While the horror nation waits with bated breath for the release of the much-anticipated Morbius, Netflix has stepped up to the fang plate and delivered a new vampire film filled with fresh lore. The streaming giants have released some fantastic original films over the last few years. Such smash hits as, “The Babysitter” and “Bird Box” have joined celebrated original horror series “Hemlock Grove” and “Slasher,” solidifying the super streamer as a major player in the horror genre. Will “Night Teeth” become another streaming sensation or be quickly forgotten like several other films the company has hid in the back of their suggested list.
A struggling college student, Benny, has dreams of making it in the music world, finding the perfect girl, and breaking free from his mundane life. His brother Jay reluctantly offers him an exciting gig driving for a high-end chauffeur service while Jay is called to a secretive business meeting. A simple night of driving two attractive young ladies around town is thrown into chaos as Benny quickly learns that his clients, Blaire and Zoe, are vampires. Exacerbating the shocking news is the fact that the gorgeous duo are executing orders to overthrow the vampire elite and break a truce with their human counterparts, of which Jay is a high-ranking member. From exotic hotels to a ransacked surf shop, the three dart through the bright lights of Los Angeles, each with their own agenda. While Blaire and Benny realize the chaos that is being unleashed, Zoe and her master Victor will stop at nothing until the town turns red. ]
NIGHT TEETH Debby Ryan as Blaire and Lucy Fry as Zoe. Netflix © 2021
Top marks go to cinematographer Ebon Bolter. Bolter’s keen eye has put out a stunning visual fang film that rivals the aesthetics of the Blade series. Bolter and director Adam Randall present a luxurious Los Angeles that is cloaked by an underworld presence perfectly. Scribe Brent Dillion gives the horror nation some great new vampiric lore with his fresh script, though the dialogue is stagnant at best. Each performer puts in a professional shift with little to work with as the visual style and action set pieces clearly steal the show. “Night Teeth” only struggles by holding back on what could have been a much more brutal film. While there is plenty of blood splashing around tinsel town, the film plays more like a pg-13 production than a hardcore horror show. Despite the audience yearning for more fang for their buck, “Night Teeth” is a fast paced, perfectly shot, and original take on the timeless tale of those long-toothed creatures of the night.
Scream Score: 8.5/10