Reviews: Vampires: Los Muertos (2002) Movie Review
- Related: [ Movie Details for Vampires: Los Muertos ]
Subgenres: Vampires, Cursed
Where does Vampires: Los Muertos (2002) stand among horror films? Our review examines the scares, pacing, and what makes it unique in the genre.
Vampires: Los Muertos (2002) is an American action thriller horror movie that was filmed in Mexico. Vampires: Los Muertos (2002) takes place in the same universe as John Carpenter‘s Vampires (1998), but it is not a direct sequel. Director and writer Tommy Lee Wallace (It (1990), Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), Fright Night Part 2 (1988)) did an okay job executing this movie but it was not the best of his potential. I was expecting a great feast as he is the director of one of my horror film faves, Stephen King‘s It (1990).
The movie revolves around Derek Bliss (Jon Bon Jovi - Armageddon (1998), Stand Up Guys (2012), Young Guns II (1990), Pain & Gain (2013)) who is a freelance vampire slayer in Mexico. He gathers some slayers after he was hired by an unknown client to fulfill the task he was hired to do. His team comprised of Vampires Zoey, Sancho and Father Rodrigo. Zoey (Natasha Gregson Wagner - High Fidelity (2000), Two Girls and a Guy (1997), Urban Legend (1998), Lost Highway (1997)) is a vampire and is addicted to medication that fights off the vampire urge for blood. Father Rodrigo (Cristián de la Fuente) is not a priest but pretend to be one and helps in the search/battle. Sancho (Diego Luna - Milk (2008), The Terminal (2004), Elysium (2013), Y Tu Mamá También (2001)) is a fourteen year old teenager that helped Derek find the large vampire nest at the beginning of the movie and also helped Derek kill the vampires. They had also found powerful vampire princess Una (Arly Jover - Blade (1998), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Empire of the Wolves (2005)). Una is now on a mission to find the Berziers Cross, which is a black crucifix that is used in a ritual to give vampires the ability to walk during the day in the sunlight.
Vampires: Los Muertos reeled me in during the first 15-20 minutes. The movie started by showing us Derek saving a male that threatens a prostitute with a razor. Derek pointed a gun at the male characters forehead and then the male character walked away. Derek then killed the prostitute with three stakes revealing that she was a vampire. He then dragged her to a car lot and filmed her as she was caught on fire with the sunlight. Van Helsing Group leader informed Derek of a new job in Mexico where he found out that may be linked with him. Derek met Zoey in a coffee shop while he was waiting for Jesse to finish up. Zoey asked Derek if he was in the undead business and that word made Derek suspicious. He went to the bathroom and used a special lens and saw that Zoey is a vampire. Derek returned too late from the bathroom as Una had made her great entrance and slit everyone’s throat in the coffee shop and kidnapped Jesse. Derek assumes that Zoey is the murderer and tries to track her down.
The movie overall was an okay watch, but it is not something that I enjoyed to the point where I would let other vampire movie lovers watch it. The characters performances were okay, the sets were fantastic, the music was excellent, the cinematography was okay and the special effects were not good or bad. The screenplay needed to be deeper and less scattered. I did not want to watch the entire movie, but I had to because I am a vampire fanatic. I gave this movie a five because it was not a waste of my time, and some scenes were pretty good.
Similar films like Vampires: Los Muertos can be found in vampire movies sub-genre(s), check them out for more movies like Vampires: Los Muertos.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Vampires: Los Muertos Rating Scores
- Our Score: 5/10
- Overall Score: 3.86/10
- IMDB: 4.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 2.0/10
Look here for more movies starting with V and here you can find 2002 movies to watch on your favorite streaming service.
Browse: New Vampire Movies / Vampire Movies List