Vampires vs. the Bronx

Vampires vs. the Bronx

By James Davidson

“Vampires vs. the Bronx” is a new horror comedy film that debuted in October 2020 exclusively on the popular streaming service Netflix.It follows a group of young friends as they try to save their neighborhood, the Bronx from gentrification, and of course vampires.

Miguel Martinez (played by Jaden Michael), known as “little mayor” in the neighborhood for his role in trying to save local business’, notices that many of the businesses he grew up with are selling to a mysterious real estate company. He and his friends Bobby (Gerald Jones III) and Luis (Gregory Diaz IV) investigate the questionable company, and discover that it is run by a coven of vampires who want to make the Bronx their home. The young friends must expose the company for what it really is before vampires infest their neighborhood.

The trailer for this movie made it seem like a fun horror film with plenty of laughs and I thought it looked like a fun way to spend the evening. While I enjoyed the movie for the most part, it was nowhere near as funny as I was anticipating and I felt like the story was lacking a bit in some aspects.

While I enjoyed some of the humor, a few of the jokes seemed to fall a bit flat for me. The jokes that did land were funny and I did laugh through some of the movie, I was expecting a much funnier film, more reminiscent of “Shaun of the Dead”. This did prevent the film from becoming overly campy or corny, but I was almost hoping for a silly campy flick. Admittedly, it is possible that some of the jokes went over my head, since gentrification is not a subject that I am overly educated on. I was just hoping that the film would have leaned a bit more into the silliness that it seemed to advertise.

I found the plot to be simple and enjoyable enough, however, again, it just missed the mark for me. The movie is only and hour and a half long and I almost wish it was just a little longer to allow for a little more development in the story. If this was the silly campy movie that I was expecting I wouldn’t have minded the shallower story. However since this story was a bit more serious than I expected I would have preferred a more complex, developed plot.

While I had a few problems with this movie, it was still a fun, enjoyable experience and not a bad way to spend the evening, I just think it could have been just a tiny bit better. It’s rated PG-13for violence, language, and some suggestive references. It might be a decent film to watch with your family and is good for a few laughs. There is nothing overly offensive about this movie and would be appropriate for families with teenage children.

“Vampires vs. the Bronx” is a fun, light heated horror flick that is good for a few laughs. It could have been a little better with a little more humor, or a little more in depth story, but overall is enjoyable and I would watch this again with some friends for a fun Halloween movie night. It earns 3 out of 5 stars.