Live Evil Reviews

Note: These are reviews of LIVE EVIL in its 2009 originally released version. These are not reviews of re-edited ©2021 version retitled SAMURAI PRIEST VAMPIRE HUNTER.

FANGORIA MAGAZINE: Matt Molgaard
On a mission to avenge his family, who was slaughtered by a rogue group of vampires in the distant past, The Priest (Tim Thomerson) travels rural regions in search of those who cast misery upon him so early in life. This band of bloodsuckers isn’t all too difficult to find. Their incessant thirst for blood leads to careless, and quite messy mistakes. Which, in turn leads to The Priest directly to this band of plasma thieves. It all comes down to one man, fire in heart battling a group of undead with a few secrets tucked carefully away. Who knows if God can help this priest out…

Here we deal with an inspired cast who clearly enjoyed themselves while filming the picture. The acting, action and gore are all so extremely far over-the-top, I can’t fathom being a part of this and not enjoying it. Tim Thomerson is absolutely perfect portraying the haunted priest, and I’ve got to say - he’s got some of the best one-liners I’ve heard in ages. Just wait for the dialogue in the baby scene… oh my. Mark Hengst (as Benedict) is convincing, while Asa Wallander (who plays Sydney) is absolutely perfect. Throw in producer Ken Foree (as the creepy Max) for good measure and you’ve got a cast that will hold your attention for a solid hour and a half.

Jay Woelfel did an impressive job containing a film that could have easily broke reigns. Performances, while oft tongue-in-cheek are clearly played for intention, the settings and overall environment hold versatility while being obviously limited, and the editing (courtesy of Jonathan Ammon) is convincingly impressive, though not awe inspiring. John Ellis and LSFX did a stellar job with the special effects, while the makeup effects who Amber Barrios, Rich Calderon and a handful of others handled is equally as gruesome. After viewing LIVE EVIL I’m convinced this is one hell of a talented group of filmmakers.

What resonates with me personally is the crew’s willingness to cross so many boundaries. There are so many scenes in this film it’s a wonder it was able to be made, MPAA blessing or not. But the insanity of the film is what makes the film. The most taboo of concepts are approached in such a nonchalant manner it’s initially mind blowing. When the initial shock wears off however, it becomes one hell of a humorous experience. I’d like to highlight a few key scenes, but I think realistically it’s better to experience it, than to have it spoiled by some would-be critic. So, watch it.

In closing I’ll say this: LIVE EVIL is one of the best independent films I’ve seen in quite some time. There’s a great vintage feel to the film, a cool twist on vampires, and a pretty damn stimulating twist to cap off an already morbidly embraceable film. It’s worth seeking out.

The Gratuitous B-Movie Column Issue #73: "Live Evil" by Bryan Kristopowitz
For the first time ever, The Gratuitous B-Movie Column reviews a B-movie that hasn't been released yet, but will get released soon to theaters and DVD. That movie? "Live Evil," starring B-movie legends Tim Thomerson and Ken Foree. Read on for more.

In this issue I take a look at a B-movie that hasn't even been released yet outside of the genre festival circuit, "Live Evil," starring Tim Thomerson (Jack Deth himself) and Ken Foree and directed by the soon-to-be great Jay Woelfel.

Every so often, a B-movie comes along that is so dang cool and awesome and fun that it almost seems impossible that it was ever made and that you're actually watching it. "Live Evil" is one of those B-movies. It hit just about every note perfectly, has outstanding performances by a cast featuring two B-movie legends, and is chock full of enough blood and gore and nifty action to make any B-movie fan cheer in ultimate triumph. These kinds of movies don't come along all that often, and when they do appear they need to be embraced, celebrated, and talked about as much as possible.

So what the heck is "Live Evil" about?

Tim Thomerson plays Priest, a black trench coat and cowboy hat wearing Catholic priest that travels around the Southwestern United States looking for vampires to kill with his samurai sword. He's looking for a quartet of vampires that are on a quest for "clean" blood, led by a man named Benedict (Mark Hengst).

