form of Mary Magnum ( Jesus' mother never looked so hot...I hope the man upstairs isn't listening. I'll really get struck down by lightning for that one), and Mexican wrestler Santo. Santo is actually a more qualified vampire killer than Jesus after fighting off monsters in scores of south of the border movies decades ago.
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter is a pretty impressive low budget effort from Lee Demarbre. A lot of people will be disappointed to learn that Jesus shaves and cuts his hair after the first fifteen minutes. This should have killed the main angle of the movie, but Phil Caracas (who plays Jesus) carries the story along with flying colours regardless. Although it was disappointing initially, I got the feeling that the traditional Jesus sight gag may have become stale after a while anyway. Jesus trying to be hip and modern was definitely the way to go in terms of a full length feature.
The whole thing is shot on 16mm, and the dialogue looping is intentionally out of sync. It really gave Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter that warm and fuzzy seventies exploitation feel that we all like so much. I was also pretty impressed by the fight choreography. Although played for laughs, it was extremely professional for a low budget production. The one liners come thick and fast. In one fight scene, Jesus thumps his chest and yells "The body of Christ!". It also pays homage to everything from biblical epics, to H.G. Lewis.
It's refreshing to see more inspired efforts such as Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter emerging in this era of overproduced horror. It seems that a new wave of exploitation is emerging somewhere between the zero budget efforts of Andreas Schnass, and multi-million dollar uninspired Hollywood efforts such as Final Destination. I'm not sure how catholic groups will react to J.C.V.H., but ironically it will probably do more to promote the church to young people than any religious rock group ever did. This is definitely one to add to your 'must buy' list. |
