Blood & Donuts

Dir: Holly Dale ("Cold Case", "Flashpoint", "Being Erica", "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles")
Source Material: n/a
Cast: Gordon Currie, Justin Louis, Helene Clarkson, Fiona Reid, Frank Moore, Hadley Kay, David Cronenberg
Canada, 1995

Seen: Revisited September 5, 2009

Reason to Review: Vampathon: Vampire Film Marathon *

It was a pure joy to revisit Blood & Donuts, a film I saw by chance one afternoon on TMN years ago. I loved it immediately. The quirky humour, the unmistakably Canadian-ness and the obvious Toronto location won me over right away. It's a Canadian vampire movie with David Cronenberg in it. As an actor. Awesome.

The film is filled with a hilarious collection of characters which are all various shades of gray, but they all bring out something special. The characters on paper could have simply been taken as stock characters, but they all seem just a little different. The unique takes range from sassy attitudes to strange body movements, but my personal favourite the entirely bizarre accent of Earl played by Justin Louis. I have no clue what it's suppose to be, but I love it and lines from the film stick in my head no matter how long it has been since I've seen the film.

As a vampire movie, it doesn't get caught up in vampire lore rather takes it in stride that with even the vaguest idea of what a vampire you'll be able to follow it along. In some ways, the fact that it focuses so little on that aspect is one of the things that makes it unique, we get to stroll along side a vampire in everyday life.

One of the beautiful things about Blood & Donuts is that it is whimsical and dark yet not offensive in any way. There is a certain je ne sais quoi charm that wiggles into every aspect of the film but is particularly wonderful when highlighted by the tongue in cheek music choices that offer the perfect accompaniment. It's a film well worth visiting for film fan, a true delight

Shannon's Overall View:
I love it
I own it
I'd recommend to fans of any of the following: vampire films, comedies and/or Canadian film

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© Shannon Ridler, 2009

* Vampathon is a 16 week marathon explore vampire films from Nosferatu (1922) up to the upcoming release of The Twilight Saga: New Moon