Vampire Zombies…From Space! – Canadian Film Fest 2025
March 24 to March 29, 2025
FILM FESTIVAL
Canadian Film Fest
Canadian Film Fest 2025
A small town is invaded by Vampire Zombies…From Space! One night, the wife of tobacco farmer Roy MacDowell (Erik Helle) is killed by a space invader looking a hell of a lot like Count Dracula (Craig Gloster). Ten years later, the whole MacDowell family are outcasts in Marlow County due to Police Chief Ed Clarke (Andrew Bee) believing Roy to be the true murderer.
The suspicions against Roy are renewed when his youngest daughter, Susan (Charlotte Bondy), is found brutally murdered, and he goes missing. However, this is part of a new plan by Dracula to take over Marlow County by creating a swarm of Vampire Zombies…From Space! Roy’s remaining daughter, Mary (Jessica Antovski), is taken into protective custody by Chief Clarke and recent transfer Officer James Wallace (Rashaun Baldeo). They receive help from the greaser Wayne (Oliver Georgiou), who has figured out the way to combat the Vampire Zombies…From Space!
Vampire Zombies…From Space! Synopsis
Vampire Zombies…From Space! is a sci-fi horror-comedy co-written and directed by Michael Stasko. The film is an intentionally campy nod to the films of Edward D. Wood Jr., particularly 1957’s Plan 9 from Outer Space. This is combined with Craig Gloster doing his best Bela Legosi as the outer space version of Count Dracula, who has to answer to a counsel of vampires that includes Vampira (Michael Stasko) and Nosferatu (David Liebe Hart). With the help of a formula created by his son Dylan (Robert Kemeny), negating the effect of crosses, Dracula plans to take over Marlow County and kill its leader, Mayor John Douglas (Mark Lefebvre).
Meanwhile, Marlow County Police Chief Ed Clarke does not believe in alien invasions and is more concerned about a local Public Masterbator (Lloyd Kaufman). However, he is forced to believe when one of the alien spaceships crash-lands in the MacDowell Family tobacco field. Soon, Marlow County is taken into martial law by Col. Harlan Talbit (Simon Reynolds) as war breaks out with the Vampire Zombies…From Space!
My Thoughts on Vampire Zombies…From Space!
Vampire Zombies…From Space! is a film that never takes itself all that seriously. This includes much winking at the camera, including two separate instances of characters verbally reciting the title of the film. While, the film is aesthetically trying to mimic the films of Ed Wood, there is also a modern feel to Vampire Zombies…From Space!, particularly the film’s extremely gory violence.
I would surmise that Vampire Zombies…From Space! is what you would get if you took Plan 9 from Outer Space, Tod Browning’s Dracula, Night of the Living Dead, and The Evil Dead and put them all in a blender. There is also a Troma element to the film with its frequent use of double entendres and crude humour, as well as a very appropriate cameo by Lloyd Kaufman. Arguably, the crude humour is probably the weakest element of Vampire Zombies…From Space!, since it ends up shattering the illusion of the film being a homage to sci-fi horror films from the 1950s, complete with Theramin music cues.
That said, Vampire Zombies…From Space! is still a fun viewing experience. This includes the film’s effects, which range from intentionally bad miniatures on a string to the Elvis-accented greaser Wayne fighting the sentient bisected legs of a vampire zombie. In addition, the use of lighting techniques to focus on a single area is incredibly well done. Without a doubt, Vampire Zombies…From Space! is a sci-fi horror-comedy cult classic in the making!
Trailer for Vampire Zombies…From Space! – Canadian Film Fest 2025
