Review: Vampires Vs. The Bronx
Netflix
The film opens in a nail salon late at night in The Bronx in New York City. As an unnervingly peppy customer, Vivian (Sarah Gadon), tells the store’s owner, Becky (Zoe Saldana), that she just moved to The Bronx, Becky replies that she’s actually leaving town that night. Days before, Becky took a real estate agent’s offer of a large amount of money in exchange for her salon. Later, as she’s signing the papers alone with the real estate agent, we see a vague, dark figure appear behind her. Thinking she’s on her way to starting a new chapter of her life, a vampire makes his appearance, attacking and killing Becky.
This is Vampires Vs. The Bronx, the new Netflix original horror-comedy about a group of kids trying to save their town from an invasion of vampires. At first glance of the title and the teenage kids on the poster, Vampires Vs. The Bronx might seem like it should be in Netflix’s family section. However, don’t let it steer you away from watching. Though the leads seem young, the film is an original horror-comedy that tackles mature, relevant themes. Like the other Netflix Original film, Project Power (2020), this one also explores themes of gentrification. Already, with this beginning scene, it introduces audiences to the horror that audiences can and cannot see. And once it begins, it seems like it can never end.
The film was directed by Osmany “Oz” Rodriguez, whose credits include writing for Saturday Night Live. And co-written by both Rodriguez and Blaise Hemingway. In a virtual interview with NOW Magazine, Oz Rodriguez said he set the film in The Bronx for its “huge immigrant community”, describing it as “the last frontier as far as where gentrification will go next.” He described how he came up with the creative storyline, stating, “I knew I wanted to set the story in New York City. Talking to friends in the Dominican community, especially like Washington Heights that neighborhood, which is a very Dominican neighborhood in New York City that is going through changes right now. Sort of all their conversations were all so similar. How much the neighborhood is changing. How much the identity is being sucked out. I think I just made the connection with vampires really quick.”
The film’s metaphor is extremely clever. One of the classic characteristics of vampires is that they cannot be seen in reflections. The film takes it a step further, extending it so that they do not appear in pictures and videos either. It’s a crafty way of conveying that gentrification is a problem that one may not always see, but it still exists regardless. On top of that, it’s not an accident that all the vampires are played by white actors. Gentrification targets low-income individuals and neighborhoods composed of primarily people of color. Throughout the film, the vampires make remarks that no one notices when someone who lives in a place like The Bronx goes missing. These feelings of superiority, unfortunately, compose the primary mentality of those who support gentrification. Even though the film depicts these vampires as ghastly with some gory violence, it’s what they say that sticks in audiences’ heads.
The combination of horror and comedy also makes the film an interesting watch. A horror-comedy is not very common to see, because it is extremely difficult. It’s hard to place humor and gore side-by-side, because one or the other might not land properly. Audiences could have trouble taking it seriously, not sure if this scary moment was intentionally trying to be funny. It can be said that this film shows that struggle with genre-bending. However, where the film falls flat with some jokes and clichéd dialogue, it makes up for in the relationship between the characters. Jaden Michael, Gerald Jones III, and Gregory Diaz IV star as the main vampire hunters. While one may recognize Michael and Jones from Baz Luhrmann’s The Get Down or small appearances on other programs, all three actors’ careers are just getting started. With the rest of the town unconvinced by their vampire theory, their friendship carries the story. It’s humorous to see these kids think so quick on their feet and get into wild shenanigans.
For some, the film may give off vibes of the Netflix original Stranger Things in that they both involve teens combating the supernatural. However, unlike the television show being set in the cool, neon 80s, this film is set in the modern day. So, instead of playing off some nostalgia, it should be admired that the film aims to be relevant with the times. It’s not even meant to be set in the future. Therefore, Rodriguez makes it a point to imply that gentrification is a real issue happening right now.
Despite its fantastic elements, Rodriguez still wants the film to be relatable. In that same interview, he described that his intention was to “tell a fun adventure story for kids that looked like me and my friends growing up in the Dominican Republic. So, the kind of kids that aren’t really represented in these kinds of stories or the kinds of kids that are not able to be the heroes of their story. So, that was sort of my main goal of trying to tell an adventure story with a diverse cast.”
Even though the film released on October 2, 2020, it didn’t quite make it to Netflix’s Top 10, most likely causing it to get lost in the streaming platform. With buzz around Halloween-related films like Hubie Halloween (2020)or a binge-worthy psychological drama like The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), it never felt like Vampires Vs. The Bronx received any publicity.
While with audiences the film received a percentage just below the fifty-percent mark, it got a surprising 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s a very large difference. So, it seems that it’s not a film that anyone’s almost guaranteed to like. One should watch the film to make their own opinion.
Vampires Vs. The Bronx is not one of the greatest films of the year, but it holds its own with a distinct story. As mentioned earlier with Project Power (2020), it seems like there might be a trend in films using extended metaphors to depict real, ongoing issues. If one wants to watch a lighthearted, but intellectually engaging horror-comedy, this film should be your next move.