See, in this harsh and unforgiving world, there are all kinds of vampires (there aren't as many as there used to be, but they're still out there). Some can walk around in the daylight, some cannot. Some sleep in coffins, some don't. And some even have their vampire teeth on the palm of their hands. The only thing that binds them together is their need for "clean" human blood, blood unspoiled by disease and pollution. That kind of blood is hard to come by, considering the state humanity as a whole finds itself in (AIDS, diabetes, stuff like that, it's all bad for humanity and therefore it's bad for vampires). That doesn't mean, though, that vampires are holed up not feeding. They're all out looking for their next meal.

So Priest is hot on Benedict's trail, killing other vampires along the way (the guy is a vampire magnet. Wherever he goes there they are) and leaving a card with the words "Live Evil" on it, as a kind of calling card/warning to other vampires that he will find them and kill them. Priest eventually picks up a woman in a bar that was attacked but not bitten by a vampire, Roxy (Kimberly Sanders), who he sort of takes under his wing and teaches the finer points of vampire death dealing to. Priest and Roxy track Benedict's group to Los Angeles, the home base of blood dealer Max (Ken Foree) and his "vampire parties." It's here that we learn that there's more going on here between Priest and Benedict's group, especially the uber hot Sydney (Osa Wallander), than previously thought. You just know that when the final confrontation occurs (and there will be a final confrontation) it's going to be hellacious, brutal, and downright nasty for all involved.

And, boy, does it get nasty. In fact, nasty stuff happens throughout the movie. Blood flows and spews everywhere as vampires attack people, but there's plenty of dead vampire hooey there, too. Heads and hands get lopped off, vampires are set on fire, there's even a moment of torture. Thomerson's Priest is responsible for most of this violence and with good reason (you'll have to watch the movie to find out what that good reason is). There's also a great sequence involving human babies that will definitely get audiences talking. You shouldn't flinch, though, because the movie doesn't.

The movie also has this great pseudo nihilism about it, where it's like horrendous death at the hands of blood sucking creatures is just a fact of like and something you're probably going to have to deal with at some point. It helps make what Priest does seem that much worse and awful because there's no real compromise involved for anyone. In this world you've only got two choices: be killed by a vampire, or kill a vampire.

Thomerson is just awesome as the Priest. The trench coat, the cowboy hat, the sword, it's all destined for B-movie icon status. And Thomerson is pretty good with a sword (he knows how to decapitate a guy). Thomerson, for whatever reason, hasn't had the chance to be a bad ass in a movie the last few years, but he's definitely back in Jack Deth mode here, and I'm hoping that we see him, once again, put the coat and the hat on and wield that samurai sword against those blood sucking bastards. If Thomerson had played the Priest in that other vampire he's known for, "Near Dark," he would have made both Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen his bitch. Suffice to say, the movie would have lasted about five minutes.

Ken Foree, good old Peter from George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead," doesn't have as big a part to play as Thomerson, but he's his usual cool self anyway as Max the blood dealer. He shows up at the beginning of the movie doing some background narration, then shows up much later on at the LA vampire party to deal with Benedict and his gang. It's a great scene because you're not really sure what Max's real deal is. Is he human? Is he, too, a vampire? You eventually find out, but the build up to that revelation is great. I will also say that Foree sure can rock a Hugh Hefner robe.

Mark Hengst and Osa Wallander are a great vampire couple. Hengst is outstanding as the defacto leader of the group Benedict. Hengst makes Benedict both intimidating and kind of sleazy all at the same time, sort of like the popular high school football quarterback. And Wallander, again, is just hot as Sydney. And nasty, too, like all great bad ass vampire women. Special mention also needs to be made of Gregory Lee Kenyon and the uber hot (lots of uber hot going on here) Eva Derrek as Baxter and Yeal, the other two members of the vampire quartet. If you're putting together a group of traveling vampire killers you want these two on your squad (especially Derrek if you're a heterosexual dude or a lesbian. She's hot). Kimberly Sanders does a fine job as Roxy, the Priest's defacto sidekick. She never gets in the way and she's not there for comedic interludes, so kudos to Woelfel for making Roxy a substantial character. She also gets nude, so there is that to look forward to as well.


