Here is a film that ignores some of the more obvious issues that becoming a vampire might raise and instead goes right to big one: “What if the Vampire played bass in your band?”
In this lighthearted and fairly amusing romp that’s about as deep as it gets.
A struggling indie band whose own manager thinks they should sack him are going nowhere – until at a post gig after-party their bass player and only female member Jennifer heads off into the night with a vampire… that’s not a spoiler folks this guy was obviously 100% vampire – Suck isn’t a film that engages in subtlety much.
The INXS tribute band lead singer.
After missing the tour-hearse (not bus) the next morning the lead singer Joey, her ex-boyfriend by the way, decides enough and promotes the band roadie (and funniest guy in the film) Hugo to play bass – with ear-bleeding results.
So it seems a relief when a couple days later Jennifer reappears in fine fettle. If there is one thing that dozens of vampire films have shown us in the last couple years it is that Vampires have great skin! More than that the first gig with her back in the fold is a huge success – for them – literally dozens of hits on their website.
This momentum continues to build as more and more people show to their gigs to be entranced and taken by Jennifer’s beauty and fangy-charisma.
The band are skeptical of Jennifer’s true condition, especially when they find her chewing on her latest victim in a motel room… but sometimes you have to turn a blind eye to get to the top. Joey is less willing to take a back seat, leading him to undermine her impact at every available turn.
But as the famous saying goes – If having one vampire in your band is good, surely more is better? You might not have heard that saying but trust me it is huuuuge where I come from.
The whole movie plays out like an extended comedy skit, though it mostly remains just on the good side of outstaying it’s welcome by featuring cameo after cameo of famous rockers just when things seem to be slowing down.
Alice Cooper has a supporting role and pops up every now and then, Iggy Pop plays a “seen it all” music producer and Henry Rollins has a very funny (and seemingly non-Henry Rollins) role as a moronic DJ who interviews the band.
I liked Suck and chuckled while I was watching the film, but it is essentially a one-note film that doesn’t do much to shake up the vampire genre. It is a refreshing alternative to the oh so serious-yet vacant Twilight stuff though.
Wooops! Nearly forgot the other ethical dilemma created by having a vampire bass player: “Do the roles of the indie band roadie extend to cleaning up dead parts of groupies?”
I’ll leave you to chew over that one for the next few days.
Final Rating – 6.5 / 10. The best thing you can say about a movie called Suck is that at least it doesn’t…
