Independent Horror films can be hit or miss, and with the amount being produced nowadays… there can be many misses. Entering as a new contender, Alice and the Vampire Queen rose from its red velvet lined coffin bed to satiate a relentless vampiric bloodlust on February 13, 2024 through Breaking Glass Pictures.
The work of visionary Writer and Director Dan Lantz (Alpha Rift 2021, Hayride to Hell 2022), in all, he artistically crafted a fresh take on the vampiric storyline. Right off the bat eyes are riveted to the highly charged opening scene where Alice (Shelby Highwater: Freak 2022, The Final Boy 2023) is visibly hard at work as a short order cook while being bullied by her boss. It is through this well-choreographed verbal exchange that the audience begins to solidify an indelible emotional bond with Alice as it is revealed that her checkered past will forever be dragged around like chains. This scene creates the perfect backdrop for the character Alice as sympathy just exudes from every pore over her dire plight and the abject injustice of it. It prompts one to cheer her on in the quest to get the upper hand and triggers a desire to see how things eventually pan out for her.
Then, things take an ugly turn and Alice has an unexpected encounter with a stranger, Charles (Graham Wolfe: Alpha Rift 2021, Hayride to Hell 2022) who beguilingly lures her in with a handful of Ben Franklins! Did she just sell her soul? Through the close-up shots and dialogue, you see her character wrestle with the choice that she cannot undo. Throughout the movie one has a crystal-clear view of Alice’s character development as she struggles to deal with and survive that fork in the road she chose to take. Graham Wolfe did a great job in creating the persona Charles who was not only charming but was indispensable as Alice’s mentor. Shelby, on the other hand, brought to the screen the visage of a battered woman who has an indomitable will to survive.
In the center of it all is the Vampire Queen, and Brenna Carnuccio’s (Adadolisdi: A Film About Grace 2015, A party to Die For 2022) takes on the role with devilish grace and a gastronomic appetite for tartare. She showers affection to her favorites but makes no mistake she is ruthless if opposed. Her powers are extraordinary, and she “magically” removes the scar that mars Alice’s face. This superficial scar is symbolic of the psychological scars that Alice has suffered as a result of trauma at the hands of others.
Overall, Lantz’s Alice and the Vampire Queen offers up a tempting horror digital entrée for elongated canines to sink deep into for a dining time of an hour and a half. The scenes speed by like a runaway train gathering momentum as time passes. The music, lighting and action keeps you in a trance as the film flies towards inevitable doom. That said, it leaves you ruminating on the question – if one is offered a second chance would one jump for it irrespective of the cost? Sure, it is tempting but, in some cases, not worth the price as Alice later finds out. Well put together, Cryptic Rock gives Alice and the Vampire Queen 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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