BLADE

In perhaps the bloodiest and most violent vampire movie ever created, BLADE makes BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER look like child’s play. Very occult, evil, mean-spirited, and dark, this Marvel Comic-based African-American superhero has the power of an immortal, the soul of a human and a vengeful spirit against the “undead” who stole the life of his mother.

In 1967, Blade’s mother was just about to give birth when she was bitten by a vampire. Baby Blade survived and received all the powers of a vampire including brute strength and keen intelligence, but none of the vampire weaknesses such as intolerance to garlic, silver and sunlight. (In the sinister world of BLADE, crosses, holy water and other Christian artifacts are powerless.) He is able to walk by day and stalk vampires by night.

The story begins with an unknowing human visiting a nightclub run by vampires. At a certain point in the music, blood rains down from the ceiling sprinkler system all over the dancers, causing the vampires to go into a frenzy and attack the human. Blade comes to the rescue and burns, impales and generally wreaks havoc upon the undead. One burned vampire goes to the hospital and attacks a young hematologist named Karen. Blade again comes to the rescue and takes her back to his lair, where he gives her an essence of garlic injection to prevent her from becoming a vampire herself. She meets Blade’s partner, Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), and decides to join the fight.

The primary fight is against Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), a rebellious vampire among the underground vampire elite. This powerful, multicultural vampire contingency seeks to overpower the human race through politics, business, the stock market, and more. Frost seeks to overpower the human race through awakening the “blood god” through an ancient ritual requiring the blood of Blade. While Frost bumps off his superiors, he seeks to kidnap Blade, resulting in an ultimate showdown with Blade, Karen and Whistler for their lives and the sake of all mankind.

While possessing an adequate plot, good camera work, good special effects, and good casting, BLADE features a two-hour assault on humanity. Vampires, of course, are a perversion of humanity, requiring cannibalism and murder to be maintained. This assault is accompanied by massive bloodletting, grotesque images, exultation of false gods, shunning and denying the power of Christ, and ultimately a power of wits and scientific ingenuity for resolution. The mood throughout the movie is dark and sinister. Blade himself must ultimately feed on human blood to conquer his enemy.

First created in 1973 as a supporting character in Marvel Comics’ “Tomb of Dracula,” Blade has recently been seen teaming with Spiderman. One of the first African-American comic book heroes, Blade lives to kill vampires and exact vengeance. Hence, he isn’t necessarily defending humanity, but journeying on his own personal quest to avenge his mother’s killer. Though possibly attracting the same crowd who attended SPAWN, MORTAL COMBAT and THE CROW, this is not a movie at all for the casual moviegoer, let alone the Christian moviegoer. Having little of the Christ-references and redemptive themes purposefully included by Bram Stoker in the original DRACULA novel, this is a valueless, immoral movie.