Drawing Blood (JJC) (1999)

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General		Extras
Category	Horror	Main Menu Audio & Animation Menu Audio Deleted Scenes-6 Featurette-Aroma Du Troma Featurette-Special Public Service Announcement Trailer-The Toxic Avenger
Rating
Year Of Production	1999
Running Time	89:41
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Sergio Lapel
Studio Distributor	JJC Entertainment	Starring	Kirk Wilson Larry Palatta Dawn Spinella Leo Otero Erin Smith Amie Childers
Case	Soft Brackley-Transp
RPI	?	Music	Various

    One annoyance of reviewing a Troma film is that until you've watched it from beginning to end, you really have no idea what to expect. Although a couple of things I have seen from the Troma camp of late have diminished my respect for them a bit, their commitment to making something completely different always draws my attention. Drawing Blood is Sergio Lapel's take on the old vampire myth, done in such a manner that can only be described as "Troma style", with assorted gore and nudity to keep the viewer amused. Interestingly, this film is one of the only one in the Troma catalogue so far to pass the OFLC's scrutiny with a rating less restrictive than the big R, so there must be a story hidden in there somewhere.

    The story revolves around Diana (Dawn Spinella), a woman who likes to get homeless or vagabond women into her home and suck out their blood, putting it in a plastic bowl for use as paint as well as nourishment. Edmond (Kirk Wilson) is an aspiring artist who falls in love with Diana, who proceeds to put on a nice, sick display to prove to him that she is a vampire, before trying to make him one. The funny part is that Edmond likes being mortal, and he agrees to supply Diana with more bodies to feast upon so she won't make him what she is, or something along those lines. When he starts to fall in love with one of Diana's potential victims, however, he decides to rescue her from being sucked dry, used for painting supplies, and tossed away. Diana is none-too-thrilled about this, and sets about getting him and her latest target back, which sets the stage for numerous sequences with some very quirky characters, including Conner (Leo Otero), Edmond's friend who actually wants to be a vampire.

    Just to elaborate on that last plot point, the proverbial hits the fan when Dee (Erin Smith), a young woman who ran away from home and ekes out a living as a prostitute, enters the picture, then captures the eye of Diana. Diana wants to paint Dee, but Edmond won't have a bar of it, in spite of the threats that Diana makes to Edmond and his father, Marvin (Larry Palatta). Dee thinks Edmond is completely insane, just like Conner, but half the comedy comes from how seriously Edmond takes all the B-grade horror film events that are going on around him. The question, of course, is whether Edmond can save Dee and Marvin, destroy Diana and Conner, as well as get out of those absolutely horrid-looking clothes. So, in answer to the question of whether this film has a story, the answer is a big yes, although it is not one you will necessarily find pleasant if you're also looking for a typical Troma comedy. This is seriously dark, disturbing, and even frightening stuff that we're dealing with here, such that I really would like to see Dawn Spinella in other films as soon as can be - she plays a better vampire than any I've seen before.

    I honestly wish that I could recommend this disc to anyone other than fans of C-grade films or Troma's possessed dedication to making something different to the increasingly staid mainstream. My significant other and I had mounds of fun following the rather well-crafted story, but I think I can sum up the quality of the transfer with a quote from her that roughly translates into English as "I thought you said you were never going back to VHS". Cue the usual discussion of how the mere fact that it is DVD-Video doesn't necessarily translate into superior picture quality when poor source materials are used.

Video

    Given the improvement in quality that the last batch of Troma releases demonstrated, I have to say that I was rather disappointed in this effort. The artefacts on display here strongly suggest that the video has been processed using a composite, low resolution system rather than a high-definition telecine.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and it is not 16x9 Enhanced. After engaging the picture-in-picture mode on my display halfway through the film, I came to the conclusion that 16x9 Enhancement of this picture might have helped with some of the problems in the picture, if only by making them smaller.

    The sharpness of this transfer is acceptable most of the time, but grain and lens flare frequently reduce the sharpness to a level that would be acceptable on VHS, but not on DVD. The shadow detail is poor, and low-level noise is a significant problem. Long shots in night-time conditions, such as at 8:46 and 14:05, have so much noise on display that it is difficult to discern whether we're supposed to be looking at a grainy picture through a blue filter or what.

