It’s Spooky Season! Which means new and old monster movies for all of us to enjoy! Vampires vs The Bronx is the new Netflix Original Tween Horror movie that you should definitely check out. If you love Monster Squad, Hocus Pocus, or even Halloweentown, then this movie is right up your alley!
The film takes on serious issues like Gentrification and the lack of attention to crime against people in certain areas, but in a more digestible way for the young and old alike. Storefront signs say SOLD, but coming soon is a Butter Store or even the not so subtle Missing Person signs, to the less subtle line from a vampire describing the Bronx as a place “where no one cares when people disappear.”
So Just What Is Vampires Vs. The Bronx About?
Vampires vs The Bronx tells the story about a coven of Vampires who, under the guise of gentrification, are coming to take over the Bronx! The children of the neighborhood watch as their local businesses get bought up by Murnau Properties, but one of them, Migue (Jaden Michael), takes it upon himself to save his local Bodega from the same fate. However, while on his crusade, Miguel happens across a vampire in a garage taking the life of a Bronx local and the whirlwind fight against the vampires begins.
The film feels like writer/director Oz Rodriguez’s love letter to New York and the borough of The Bronx. I greatly appreciate that the film itself wasn’t gentrified. Even if it’s about gentrification. You can feel the borough throughout the film from the actors to the writing.
Vampires vs The Bronx has many laugh out loud moments, the cast is charming, the plot doesn’t take itself too seriously, and all the while plays homage to vampire thrillers of the past. I loved that there was a nerdy character who knows everything about the supernatural only to teach his friends about vampires through the film, Blade. Murnau Properties Logo is that of Vlad the Impaler. The company name itself is an homage to FW Murnau, the director of Nosferatu.
If you’re looking for a blood and guts horror film, Vampires vs The Bronx is not it, but I feel that’s pretty obvious. If you’re looking for a fun time with a subtle message, grab your popcorn and hit play!
