An elite commando squad led by the rugged Hawk (an engaging performance by Casper Van Dien) and his equally tough longtime buddy Grieves (the hulking, deep-voiced Kevin Grevioux, who's excellent) run afoul of lethal and powerful vampires in a South American rain forest. Grieves gets turned into a vampire and becomes the leader of a savage roving herd. Moreover, Hawk has to rescue his spunky scientist ex-wife Dr. Laurie Williams (winningly played by luscious blonde looker Jennifer O'Dell) from the bloodsuckers' evil clutches. Writer/director Kevin VanHook concocts a fresh, lively and inspired horror/action genre hybrid that delivers likable characters, a handy helping of graphic gore, a constant snappy pace, and plentiful rousing and well-staged action scenes. In addition, VanHook puts a novel spin on standard vampire lore: these vampires are extremely smart, hunt in packs, and can walk around in broad daylight. Van Dien and Grevioux are fine in the leads; they receive able support from Tony Plana as amiable local innkeeper Javier, Ray Park as a pair of vicious martial arts acrobatic twins, Joyce Giraud as fierce, yet sexy vampire vixen Estrella, Lynda Carter as the hard-nosed Colonel Jessica Weaver, and Danny Trejo as jolly, wily fisherman Montegna. Matt Steinauer's slick cinematography and Ludek Drizhal's stirring score are both up to speed. Spirited and exciting, this nifty little feature makes for hugely enjoyable viewing.
Review of Slayer
