, and must do so before Q succeeds in finding a bride.

Vegas Vampires claims to pay tribute to Richard Roundtree's iconic character John Shaft by recreating fight sequences in the spirit of the 1971 blaxploitation film. The film does feature Roundtree in a small role, but beyond that, Vegas Vampires features poorly choreographed and horrifically edited action sequences that share little resemblance to the cult classic. It's shocking that Roundtree agreed to appear in the film at all.

Former Oakland Raiders/Kansas City Chiefs football star Fred Williamston directs the film, and does capture the vibrant energy of the Las Vegas Strip. He fails, however, to make sense of anything else. There's no chemistry between the actors, the pacing of the film is slack, the special effects are juvenile, and the story is a confusing mess. There are high school thesis films that feature better filmmaking than Vegas Vampires. Much better.