This review was originally written in 1992, when this movie was a new release on home video, and published in a daily newspaper (where my city desk editor wrote that cheesy headline). And yes, I consciously ripped off Joe Bob Briggs in my final paragraph back in those days.
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT (Rated R) - Columbia TriStar Home Video: If your idea of a good time, like mine, is watching Academy Award nominee (for Five Easy Pieces in 1970) Karen Black vomit up a slimy, translucent body bag around herself and then fill it up with a rich, bubbly bile, then this is the flick for you!
While Karen's participation has livened up many a drive-in trash flick (like Mirror, Mirror and the upcoming Auntie Lee's Meat Pies), the plot of this particular horror show concerns two teenage girls whose ritual friendship swim in a flooded crypt unleashes an ancient vampire/demon that promptly enslaves the quaint little town of Alburg.
One of the girls (Maya McLaughlin) becomes a "child of the night," but her friend Lucy (Amy Dolenz from Miracle Beach) teams up with a local teacher (Peter DeLuise from 21 Jump Street) and, eventually, the town drunk (Garrett Morris) to take on the big kahuna and his neck-munching minions.
Essentially what we have here is Buffy The Vampire Slayer done right - and for about half the cost. Too bad your local video barn will only have two or three copies on the shelf.
The final score: Nine body count with gross-but-silly gore; no popped tips, although desperate Karen wears a see-through nightie; Maya eats slugs; the vampires sleep with their "breathing apparatus" exposed, lending some truth to that saying "barf up a lung"; slam-bang direction from Tony Randel (Amityville 1992); a brilliant synth-orchestral score by David Licht; Josette DeCarlo as Officer Gates provides great comic relief; classy FX work by the KNB Effects Group; and an irrefutably smashing ending.
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT (Rated R) - Columbia TriStar Home Video: If your idea of a good time, like mine, is watching Academy Award nominee (for Five Easy Pieces in 1970) Karen Black vomit up a slimy, translucent body bag around herself and then fill it up with a rich, bubbly bile, then this is the flick for you!
While Karen's participation has livened up many a drive-in trash flick (like Mirror, Mirror and the upcoming Auntie Lee's Meat Pies), the plot of this particular horror show concerns two teenage girls whose ritual friendship swim in a flooded crypt unleashes an ancient vampire/demon that promptly enslaves the quaint little town of Alburg.
One of the girls (Maya McLaughlin) becomes a "child of the night," but her friend Lucy (Amy Dolenz from Miracle Beach) teams up with a local teacher (Peter DeLuise from 21 Jump Street) and, eventually, the town drunk (Garrett Morris) to take on the big kahuna and his neck-munching minions.
Essentially what we have here is Buffy The Vampire Slayer done right - and for about half the cost. Too bad your local video barn will only have two or three copies on the shelf.
The final score: Nine body count with gross-but-silly gore; no popped tips, although desperate Karen wears a see-through nightie; Maya eats slugs; the vampires sleep with their "breathing apparatus" exposed, lending some truth to that saying "barf up a lung"; slam-bang direction from Tony Randel (Amityville 1992); a brilliant synth-orchestral score by David Licht; Josette DeCarlo as Officer Gates provides great comic relief; classy FX work by the KNB Effects Group; and an irrefutably smashing ending.