And you will definitely not forget Spider, as played by the super hot Tiffany Shepis. She's a vampire pseudo hooker with a spider web tattoo on her face. What she does to a fat guy in a darkened room is likely what every fat guy genre nerd wants done to him at some point in his life. Great, great, sad and hot at the same time stuff. And the great Lee Perkins also does a fine job as Officer Hicks. You will never forget him, either.

Now, there's a scene in the movie towards the end involving a cross dressing bartender and a midget that's likely to provoke heated discussion as to why it's in the movie at all. It's a funny scene to be sure, but what does it have to do with anything? I don't know the answer to that, but I'm sure director Jay Woelfel will provide an explanation on the eventual DVD either in a director's commentary or some kind of behind-the-scenes thing. Where the heck did that midget come from?

Speaking of director Jay Woelfel, he's given the B-movie loving world an ass-kicking masterpiece that should make us eager to see whatever the heck he's got coming next. He's been directing stuff for twenty years now, and if this doesn't get him noticed and made a household genre name, well, there's just something wrong with the world. Thanks, Mr. Woelfel, for making a great movie.

Now, as I said at the beginning, this flick isn't out yet. But it will be out in theatres (yes, actual movie theatres) next month, starting September 18th. Monogram Releasing, the people behind the theatrical release of the Troma flick "Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead," will put "Live Evil" on some 300 screens. Then in November, November 18th to be exact the flick will appear both on DVD and Video On Demand, so if you don't get a chance to see the flick on the big screen, make sure you see it on DVD or VOD. You'll be glad you did.

"Live Evil" is a brutal, nasty, bloody, ass-kicking awesome B-movie blast that must be seen. Mark your calendars and make your plans to see it because, again, you need to see it. It's just that damn good.

Long live the Priest!

So what do we have here? A diner in the desert filled with rowdy rednecks, gratuitous hot babe that wants to make it with those rowdy rednecks, brutal fellatio, neck snapping, head crushing with eyes popping out of the head, blood barfing, gratuitous Ken Foree, a severed hand, gratuitous Tim Thomerson in a cowboy hat and trench coat using a sword to kill vampires, a blood geyser, gratuitous "Live Evil" calling card, a fabulous high speed desert car chase, using a dead body like a James Bond car weapon, a wild flip, gratuitous vampire drinking blood out of a coffee cup, boobies, throat slashing, gratuitous Tim Thomerson fighting five guys in the desert, exploding oil lamp, man on fire, gut slashing, decapitation, vampire grenade, heart removal, heart stomping, gratuitous whiskey drinking, bar attack, more decapitations, gratuitous Tim Thomerson looking at his sword like he's thinking of making an adjustment to the blade, punch to the face, serious Kim Richards and reverse Kim Richards, gratuitous flashbacks, gratuitous Lee Perkins, more hand cutting and decapitations, thrown sword through the hand, a great bit where a car backs over a dead vampire and gooey brains go everywhere, an empty coffin, a closet jump scare, barfing blood into a toilet, gratuitous "Nosferatu," gratuitous uber hot vampire chick doing cocaine, fat guy killing, more head bashing, more heart removal, gratuitous cross dressing bartender and midget, a melting body, vampire torture with body on fire, gratuitous "John Carpenter's Vampires" homage, a steel bucket, a very hot shower, a booby trapped church, gratuitous Tim Thomerson playing a church organ, Mandy Patinkin's sword from "The Princess Bride," a great sword fight, bucket attack, shotgun blast to the head with exploding head (automatic nomination for "greatest movie ever made" list) wooden cross attack, two big twists, and a great final scene that should be a movie poster.

Best lines: "Do you still want to fuck me?" "Oh, you're good. But I used to drive these roads in a covered wagon," "Look, I gotta tell ya something. I had crabs like eight years ago," "Our hunger is mightier than your sword," "They're never in a hurry to go back to hell," "You hit me you motherfucker!" "If you call me honky I'll call the NAACP," "Geez, you scared the crud out of me," "Goddamn vampire babies. They're the worst," "I don't fuck trash. I throw it out," "Why can't we just finish one before we start a new one?" "Kids know," "In my experience the safest number is one," "This is hell in a Christian sense," "Vampires can be so stupid," "You're a priest. More like a minister of death," "Don't come in here unless you're done throwing up!" "Trusting the wrong person. That's fucked me up plenty of times," "Don't blaspheme," "Shut up, run faster, and don't trip," "Come on, more blood!" and "What's that smell? Priest, medium well, I think."

