Where to watch Innocent Blood
2 Stars
Marie has two appetites, sex and blood. Her career as a vampire is going along fine until two problems come up, she is interrupted while feeding on Sal (The Shark) Macelli and she begins to develop a relationship with the policeman who has been trying to put Sal away. Sal wakes up in the morgue very confused and very thirsty. He goes back to his old haunts and begins to create an organized crime family of vampires while Marie and her policeman lover hunt him.
John Landis made An American Werewolf in London, the most memorable werewolf movie of the 1980s. A decade later, he gave vampires the same treatment with Innocent Blood, a dark (and bloody) horror-comedy that is part satire and homage. Robert Loggia is fantastic as the mob boss who’s been turned into an eternal creature of the night. There are some expert directorial touches, including perfectly chosen cast and soundtrack tunes by Sinatra. The film falters in its scripting, which takes an intriguing concept that never devolves into a compelling story. Anne Parilaud, a sultry and exotic-looking woman, is front and center, often in various states of undress, but her character is so poorly written we aren’t clear why she’s made a decision that will set the plot in motion.
Innocent Blood should be considered for a remake or reigned as a Television series. The underlying idea is ripe for further exploration by other creative minds. Landis’ output during the 1990s was abmismal; dropping one box-office bomb after another until things culminated with, the nearly unbearable, Blues Brothers 2000. Innocent Blood is easily the standout film for the director during this downturn era.
Directed by: John Landis
Written by: Michael Wolk
Starring: Anne Parillaud, Anthony LaPaglia, Robert Loggia