Watching practically unknown nineties horror films can be a bit hit and miss - and this one is undoubtedly a huge miss! All I realistically expected from this flick was a fun vampire movie, but all I got was rampant boredom. There's very little inventiveness in this film, and essential elements such as tension and suspense are also severely lacking. Director Tony Randel directed the first Hellraiser sequel a few years before this film, and that really got my hopes up as Hellraiser 2 was everything a sequel to the 1987 horror masterpiece should be; but he had much better material to work with then, and that is the principal reason why Children of the Night fails. The plot begins with the ever-present horror theme of some kids taking part in an old college ritual. It involves them swimming in some lake under a church, and they accidentally end up waking up a vampire. Pretty soon, their town is overrun by bloodsuckers and it's up to a bunch of dreary characters to save the day. Basically, all you need to know about this film is that the acting is terrible, the special effects are laughable and if you've seen more than a few vampire movies, you've seen all that this film has to offer already. Not even the presence of cult scream queen Karen Black can save it! Give it a miss.
Review of Children of the Night
