Review: Blood Vessel

As far as World War II Nazi vampire horror movies go, Blood Vessel is certainly one of them. Complete with a dull first half and a surprisingly improved second half, it does just enough things right to keep you engaged, despite what it gets wrong.  

A desperate group of survivors aboard a lifeboat in World War II sneak their way onto a passing Nazi warship. Expecting to immediately become POWs, they are surprised to find no one aboard. As they explore the ship, they discover evidence that something horrible happened, leaving unexplained dead bodies and a ship purposely sabotaged and sent off course. The further they explore, the more strange things they come across, finally finding a little Romanian girl with deadly “family members” on board and a penchant for biting. As survivors are picked off one by one, it becomes clear that whatever evil the Nazi crew unleashed wasn’t finished with just them.  

Watching Blood Vessel is an up and down experience, and I’ll be honest; it starts rough. The first half is pretty damn dull. Our heroes quickly find themselves aboard a seemingly abandoned Nazi ship, hoping that they can somehow regain control of it or come across some sort of salvation. Much of this part of the movie involves little interpersonal beefs between the characters, and leaves much to be desired. The idea is that we are coming into a situation where these characters have been drifting together for a while. But, it just feels like the audience is out of the loop, because all of the events they reference took place before the movie even starts. So, it plays as hokey melodrama that lacks the necessary context to make you feel connected to what’s happening. 

This would be lessened if the mystery of the ship were engaging, but unfortunately that doesn’t hit the mark either. It’s hard to be wrapped up in a mystery that takes up half the film when we all know what is going on, even if the characters don’t. There’s vampires on the ship! It’s frustrating to see all the tropes pop up again and again and feel like I should be intrigued. We all know the rules when it comes to vampires, so we’re really only watching all the pieces getting put into play for later in the movie. If the movie were to add new wrinkles to the danger (i.e. new powers, different kinds of threats beyond the obvious, etc.) then you could have a slow build. But, everything here is so tedious to watch, because what is going on is so unsurprising that you tend to tune out. 

The movie’s dialogue is often clunky, with the first half’s lines being more egregious. The amount of times a character says the line, “This war” will make you want to pull your hair out. Each character has their little moments of backstory as well, and I see the attempt to provide compelling contextual backgrounds for each character. But, it mostly comes off as amateurish world building. The characters that do work don’t begin to until we get past their past trauma and the movie allows them to interact and build up a rapport. No amount of run-of-the-mill tragic backstories can compare to on-screen chemistry. 

One place the movie excelled was in its production design. I was surprised at how lived-in and thoroughly detailed the locations looked. I must say it does a lot for the movie. Characters wandering around an empty ship has the potential for becoming very repetitive. But, there were always little flourishes that both engaged me and allowed me to orientate myself on the ship. It was really well done. That quality also extends to the makeup effects. They were wonderfully gross and interesting, and apart from the main baddies at the end, they looked really high quality and were perfectly hidden in the shadows. 

So, while the movie’s first half was a bit of a chore to get through, the second half was actually really engaging and fun. I think the stronger characters survived longer and the weaker ones died rather quickly, which improved the quality of the interactions tremendously. Also, the dynamic between two of the survivors, Sinclair (Nathan Phillips) and Teplov (Alex Cooke), turned out to be really charming and neat. It’s nothing groundbreaking or anything, but it was nice to enjoy seeing two characters share the screen. This is also about the time when the vampire elements of the movie actually come into play, so it feels like the movie finally gets going. The twists and turns that occur here were much more interesting as well. Overall the movie blossoms into a decent little vampire flick. There’s even a pretty impressive burning alive stunt. To my surprise, I was invested in the characters by the end and found myself feeling anxious for their safety. 

However, as a small aside, I do have a little problem with the use of the Nazi iconography in the film. I understand the bit. A Nazi ship ravaged by vampires is a creepy setting for a horror movie. Nazis have been cinematic bad guys forever. However, we are dealing with imagery that means something, and you have to make sure they are the bad guys. I’m not saying there isn’t room to examine the complexities of those living under and within the Nazi system. But, a b-horror film doesn’t seem like the place, and there is not any attempt made either way. The movie presents them as battling the vampires and the ship’s captain sacrificing his ship for the greater good, and this has the potential to be interpreted as worthy of sympathy. Our characters also inexplicably change out of their clothes into dry Nazi garb, which they then wear for the rest of the film. I assumed that maybe there would be a narrative reason for this. Perhaps they would be mistaken for Nazis or in disguise or something along those lines. This was not the case. So, our heroes are wearing Nazi iconography for the entire film for no clear reason. It’s an odd choice and an unnecessarily positive connotation given to truly hateful imagery. I’m sure the filmmakers did not intend for any devious messaging. But, it’s worth noting. Nazis are, I think we can all agree, undeniably evil, and they make great movie villains for this reason. However, the decision to portray them in a film comes with a social responsibility to do so appropriately and with intent. That intent got muddled here. 

Eventually, we get to the movie’s actual villains, the vampires. Their design is pretty fun and very nosferatu-esque. I think the movie allows us to see them too often in bright light, so they come off a little cheesy at times, as does their performance. They revel in their evilness and enjoy what they’re doing, almost to Adam West’s Batman levels of camp. It doesn’t really match the tone of the movie, yet it’s still enjoyable in its own way. 

Conclusion

Blood Vessel is an alright B-movie. It spends its resources smartly and doesn’t ever feel like it’s reaching beyond its ability too often. It has a sluggish first half and a fun little second half, that unfortunately concludes in a silly twist of sorts. If the premise intrigues you it may be worth a watch. The movie contains much of what its premise promises the viewer, which is more than most low budget horror films can say.