Plot: What’s it about?
Hey, a movie about vampires! Well that’s something you don’t see a lot of these days, isn’t it? I jest. I’m also sure I’ve remarked that nearly as long as cinema has been around so too have movies about vampires. Going way back to Nosferatu (1922) in film and long before that as Dracula in books, vampires have been a constant. One thing that’s really perplexed me is the inconsistencies of these films, then again it’s hard to have a definitive vampire movie when vampires themselves, well, aren’t…real. But in the last decade I think we’ve been subjected to so many vampire movies (and the Twilight movies being king of them all…for better or worse) that it’s made my head spin. So when I put in The Thompsons, yet another vampire movie, was I expecting more of the same? Why yes. Yes I was.
Evidently this movie is a sequel to The Hamiltons, a movie that I’ve never seen or heard of but admittedly now have an interest in seeing. We meet a group of vampires who go by the alias “The Thompsons.” Their makeshift family consists of twins, and a batch of brothers and sisters. And after causing a massacre at a roadside diner in California, are now on the run from the long arm of the law. What “The Thompson’s” are really after is a search for the key to their past and that key lies with “The Manderson’s.” The trouble is that they’re in England. Twins Wendell (Joseph McKelher) and Darlene (Mackenzie Firgens) head off to Paris to see what they can find and we then meet the rest of the family, narrated in a flashback format by Francis (Cory Knauf) as he’s been buried alive (never a good thing for a vampire). What differenciates The Thompsons from some of the other vampire movies is that they don’t seem to focus on the fact that they’re vampires, it’s more character-driven. It’s not glorified and certainly their skin doesn’t sparkle in the sunlight. Yes, that’s a jab at the Twlight fans and I’m pleased to see a movie take such a stance.
I need to get back to my roots. I’ve become so used to only looking at the mainstream, studio-released films that I sometimes forget that some of my best viewing experiences have been with some lower budget films that are both entertaining and original. The Thompsons doesn’t have any “A” list actors and, truthfully, I don’t think I recognized a name in the cast. I think I like that, actually. Yes, the genre has been played out and is verging on eye-rolling territory, but when a story is told and crafted in a manner such as this – I really didn’t mind. In fact, it’s really made me want to check out its predecessor, The Hamiltons. When a film can actually make you want to seek out other films of a genre like this, I’d say that says something; wouldn’t you?
Video: How does it look?
Right off the bat I could tell that this film was a bit different and sure enough, the physical look and feel of the film is certainly amazing. The 2.40:1 AVC HD image has got to be one of the clearest, cleanest that I’ve ever seen on Blu-ray. It was done with and HD Digital Video camera and it’s really a testament to the technology that a film shot on such a low budget can really look this good. The scenes have a very polarized look them, stylized if you will. Flesh tones seem somewhat baked in some scenes and a bit more subdued when the group gets up to England. Detail is stunning, the blood (fake as can be) is red, red, red and black levels are rock solid. This was one of a series of surprises for me and it was a good thing indeed.
Audio: How does it sound?
It would be hard to compete with the way this film looks, but the DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack does do a fair job of keeping up. Dialogue is a bit on the higher side, some of the background noises sound amazing in the surrounds and the LFE do have a small part in a few noted sequences. This mix, though not at the top of the list in regard to overall performance, does make for a very nice soundtrack and one that’s representative of the film itself. It’s a nice, solid effort.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The Thompsons comes to DVD/Blu-ray with half a dozen featurettes which highlight some of the major areas of the movie. We start off with “Relocating the Family” then move onto “Scribed in Blood”, “Humans to Monsters” and “Families.” One that I really enjoyed was “Awakening the Project” which tells of the decision to make this film after its predecessor The Hamiltons came out in 2006. Finally we wrap up with “The Ridgestone Inn” the mansion of sorts where the majority of the movie took place. A separate disc contains the DVD of the film.
