Michael Su’s 2023 film, Bloodthirst, is about a vampire hunter who earns his bread slaying vampires in a post-apocalyptic world. This world is overrun by vampires and is controlled mainly by two factions, who are always at war. As for humans, they remain few in number. As a result, both factions of the blood-sucking beasts are on the brink of extinction, owing to both starvation and the growing threat of vampire hunters who’ll do anything to free this world from these demons. The vampires, on the flip side, often infiltrate human populations in large numbers to drain them of their blood and increase their numbers. As a fallout, they are in continuous dispute with their human counterparts. Those who’re lucky die, and those who aren’t, usually end up joining their flock. They aren’t like the usual vampires we see in the movies, who only poke at night to fill their bellies. Instead, these vampires can easily withstand the heat of the sun, like they’re vacationing. At the beginning of Bloodthirst, we see a group of vampires attacking a few survivors hiding inside a shed. According to the master vampire (Robert LaSardo), none were worth turning, and he thus took them for rationing and later to feed.
Spoilers Ahead
Who’s John Shepard?
John Shepard (Costas Mandylor) is a skilled vampire hunter who knows his way around the vampire-infested world. John is on a special quest to kill the vampire master, from whom every vampire sprouts. Apart from his crossbow, he also has a crucifix, given to him by an old woman who herself had killed her fair share of vampires and looters. After being hunted and forced to hide like rats, the people of this world had abandoned all its morals. They no longer care for others and would easily sacrifice others to the vampires just to save their own skin. A stepfather offering his daughter to be killed by vampires was irrefutable evidence of this. However, there were some who still cared and put their lives on the line for others, including John. He picked up a stray man, Charlie (Johnny Huang), figuring he wouldn’t be able to survive on his own. He even offered a biker named Rico (Rich R. Rendon) a ride in a world where one can easily slit your throat with the same casual ease with which they’d light a cigarette. John wasn’t the only vampire hunter in this world. There were a couple of others like him who either killed to survive or for fun, including the likes of Elena (Elissa Dowling) and Brooke (Sarah French). Unlike John, the sisters were newbies, as proven by the fact that they shot a man named Jeff Lockwood before he was fully turned into a vampire.
How Did Daddy Thompson Die?
John was bitten, but fortunately, he didn’t turn. This was the real reason he was looking for the vampire master. John hoped to slay their leader in time. John realized that he could not take their leader alone. This is why he was helping people, hoping they’d join his fight against the vampires. His team included Rico, Charlie, the sisters, and their father, Daddy Thompson (William ‘Bill’ Connor). Unfortunately, one fateful night, the vampire the sisters killed earlier came back to life and plunged its sharp fangs into Daddy Thompson’s neck. But how? Wasn’t the man shot dead? In reality, these vampires can’t be killed by regular bullets or other means. They’re evil and require holy treatment, like a crucifix molded into the form of crossbow bolts, similar to the bolts John carries. However, not all crucifixes could do the trick. They had to be carved out of special wood and must be blessed by special people. However, before the vampire bit the dust, he telepathically informed his master that a vampire hunter(John Shepard) was on his way to kill him. It seemed that all the vampires were somehow connected with their master.
Why Did The Militia Agree To Help John And The Team?
When John first met Daddy Thompson, the old man told him about a certain militia group taking refuge in the hills. They often trekked down the mountain to collect alcohol from Daddy Thompson. John tried to strike a deal with the militia, asking them for their help in tracking down the vampire leader. Unfortunately, the militia refused at first but later joined John’s entourage. They also brought their military-issued vehicles to raise the stakes. John asked them to search the area for any signs of a vampire lair. But what did the militia have to gain in exchange for this deal? John offered Torque (Bishop Stevens), the leader of the militia, a deal of a lifetime. After John had slain the vampire hunter, the country would need someone to take care of it, and according to John, Torque might be the perfect candidate. This deal fell on Torque’s ears like music, and he instantly agreed. However, his men weren’t so excited, but they followed his orders.
Torque tracked the vampire master down and, instead of relaying the details to John, decided to try to make a deal. Torque was invited into the lair, where he spilled everything about John and his plan. Torque offered to lure John into the lair, and in return, he asked to be put in charge of the remaining human population. Torque wanted to build a human colony to exert dominance over the remaining human populace. According to him, the humans are too afraid to deal with vampires, but they’ll listen to him. Torque was a selfish man, and his only ambition was to be on the winning side and profit. It doesn’t matter if it came from his kind or others.
Was John Able To Slay The Master Vampire?
John sensed something was wrong as soon as Torque returned to the camp. But before he could do anything, Torque had his men arrest John and his party. Moreover, Torque also justified his betrayal. He said he had no faith in John’s promise and was convinced that he would not be able to kill the vampire hunter. Torque even threw Martin, his own man, overboard when he chose to side with John. Unfortunately, the vampire master broke the deal and ordered his followers to kill Torque and his men and apprehend John and his entourage. John managed to retrieve his crossbow, thanks to Charlie’s thieving skills. A battle ensued, and John began wreaking havoc on the vampires. But before he could land a final blow on the vampire master, he ran out of his special arrows. However, John pulled out the crucifix given to him by that old lady and stabbed the leader with it, killing him. As the master vampire fell to the ground, many of his followers perished with him, including his queen.
As Bloodthirst comes to an end, we saw a disfigured vampire who was informed that the master vampire had been slain. In reality, the master vampire was once his servant, who dared to leave his rank and choose to form his own faction. That’s why both factions were always at war, trying to exterminate one another to take control of the world. Unfortunately for him, the vampire hunter had undertaken a new mission: to kill the ultimate master and end the vampire reign on Earth.
Final Verdict
Bloodthirst isn’t just a bit below par; it’s downright terrible. It drops the ball on every aspect, from the characters to the plot. Right from the beginning, the movie hypes up a war between two factions, but we never actually get to see it. Costas Mandylor, who plays John Shepard, seems more interested in coming off as a brooding and mysterious vampire hunter than in actually portraying his character. This is pretty obvious in his attempts to deepen his voice and the painfully long pauses he takes before answering questions. The movie also does a disservice to the other characters. Take Rico, for example. He could have been valuable to John’s mission, but instead, we see him preoccupied with rescuing damsels in distress from catcallers rather than helping John come up with a strategy. If I’m being blunt, Bloodthirst is a real letdown.