Rating: 10.0/10.0

And please, please, please support "Live Evil" when it hits both on the big screen and on DVD. It deserves as wide an audience as possible.

10,000 BULLETS.COM by: Michael Den Boer
Live Evil jumps into the meat of the story with the films carnage filled, opening with a scene in a dinner where a vampire named Sydney is being heckled by three perverts overloaded on testosterone. After a few vulgar jabs her way about how they would like to fuck her she invites one ones to her table and gives him a blow job he will never forget. In her lust for blood since it has been a while since her last feeding, she just rips into everyone in the dinner draining corpse after corpse. This scene lays the groundwork for the mythos about the vampires portrayed in this film. It is during this scene where it is first revealed that vampires only can drink pure blood, not blood contaminated by drugs or alcohol or ravaged by diseases like Aids.

While there is familiarity to the themes present in Live Evil they has just enough spin on them that one is never overwhelmed with a feeling of Déjà vu. Also the story does a good job laying the foundation of who’s who and what their motives are. Besides the vampires who play a large part in this film there is another prominent character simply known as The Priest! He has his own demons to exorcise. When he was a young boy he witnessed his father who was killed and turned into a vampire while chained to him. This would mark The Priest’s first kill as he would be forced to put a stake through his father’s heart. Later on in the film another character is introduced into the mix named Roxy. She is a young woman who is saved one evening at a bar by The Priest when she is attacked by vampires. On the surface this character and her evolving relationship with The Priest appear to be the most unlikely pairing.

This film features plenty action, bloodletting and even a little bit of T&A. One of the more impressive aspects of this production is the driving sequences where cars are playing chicken. The special effects in general are well done and convincing. Performances wise all of the cast are very good in their restive roles. The film’s standout performance comes from Tim Thomerson in the role of The Priest. Performance-wise it is hard to imagine anyone else capturing the essence of The Priest character better than Tim Thomerson. Another performance of note is Mark Hengst in the role of Benedict, a vampire who is connected to the death of The Priests father. The film also features a few familiar faces Tiffany Shepis (Home Sick, Good Boy), Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead) and Lee Perkins (KatieBird: Certifiable Crazy Person, Edges of Darkness), who gives yet another memorable turn as a psychotic sheriff.

A Light Social Commentary... with Vampires by Gavin Schmitt
The Priest (Tim Thomerson, "Dollman") has made it his life's goal to hunt down and kill every last vampire, not fearing a life of sin in exchange for the destruction of pure, living evil ("ago malum" in Latin). But the vampires have to live, too, and things aren't so easy for them.

The horror genre tends to get very repetitive and dry. Year after year we get new zombie and vampire flicks, and as much as I love zombies and vampires, most of these films simply are not necessary. This does not, however, apply to "Live Evil". Presented here is a new twist that I have not previously encountered.

On some level, there's some recognizable themes here... a man on a quest to hunt down bloodsuckers. The idea that vampires shrivel up and starve if not fed (though, they seem to die faster here than, say, Lestat in "Interview with the Vampire"). There's some discussion of the effects of sunlight. So, traditional vampire fans are going to relate to this film on that level.

But there's also an interesting environmental message. The vampires have difficulty devouring human blood if it contains disease or drugs. At one point, a female vampire makes the parallel that mankind had polluted the air and water and have now turned to their own blood. There is something true in this. While we don't want our blood devoured by vampires, there is something to be said about purity. Though, if dirty blood offers protection, what does dirty air and water provide? It's an interesting question.

Beyond Thomerson, horror fans will love the cast. Ken Foree is Max, a powerful vampire, and Tiffany Shepis is Spider, a vampire groupie (whose role is sadly much too small). And the blood. Oh my! Heads chopped in half, blood spraying from necks, vampires vomiting bad blood... This film has its flaws (the female lead isn't a great actress, for example) but will capture your imagination.

