"So Vam" review

“Queer vampires” is a whole ass vibe. But while I highly respect the notion of the film, it holds a lot of room for growth. So Vam is campy front to back, which can be a big part of the fun for viewers who enjoy low-grade horror flicks. And when taking into consideration the writer/director Alice Maio Mackay was only sixteen during production, with a low budget of twelve thousand dollars, this film is actually quite impressive. I’m anxious to watch this budding filmmaker grow and continue to make movies with strong messages. Still, this production could use a bit of polish.

In this film, outcast Kurt has big dreams of one day becoming a drag superstar. His dreary daily life suddenly gets very interesting when his life is saved by two crime fighting vampires. They welcome Kurt into their group as they team up to stop a malicious vamp who feeds off of outcasts. The filmmaker parallels the queer community with vampires to push the narrative of tolerance and acceptance, which keeps the impact tight throughout.

Acting

Given the astonishingly low budget of this film, I’m assuming none of these actors are professional. The performances are stiff and one dimensional which unfortunately makes it hard to take the film seriously. I did find one performance actually believable–that of sassy do-gooder Harley, portrayed by Iris Mcerlean. With respect to the film, the acting could have been much worse. Personally, I would rather watch underacting rather than overacting any day. However it is clear that most of these performances didn’t go farther than memorizing their script.

Visuals

My only real complaint about the visuals is that the lighting during the drag shows was too dark. I actually really enjoyed the drag performances, but I could hardly see the performers for most of their songs. Other than that, there’s a lot to love about the bad visuals in this movie. The effects of someone's face burning and melting is so terrible that it's really fun. One of my favorite bits of campy horror is really bad visual effects. There was a decent amount of action choreography which was poorly executed and therefore rather funny. Whether or not this was done on purpose, it helps to relieve the tension of the more serious implications of the film.

Sound

The soundtrack was selected well. The pop influence parallels the vibrant looks of some of the main characters, and of course, the drag queens. There is one montage that has an awkward moment when the character turns the song off. I believe this was meant to shift the tone, but it fell a little flat. Otherwise, good sound execution.

Plot

The narrative could be considered pretty “cheesy”, but for me that’s not a derogatory notion. The good guys feed on the bad guys and that’s pretty awesome. There was a scene I particularly enjoyed–when a character finds out they’ve been turned into a vampire, instead of going through the classic “It can’t be!” moment, they immediately accept it. In fact, another character mentions how annoying it is to have to watch someone deny who they are when everyone else has already accepted it and moved on. This is a heavy metaphorical point, but I also just really appreciated that I didn’t have to sit through another vampire denial scene. As for the message of the film, I don’t feel as though I can speak on that. I was really moved by it, but I’ve never been a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, so I don’t relate to any of these characters. Do many kids feel like vampires, like they either have to hide or be hunted? I hope that many people are able to connect with the film in this way, which seems to be the intent of the director. I just personally don’t have anything to add to the conversation.

Scary?

If the abuse and intolerance in this film is anything like reality, then yes. It is very scary. But as I’ve said, it’s very campy. So will it give me nightmares? Not likely.

TL;DR

Gay vampires kick ass. 3/5 stars.

This film does begin with its own set of trigger warnings to prepare the audience. So don’t be afraid to just turn on the movie, it will tell you all you need to know.