Vampires Vs. The Bronx (2020)

“Sanguine”-trification!

Using vampires as a metaphor for gentrification is a great idea. When injected into the right kind of film, be it a straight horror film or a blended horror/comedy, it has the potential to not only educate but entertain. In Netflix’s Vampires Vs. The Bronx, the idea is definitely present, but the film struggles to decide whether it is a horror, a comedy, or both. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed watching this film, it just never fully committed to any genre or ideals.

In the film, a young boy named Miguel is organizing a block party to save his friend’s bodega. Hoping to stop the gentrification of his neighborhood by preserving the bodega, Miguel is joined on his campaign by his friends Bobby and Luis. At the same time, a real estate company is gobbling up all of the businesses and other properties in the area in order to bring in upscale shops and a higher income bracket of residents.

In actuality, the real estate company is just a front for a group of vampires intent on buying out the Bronx and establishing their own base of operations. Miguel and his friends, along with a mixed bag of allies, join forces to battle the vampires and save the Bronx. Can they do it? Give this film a shot in order to find out.

The film is enjoyable enough to watch, but I got the feeling that it was trying too hard to stay in the middle of everything and never attempting to rise above being average. The humor is very light, too light to dub this film a comedy in my opinion. The horror isn’t very scary, either. The message on gentrification was there, but even its delivery seems watered down. Had the film fully embraced the horror angle, this could have been a great film with a profound message. The same could be said for it if it had committed to being a full-blown comedy. Instead, we get a light comedy/lighter horror flick that doesn’t fully quench the thirst of its viewers.

The film does have a lot going for it. Its young cast anchors the film and makes an otherwise average flick watchable. Jaden Michael stars as Miguel and Gerald W. Jones III and Gregory Diaz IV costar as Bobby and Luis, respectively. Coco Jones portrays Rita, a young lady that Miguel has a crush on, and does a wonderful job whenever she’s on the screen, but isn’t on the screen enough to save the film. Another young cast member, Imani Lewis, injects humor from time to time as the neighborhood’s local live feed queen, Gloria.

The adult cast is solid as well, especially Joel Martinez as Tony, the owner of the bodega and a father figure to all three of the young boys. In a surprisingly funny turn as a priest, Method Man steals the show with his brief screen time. Sarah Gadon is wonderful as Vivian when she’s in vampire mode, but her innocent “basic” white girl persona is boring and highly predictable. The rest of the vampires are good enough and their look is awesome, but they aren’t around long enough to impact the movie.

I also appreciate the nods to classic vampire films. Many of the film’s scenes reminded me of The Lost Boys and I am especially fond of the real estate company’s name. Others have compared the film to The Monster Squad as well, but I don’t see the connection myself.

Again, this film is good and I do recommend watching it, I just wish that it would have taken a bigger bite out of the comedy or the horror. It’s sort of just there and leaves the viewer wanting. It’s a missed opportunity in my book.

Thanks for reading my post. Let me know what you thought of this film in the comments section!