    By far the most distressing artefact in this transfer is colour bleeding, although some of it can also be attributed to a cinematographer who got just a little bit too enthusiastic with the lighting. The lens flares at such locations as 6:41 on the street lights, and the bleeding in any shot of a car's tail lights, is quite distracting. There appeared to be minor cross-colouration in some costumes, and dot crawl is discernable in both the opening and closing titles.

    MPEG artefacts were not an obvious problem in the transfer, although there were times when the picture was on the verge of mass pixelization, especially during the moments when lens flares turned the entire frame white. Film-to-video artefacts were not apparent in this transfer, with no telecine wobble on display, and the transfer's sharpness was insufficient to make aliasing apparent. Film artefacts consisted of occasional nicks and scratches on the picture, most of which were out of the way and not terribly distracting.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is one soundtrack on this DVD: the original English dialogue in Dolby Digital 2.0 with a bitrate of 224 kilobits per second. Interestingly, this soundtrack is flagged to the player as an Italian soundtrack, but it is definitely English. Thankfully, the audio is better than the video, although it is not without the occasional problem.

    The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times, which is no small feat considering how congested the soundtrack often sounds. There was one moment when a screaming woman's voice became distorted, at 47:22, but this may be an inherent fault in the way the scene was recorded. There was the occasional problem with audio sync, but nothing too distracting. A number of effects are used on the voices in any scene where the vampires are present, giving these parts of the film a certain hallucinogenic feel.

    The music in this film is comprised almost entirely of contemporary numbers, with Karla Cagle and Bob Pence being credited as "music executives". If this credit means what I think it does, then they should be commended for their choices, as this is one of the few films where contemporary music is matched well to the style of the film. The style might be completely whacked out, but it seems to work quite well for the film. Some numbers by the likes of Beethoven also appear in the film, but they are so indistinguishable that they may as well not be there.

    The surround channels were not specifically used by this soundtrack, nor was the subwoofer. The subwoofer did take a little redirected signal from the front channels to support the music, but this signal was so minimal that it seemed like a wasted effort. The film itself doesn't really contain anything that would require the support of the surround channels or the subwoofer, so neither were really missed. The sound field was pretty enveloping considering its two-channel limit, anyway.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu is very mildly animated and accompanied by Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. It is not 16x9 Enhanced.

Deleted Scenes

    A collection of four deleted scenes, an extended scene, and an effects experiment, at least according to the titles, are listed under this submenu. In order, these are Conner/Prostitute (Deleted Scene 1) (1:45), Conner/Prostitute (Deleted Scene 2) (1:27), Marvin/Prostitute (Deleted Scene) (1:54), Diana Hits Dee (Deleted Scene) (0:18), Diana Reveals Herself (Extended Scene) (4:33), and Diana Burns (Effects Experiment) (0:47). The deleted scenes really add little to the film, and it is easy to understand why they were cut. The extended scene is actually the same footage used in Edmond's explanation of how he met Diana, sans the narration, and the effects experiment is pretty self-explanatory.

Featurette - Aroma Du Troma

   This two-minute, full frame, Dolby Digital 2.0 featurette is a montage of shots from Troma's best-known films, set to the beat of a Motörhead song called Sacrifice.

Featurette - Special Public Service Announcement

    Clocking in at three minutes and forty-five seconds, this is the Hotel Room PSA, presented full frame with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. The vertical wobble in the picture is still present and accounted for.

Trailer - The Toxic Avenger

    This three minute and eleven second trailer for Troma's most recognisable film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. It is a real laugh-riot, even if you've already seen it on almost every other Troma DVD that happens to be out there already. The admonishment "The Toxic Avenger - Director's Cut, See the full unedited 'headcrushing scene'" appears at the bottom of the frame just over halfway through the trailer.

    The Region 4 disc misses out on;

• Drawing boards
• Blooper reel
• Audio Commentary by Sergio Lapel
• Audio Commentary by various cast members

    The Region 1 version of this DVD appears to be the version of choice.

    Drawing Blood has a plot of much better quality than I've previously seen from Troma, although it loses none of the usual tongue-in-cheek Troma humour, even if it is more subtle this time around. I highly recommend it to those who are fans of B-grade horror.

    The video quality is only just acceptable if you're a fan of the film.

    The audio quality is average, with only one or two serious problems.

    The extras, although less than the usual Troma selection, are still quite amusing.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall