~Contains Spoilers~
This is a slow-paced vampire movie with little gore and relatively few scares, intended to appeal to a pre-teen audience (as it was adapted from a YA novel.) However some viewers are missing the point. Valentine, the lead vampire, did NOT have complete control of his humanity at the beginning. That was part of a gambit to gain Zach's trust. He claimed to only drink rat blood, yet admitted that he turned all the vamps on the subway car. They would never have obeyed him if he hadn't bitten them in the first place. But by biting so many people, his hold on the group starts to weaken as they all resist Valentine's influence. Valentine's back story was important as he mentions building part of the subway (explains his knowledge of the rails) and having a young son (explains his attachment to Zach.) Valentine was still going to use Zach but then the chase scene happened. They track Sims, the rebellious stockbroker vampire to a graveyard. Sims suggests hiding in the crypts and waiting for the next night to attack New York, but Valentine notices the grave belonged to his son (the headstone implies that the boy grew up to fight and die in a world war) and decides to return to the underground. He forces Sims to return as well. Thus, the "bloodless scene" was important because it changed the vampire's motivation. He still plays as if he wanted to invade NYC with his group, even using one of Zach's friends as a hostage. Yet his final speech to Zach is a "thank you" for killing off ALL the vampires as Valentine no longer wanted immortality, because he realized his son had died long protecting the city and country he loved. The vampire Valentine is obviously the strong point of the movie. Zach unfortunately is far less interesting and likable. He comes across as an ingrate, not appreciating his family or friends. His mother might work long hours but she does apologize and cook him breakfast, and the father may be gruff but was genuinely concerned when his son talked about meeting a strange man on the subway. Zach's friends are much more endearing. Gabe (the girl) is an excellent photographer who worries about their grade on a school project. She is also dyslexic and deeply hurt when Zach accuses her of using him to write the report because she "can't read". JT (the black boy) is shown to be a bit nervous in the subway, but very loyal. While he doubts Zach's honesty (since Zach has a habit of lying) he does go online to check rumors about vampires on the off chance Zach might be telling the truth. JT also displays the most concern when Gabe is kidnapped. The movie is decent overall with a great deal of attention paid to the NYC scenery and backdrops but is dragged down by slow pacing and a bratty, predictable male lead. I was also disappointed that Zach's love of horror movies did not help him save the day. He survived due to a combination of luck, Valentine's protection, and the sun weakening then killing the vampires.
This is a slow-paced vampire movie with little gore and relatively few scares, intended to appeal to a pre-teen audience (as it was adapted from a YA novel.) However some viewers are missing the point. Valentine, the lead vampire, did NOT have complete control of his humanity at the beginning. That was part of a gambit to gain Zach's trust. He claimed to only drink rat blood, yet admitted that he turned all the vamps on the subway car. They would never have obeyed him if he hadn't bitten them in the first place. But by biting so many people, his hold on the group starts to weaken as they all resist Valentine's influence. Valentine's back story was important as he mentions building part of the subway (explains his knowledge of the rails) and having a young son (explains his attachment to Zach.) Valentine was still going to use Zach but then the chase scene happened. They track Sims, the rebellious stockbroker vampire to a graveyard. Sims suggests hiding in the crypts and waiting for the next night to attack New York, but Valentine notices the grave belonged to his son (the headstone implies that the boy grew up to fight and die in a world war) and decides to return to the underground. He forces Sims to return as well. Thus, the "bloodless scene" was important because it changed the vampire's motivation. He still plays as if he wanted to invade NYC with his group, even using one of Zach's friends as a hostage. Yet his final speech to Zach is a "thank you" for killing off ALL the vampires as Valentine no longer wanted immortality, because he realized his son had died long protecting the city and country he loved. The vampire Valentine is obviously the strong point of the movie. Zach unfortunately is far less interesting and likable. He comes across as an ingrate, not appreciating his family or friends. His mother might work long hours but she does apologize and cook him breakfast, and the father may be gruff but was genuinely concerned when his son talked about meeting a strange man on the subway. Zach's friends are much more endearing. Gabe (the girl) is an excellent photographer who worries about their grade on a school project. She is also dyslexic and deeply hurt when Zach accuses her of using him to write the report because she "can't read". JT (the black boy) is shown to be a bit nervous in the subway, but very loyal. While he doubts Zach's honesty (since Zach has a habit of lying) he does go online to check rumors about vampires on the off chance Zach might be telling the truth. JT also displays the most concern when Gabe is kidnapped. The movie is decent overall with a great deal of attention paid to the NYC scenery and backdrops but is dragged down by slow pacing and a bratty, predictable male lead. I was also disappointed that Zach's love of horror movies did not help him save the day. He survived due to a combination of luck, Valentine's protection, and the sun weakening then killing the vampires.
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