6/10
A 90's 'Kerrang' readers wet dream
15 July 2020
You shouldn't interfere in a 19th century duel, that's what Lilith Silver finds out, she's killed - but her reward is eternal life as a Vampire. Fast forward a few years (quite a few) and Lilith as an assassin; a skin-tight leather jumpsuit wearing assassin - with crimson red lips, a heaving bosom, and taste for human blood. She works for a man she calls Platinum, who she also has a thing going on with too. She's been hunted down by the people she's been hunting down, the Illuminati. Things take a dramatic turn for the worst and Lilith comes full-circle with her past as she get stuck in the middle of another duel. Will she survive this time though?

OK, yes this is a cheesy tongue-in-cheek gorefest but if you know anything about director Jake West you should have expected that, granted though if you watched this in the 90's like me you may not have know at the time. The film is the best kind of low budget cheese, the plot has more holes than Emmental, the acting stinks like Limburger, the set and visuals are more plasticky than Kraft slices. The plot is questionable at times, its delivery occasionally confusing and the staging... well, it looks very staged too. There is a sprinkling of vampire clichés, and a lot (and lots) of 90's 'lad culture' visuals - expect flashes of soft-core porn, lesbian sex, nightclubs, Reservoir Dogs suits and random violence. Despite having a female lead this is not a very feministic film - but it was ok to objectify in the 90's (apparently anyway. Think Ladsmag/ FHM/ Nuts culture - if you weren't in the UK in the 90's sorry about that reference!). There is hardly any character development, no life affirming or changing messages or morals, and yes the lead (Eileen Daly) looks like she's been pulled straight off the cover of a Kerrang magazine (90's heavy metal and goth music magazine). Despite all this, I cannot bring myself to hate the film - it was fun (in two or three places)! It was made in a different era for a different audience then the kind you'll find post 2000). This is the product somebody with drive and ambition to make a film, despite next to no budget (less than £20k - which wouldn't get you a new car nowadays!!). Look at the kind of CGI heavy rubbish you'll find on late night terrestrial themed channels nowadays (I'm looking at you SyFy), this is no worse than any if that. No this isn't a great film, no it doesn't have much of a heart because that was sacrificed for visuals, but Jake West stood up and made a film - it was for him, it wasn't awful, it was a start, it was springboard into the industry and therefore it still deserves a handful of stars in my rating system. This won't be for everyone, but there are some people who will enjoy this.

6/10
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