slayer

THE SYNOPSIS

South America. Somewhere in the humid jungles of the Amazon, an elite U.S. commando team led by comrades and best buddies Major Hawk (Van Dien) and Sgt. Grieves (Grevioux) are attacked by...day-walking vampires! The soldiers survive the encounter and are sent home. Shaken, but alive...

Six months later, while on leave, Hawk is summoned by his superior officer Col. Jessica Weaver (Carter)--who also happens to be his ex-wife’s aunt. Turns out that said ex-wife, scientist Dr. Laurie Williams (O’Dell) is currently down in the Amazon doing research in the same region where Hawk and his men were attacked. Wait, it gets worse...

Grieves has gone down there with another team to further investigate the vampire phenomenon--and has not been heard from since. Yup, Grieves has been turned into a vampire and becomes the coven’s new leader.

Hawk is sent down with his new team and must destroy the vampires and save his ex-wife. He gets some help from a dapper and well-educated hotel owner named Javier (Plana)--who knows waaaay to much about the vampiric infestation. News Flash: he’s the head vampire!

With the help of the local skipper (Trejo), Hawk and his men make it to their destination and a battle of wills and blood begins. In the end, Hawk saves his ex-wife (and gains back her love, of course) and destroys Javier, Grieves and the coven. Or have they?

THE CRITIQUE

SLAYER is another made-for-cable-TV courtesy of the Sci-Fi Channel. It’s not high art, nor high budgeted (± $2,000,000)--but it is is a genre movie. And they always warrant some kind of viewing. This one has the requisite blood & gore factor, mixed in with silly dialogue and plenty of attractive people getting their throats ripped out.

Shot in Puerto Rico, the movie is a glossy, yet routine excursion into the always-popular vampire mythos. Directed with a rather blasé style by budding genre multi-hyphenate Kevin VanHook (Death Row/Voodoo Moon), it is no more than passable time-filler.

By the way, VanHook also edited and wrote this bloodbath. For all I know, he also mixed together the prop blood. To be fair, at least SLAYER looked good--courtesy of some nice lensing by Director Of Photography Matt Steinauer (Death Row/Voodoo Moon). Blood red never looked so, well...blood red.

The cast, at least, is game, with the ever-youthful Caspar Van Dien leading the proceedings (another Jerseyite, this guy must have an aging painting locked up in a closet somewhere, because Dorian Gray here seemingly hasn’t aged a day since 1997’s Starship Troopers). Surely, I jest.

Also of note is the presence of terrific Cuban-born actor Tony Plana and one of my favorite character actors, the ubiquitous Danny Trejo--whom I like to refer to as the Chicano Samuel L. Jackson (due to the fact that he pops up in just about every movie. Say...didn’t I also see him The Queen? Again: surely, I jest.

Lastly, I must mention the appearance of the once-and-always Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter--still a beauty, even in her 50’s. I’m still in love. This time I jest not!

THE BOTTOM LINE

A cheesy MFCTV movie that benefits from some decent production values, plenty of gore and an eternally-intriguing premise: vampires. SLAYER is mediocre, but entertaining. And it’s got vampires. And Danny Trejo. And the once-and-always Wonder Woman.

CAST: Casper Van Dien, Tony Plana, Jennifer O’Dell, Kevin Grevioux, Alexis Cruz, Ray Park, Danny Trejo & Lynda Carter

CREDITS: Director/Screenwriter/Editor: Kevin VanHook; Producers: Karen Bailey & Kevin VanHook; Director of Photography: Matt Steinauer; Production Designer: Monica Monserrate; Costume Designer: Kathryn L. Bucher; Music: Ludek Drizhal

AC/AL/GV 2006 87m ENGLISH