I recommend this film to all vampire and/or horror fans. It's a great antidote to the clean, fluffy image of "Twilight"... let's keep horror and bloodsucking gritty. "Live Evil" succeeds at this.

RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE REVIEW By Lance

DEATH DRIVES AN EL CAMINO

I’m definitely one to gush over cheesy B-movie actors, and they don’t come any cheesier than Tim Thomerson (Dollman, Trancers 1-6) and Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead, The Devil’s Rejects), the co stars of LIVE EVIL. The film follows a group of vampires fighting for survival after contamination of the human blood supply has forced them into warring clans. Thomerson rocks as a vampire-hunting, el Camino driving priest armed with a samurai sword, while Foree chews the scenery with a pair of fake fangs as a powerful vampire leader. If you hate limp-dick TWILIGHT vampires, pop this flick in your player for some good old-fashioned B-movie madness complete with Kung Fu, car chases, babes, boobs and buckets of blood! You can thank me later!

Body Count: 34
Best Death Scene: Beheaded baby vampire.

BLOODY DISGUSTING REVIEW By: Ryan Daley
Beginning with a diner massacre before jumping directly to a desert car chase, then a nudity-enriched vampire throat-ripping, then a vampire beatdown courtesy of a sword-wielding cowboy/priest, Live Evil bangs from scene to scene like a bat out of hell.

Clearly taking advantage of America’s approval of vampire worship as the new national religion, the low-budget wonder from writer/director Jay Woelfel is undeniably bursting with energy. According to Ken Foree’s somber introduction, the drug and lifestyle excesses of humans have rendered the majority unfit for vampiric consumption, provoking the colonies of starving vampires to fight amongst themselves for survival. (Hmmmm…something smells like the Blade franchise in here.)

Live Evil cruises back and forth between two different perspectives: a car-full of vampire buds road-tripping to Hollywood, and the sword-wielding, vampire-hunting priest who is out take care of some…(languorous pause, staring glassily into the distance)…”unfinished business”…(roll snippets of a vague flashback that won’t be fully revealed until at the end of the movie). B-movie veteran Tim Thomerson (Trancers) plays the priest in a wryly funny performance that has him stomping vampire hearts with his boot heel, and (in one memorable speech) comparing vampires to Lamborghinis. In fact, Thomerson is so committed to the character, hiding a whiff of false menace behind his amusingly sincere line delivery, the storyline featuring the vampire buddies pales in comparison.

Slightly reminiscent of Near Dark,Live Evil brings enough blood and boobs to the table to entertain even the most jaded horror fan. The film’s five-person special effects team really pulls out all the stops when it comes to bringing the syrupy wet work. From a vampire party complete with topless waitresses, to the introduction of a pair of cop vampires with fangs in the palms of their hands, to an inevitable confrontation with vampire babies (“Goddamned vampire babies”, intones Thomerson, “they’re the worst.”), Woelfel slams down the creative gas pedal and doesn’t let up until the end credits roll. For those willing to ignore sub-par production values, Live Evil pays off in spades.
Score: 7 / 10

Horror News.net
Review: Corey Danna
First off, I love Tim Thomerson. I think Jack Deth is one of the great B-movie badasses. So going in to “Live Evil” I was a bit skeptical, afraid that Thomerson may be past his prime. But I was wrong, dead wrong. Thomerson’s character The Priest, is an all new badass that comes to life like no other person could play him. And he isn’t all, I was quite surprised to see that this little low budget film, mostly shot on weekends, came together the way it did. Entertaining, scary, funny, and yes kids, it is very gory. And what’s even better, it’s gory in the old school special effects sort of way which made me incredibly happy to see. And we have director Jay Woelfel to thank for the madness.

Vampires are on the verge of becoming extinct. With humans polluting their blood with drugs, alcohol, disease, it’s hard for them to find someone who is pure. There are mutations in their evolution, making each unique or the blood undrinkable to them. Benedict (Mark Hengst) and Sydney (Asa Wallander) lead the rest of their group, Baxter (Gregory Lee Kenyon) and Yael (Eva Derrek) in a such for “pure blood”. They are relentless and will stop at nothing to get what they need. Hot on their tale is The Priest (Tim Thomerson), out for revenge and dedicated to stopping the threat like no one else can, with his samurai sword. As the vampires try and make their way to Los Angeles to search for “pure blood”, the Priest takes on a partner in Roxy (Kimberly Sanders), a tough talking woman who reluctantly joins up with him and may be a “pure blood” herself.

