It's about time John Landis delivered a worthy follow-up to "An American Werewolf in London"! That particular classic was one of the only films ever to successfully blend gross horror situations with likable black humor. "Innocent Blood" does the same, albeit less impressively. The crime-congested streets of Pittsburgh form an excellent setting for this light-headed and often cheesy crossover between vampire horror and mafia action that also has a great cast and terrific make-up effects. Marie is an incredibly sexy but not exactly cheerful vampire with a strong appetite for human blood, yet she only feeds on criminals and other scum that doesn't deserve to live. With the large number of Italian gangsters ruling the city, Marie can easily still her hunger and simultaneously improve the safety on the streets. However, when she fails to properly eliminate mob boss Sal Macelli, he turns into a vampire as well, and his bloody intentions are far more dangerous to the world. Marie will require the help of undercover cop Joe Gennaro in order to destroy Macelli for good. The screenplay of "Innocent Blood" is rather exciting and Landis effectively gets rid of some ancient vampire clichés. Wooden stakes are no longer required to kill them, Marie does have a reflection in the mirror and the eyes of vampires suddenly take on all the bright colors of the rainbow. Natural sunlight is still pretty painful, apparently, and that's illustrated in a fantastic sequence with class actor Don Rickles. Talking about the cast, "Innocent Blood" assembles some of the best actors for a modest horror production ever. Anne Parrilaud was already famous for her role of female assassin Nikita and especially the male casting choices were splendid, with Robert Loggia, Anthony LaPlagia and Chazz Palminteri. The most exhilarating aspect about this film (for horror fans, at least) is John Landis over-enthusiast dedication to the genre! There's always some classic horror film playing on TV in the background and numerous prominent filmmakers appear in small roles or cameos. Most memorable are Sam Raimi (creator of "The Evil Dead") as the meat truck guy and Frank Oz as the pathologist. Highly recommended!

This is not something I would typically enjoy, but it was recommended to me by someone I trust, so I watched it and was happily surprised. Citizen Kane it isn't, but we already have one of those and not everything has to be Great Cinema anyway. This is a very bloody (not my cup of tea, so to speak),very funny take on vampires and criminals. Good script, good performances, particularly from Parrilaud, Loggia and Don Rickles (!),playing a lawyers that even other lawyers would give a wide berth to in distaste. What happens to him is hilarious and proof that there can be justice, at least in films! Watch for the scene with the ambulance attendant and for the blonde nurse in the hospital. Check out the credits for some familiar names. Don't expect Art here, just sit back and have some fun. Recommended.

THE GODFATHER meets Dracula! This film from director John Landis starts off promisingly: the first half of this film is great, with lots of in-jokes and overacting from Robert Loggia, playing a leading Mafioso. The idea of vampire mobsters is interesting, and played for laughs for the most part with strong effect. I didn't care much for the lead, Anne Parillaud, who begins the film naked and removes her clothes numerous times during the long running length, perhaps this is a desperate attention grabber.

There's some kinky sex involving handcuffs and lots of references to over movies for horror fans, such as the films Dracula and THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS playing on TVs. It's entertaining, but doesn't go beyond face value. With this and AN American WEREWOLF IN London, it seems like Landis loves making easy viewing horror films for horror fans. Watch out for a hilarious scene where Loggia begins to dissolve in the sunlight, without realising what's happening. There's also a lot of swearing in this film which may be off-putting to some although it ties in with the gangster genre well enough.

One thing this film really does have going for it are the special effects. The main ones are the glowing eyes, which are effectively shocking the first few times we see them. The best effect in the film is the disintegration of one of the vampires in the sunlight. His flesh burns apart, his arm comes off, and finally his neck bursts open spraying blood and his head dissolves. Quite shocking really, I was surprised this film got a 15 certificate rating here in Britain. Overall, the film feels a lot like a pre-runner to FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, and I'm surprised that nobody seems to remember it these days as it's one of the most fun vampire films of the 1990s.