Innocent Blood (1992)

John Landis was the perfect director for Innocent Blood, a horror-comedy hybrid that does for French vampires in Pittsburgh what Landis's An American Werewolf in London did for hungry lycanthropes in Picadilly Square. Anne Parillaud, the sexy star of La Femme Nikita, is perfectly cast as a beguiling vampire who must feed regularly on human blood, and when she spots a local Mafia kingpin (Robert Loggia), she says to herself, "I think I'll try Italian!" But once the Mafioso realizes he's now an undead vampire, he goes on a rampant crusade of bloodthirsty vengeance, biting his soldiers and consigliere (Don Rickles, no less!) to recruit an army of undead henchmen. Pretty soon Parillaud's teamed up with an undercover cop (Anthony LaPaglia) in an attempt to stop her victims from proliferating throughout the Pittsburgh underworld. (Disconnecting the central nervous system will kill a bloodsucker, and the powerful Parillaud can snap necks as efficiently as she bites them.)

Landis keeps it all moving at a raucous pace, favoring humor without sacrificing intelligent plotting and interesting characters. Parillaud evokes sympathy even when her eyes glow fiery red and she's ripping the throats out of her victims--hey, she's only trying to survive, right? And Loggia takes one of his best-ever roles and runs with it, spouting lines of Mafioso dialogue made hilarious by the fact that he's a walking, blood-soaked corpse. Morbid humor and gruesome makeup are abundant here, as well as Landis's trademark inclusion of cameos by such horror-movie icons as Dario Argento, Sam Raimi, and monster-fan extraordinaire Forrest J. Ackerman. With tenderness, toughness, a dash of kink, and plenty of laughs, this is the kind of guilty pleasure that includes "I've Got You Under My Skin" on the soundtrack, just for the sheer enjoyment of a campy double-entendre. How can you resist? --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Vampira meets the Godfather

What A creative idea! Take a sexy female vampire and have her stalk Italian mobsters in Pittsburgh. I really enjoyed this film for a couple of reasons. There really is no other vampire flick like this at all. John Landis is a genius at mixing the elements of classic horror with comedy and making it work. Take gangsters,erotic vampirism,good soundtrack and this is what you get. The only bad thing is that the film runs a wee bit too long(112 minutes). There are scenes that could have either been cut or shortened. But in all this is a very enjoyable flick. December 17, 2007

An over-looked gem

I liked this one from the opening sequence.Then,as it progressed,I couldn't help but smirk.John Landis brought his A game to this one!Horrific&funny all at once,so reminiscent of An American Werewolf in London!Get this one! August 26, 2007

Crime and vampires in Pittsburgh

Marie, played by Anne Parilland, was hungry. So she decided to feast on some mobsters in Pittsburgh. They're just her type.
The problem is one of them, played by Robert Loggia, is turned into a vampire and now she has to destroy him before he can cause too many problems. With Anthony LaPaglia playing a cop, Don Rickles playing a laywer and even Sam Raimi playing a small part this has lots of star power. Funny to the point of being camp, bloodly to the point of being a tad gross, with sex, nudity and tons of humor, I don't know why more people don't rave about this film.
A almost forgotten classical vampire movie, I suggest you get it, new or used. The DVD has no extras but it's cheap so that's OK. July 9, 2007

Innocent Blood

Purchased a DVD and Amazon indicated that because of that DVD I should also purchase Innocent Blood. The movie was old, very old, poor quality and not worth the money I paid, should have been in the dollar box. I only lasted 30 moinutes into the movie before I lost it. March 8, 2007

Just Plain Funny

I am a science fiction fan and I like some horror movies. That's NOT why I like this film. If you want unrelenting gore and true science fiction you probably should look elsewhere. But if you like unusual genre combinations you should appreciate this one. Objecting to the mix of the mafia and vampirism means that you've just missed the point entirely. I found the mix hilarious. The movie requires that you just suspend judgement, and enjoy the unfolding of the what if proposition: What if the Godfather had been bitten by a female Dracula? The fact that the screenwriter thought to ASK that question cracks me up. What is more serious and harrowing than a mafia film? To me comedy is about the surprise element, the ability to turn generally serious matters and turn them on their head. If you can allow for that, you'll be on your way to seeing how and why this film succeeds. December 24, 2006

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