Nest of Vampires Review: A Campy British Vampire Story

Release date: March 16, 2021
Running time: 83 minutes        
Starring: Jon Paul Gates, Tom Fairfoot, Amelie Leroy, Hans Hernke, Lucy Willis, Tom Hendryk, D'Angeles Campos, Peter Mahoney, Rosanne Priest, and Shawn C. Phillips
Written and Directed By: Chris Sanders

From writer/director Chris Sanders, Nest of Vampires follows an MI5 agent who travels from London to rural England in search of the people who murdered his wife and kidnapped his only daughter. During his investigation, he uncovers a ruthless vampiric cult that is heavily embroiled in human trafficking and Satanic cult worship.

Nest of Vampires is a cheesy British horror film that wears its camp on its sleeve.  The film has a serious style but also plenty of enjoyable, overly dramatic acting and action.  I can't tell if the movie is trying to be a serious mystery / action film, or one that embraces the fine line between camp and cringe, but I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt.  The film has a fun, noir pulp to it that makes me think that this is a throwback to classic horror and detective films.  The main character, Tom Fairfoot is a fun character to follow, an overly cocky agent who is fighting the clock to save his daughter.  And Amelie Leroy as a mysterious friend and potential enemy was a fun character to follow.  I also really liked seeing Hans Hernke again, who I enjoyed seeing earlier this year in Todd.  And the story itself has a really fun twist partway through that explained a lot about the characters and the relative levels of skill in each.  

However, despite the enjoyable level of cheese in Nest of Vampires, the film itself does have some noticeable flaws.  The effects are generally pretty bad, though the film does what it can to hide that.  They are generally not relied on much, but when you notice it, you definitely notice it.  The story itself, while being enjoyable and having a few fun twists, also doesn't really come together.  It feels like some threads were trimmed, leaving them dangling at the end.  And although the movie wraps itself up, some of the events just seemed either convenient or poorly planned depending on your perspective.  And overall, the performances were spirited, but some of them did come off as less campy and more unnatural.  And one of the biggest potential issues is that the film changes some aspects of the vampire narrative without really acknowledging it.  There are some dramatic departures from our normal mythology that seem far too convenient.  

Nest of Vampires has a campy, noir style and an ensemble cast of characters that will keep you entertained, but some of the story issues and less than stellar effects will distract you.  

Pass on it.

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Nest of Vampires is available digitally and on demand on March 16, 2021.  You can rent or buy it directly here.