Danni and the Vampire 2020 review

Written by James Rodrigues

We’ve all felt lost in our lives. At some point, there’s been an uncertainty of what path we should be taking, and that’s where we find Danni (Alexandra Landau) as the story begins. It’s been a while since she last felt good, as an encounter with the Jersey Devil turned her into a legend. It’s through this she’s contacted by a group, desiring help in killing a captive vampire. Instead, Danni chooses to free the imprisoned Remi (Henry Kiely), and aims to help his dreams become realised.

In the lead role, Alexandra Landau is an utter joy to watch, as her personal frustrations give way to helping Remy feel fulfilled. Speaking of which, Henry Kiely puts on an electric performance as the titular vampire, alluring in the ways we’d expect from bloodsuckers. This central pairing is what ensures the film works, as their charming chemistry has you fully invested in their bond. On their tail are Margaret, an ineffectual hipster, and Kaine, a vampire hunter. Thrown together by circumstance, this odd-couple pairing is an entertaining contrast between peppy and self-serious, who grow more comfortable with each other as time goes on.

Serving as writer and director, Max Werkmeister delivers an entertaining mash-up of genres, drawing on inspiration from feel-good dramedies as much as from vampire films. It’s a film with a thorough line, surrounded by a sense of anything possible being thrown at the wall, to see what sticks. Perhaps this contributes to the overlong runtime, but one can feel it losing steam as it runs out of ideas, and leaves viewers with a diminishing finale. At least the core pairing remains intact throughout all this, as the title characters are the best reason to watch this film.

Rating: 3 out of 5