Strangers Invitation

A vampire horror feature written and directed by Teddy Joseph (who also produced, edited, and did the sound for the film - funding the project to boot) and starring Joseph B. Augustin, Kathy Morales, Jayda King and Amber Robinson.

 

African American vampires are wreaking havoc in Miami. The story begins during the French Revolution, and Damien (Augustin) is a slave whose master is a vampire. His master decides to turn Damien into a Vampire, and centuries later, he ends up in present-day Miami. There, he decides the time is right to have some company and, one after the other, he turns three young women, Vanessa (Morales), Amber (Robinson) and Sasha (King) into vampires and the four of them prey on the people of Miami, leaving dead bodies everywhere. Meanwhile, the police are getting hot on their tail.

 

The plot is intriguing: vampires stalk the streets of Miami at night, killing whoever they come across. As one might expect in a film about vampires, there is plenty of biting going on, a lot of gore, and the supernatural creatures have fangs and red eyes. Many people get killed.

 

Although this is a blood-soaked horror story, it has major flaws. One thing is the acting, which is not very convincing, to say the least. Another negative aspect is that the low production value is evident, with unrealistic gore and poor special effects and there is awkward editing. Moreover, the duration is close to two hours, and the screenplay does not justify this length of time, focusing primarily on violence and unnecessary scenes, instead of moving the story forward.

 

The performances are unrealistic, yet Augustin manages to bring some life into his character, portraying as a person (if vampires can be described as persons) who embraces the sinister and deadly being that he has become. Although Sasha seems content to have become a creature of the night, Amber and Vanessa have different perspectives, questioning the joys of such an existence. Joshua Germain and Frank Ronoti play two capable detectives who are trying to solve the mystery of the multiple slayings.

 

Since this is a vampire story, immortality is one of its themes and the screenplay also explores the life of a vampire, presenting it as being an existence motivated by a thirst for blood. Additionally, the film also investigates loyalty and freedom.

 

Strangers Invitation tries to take itself seriously and fails. Could this feature be acknowledged as a decent addition to the vampire genre? Even this genre's biggest fans will most likely find it hard to enjoy a film that is overlong, has poor acting and flawed special effects.