This movie wastes absolutely no time throwing us in to the mix. Within the first ten minutes we get to see massive amounts of blood, carnage, and an exciting car chase in the desert. I was immediately drawn into the world and the idea of vampires becoming extinct or mutated due to polluted blood is great and helps the film become unique itself. It is refreshing to see a vampire movie that isn’t trying to be the next “Twilight”. It’s a balls out gore fest that showcases the FX as much as it does it’s actors. Thomerson is believable and plays the Priest as a badass and with depth to the character since there is a reason he is out for revenge.

What I found really interesting was how sympathetically our villains are played. They are evil, without question (when you watch the film you will know what I mean), but they are portrayed from their point of view. We see their plight and their struggle to survive in a world that is becoming so polluted to them. Each of the actors give their character the right amount of life. There are points when the line between good and evil becomes so blurred that it raises the bar of intensity during the films last thirty minutes.

As solid as the films story is, as strong as the acting is, make no mistakes, this film is still silly fun in a way that makes horror fans giddy. Campy and fun in much the same way as “The Convent” when I first saw it. There is a lot of carnage in this film and it appeared to me that most, if not all, the effects were done practical and they looked amazing. If you like geysers of blood spraying when a head is severed, crushed skulls, burning flesh, it’s all here and there is a lot, and it never lets up. It was so refreshing to see a film that was so much fun, original, and well acted.

There are even cameos from genre favorites Ken Foree and Tiffany Shepis. I cannot stress enough how much fun this movie is. Maybe I am a bit biased since I saw the film with roughly 150 people and with Tim Thomerson in attendance. The crowd loved Tim, loved the film, and so did I.

MR GABLE”S REALITY: REVIEW
Pull your pants down and sit on a toilet. You may just shit yourself with excitement after reading this:

Live Evil is (courtesy of IMDb.com): A hunter dressed in black. This cowboy-hat-wearing samurai-sword-wielding Priest is on a quest for blood. Vampire blood. He's out for revenge on a "clique" of four vampires who are traveling across country in search of "pure blood." The human blood stream has become polluted by drugs, alcohol, Aids, Diabetes, anti-depressants, cigarettes, anything that changes the blood even a small amount makes it undrinkable for Vampires, who, like hi-performance automobiles need "hi test" fuel= Blood in order to survive. This has started a sort of underground civil war between various groups of vampires and vampires themselves have mutated due to the pollution of their life blood. Live Evil is what is written on playing cards left behind on the bodies of dead vampires that this mysterious Priest/Hunter leaves in his wake as he gets closer and closer to our main group of vampires...

So basically, Jack Deth disguised as a priest murdering vampires with a sword and guns. Oh how life can be so AWESOME!

How does this movie fit in with Trancers Week? First off: Tim Thomerson. Tim is Jack Deth and Tim is also the vengeful priest. I saw in an interview that he pulled some from the Deth character and put it into the Priest. Actually, his comment was something like: How much Jack Deth do you want?

Secondly, the director of Live Evil is also the same director of Trancers 6. WHOA WHOA WHOA! Don’t leave please: I know what you’re thinking: Fuck Trancers 6. And I’m with you. But Live Evil completely redeems Jay Woelfel of anything he did with Trancers 6. We can just kinda forget it happened and move into the future of Awesome. That future is Live Evil.

What he does wrong in Trancers 6, he does completely right in Live Evil. (and it’s not just Jay that fucked up T6, it was everyone involved) The main thing he did right with Live Evil is Tim Thomerson. That man is just an omnipresence (am I using this word correctly?) when he’s in a lead role. He just fucking loves being out front and in your face. FUCK EVERYTHING! Oh what? I’m a priest. FUCK YOU! I’ll fucking murder you awesomely with my sword of death. Then I’ll fucking cut your heart out and eat it, cuz I’m the baddest motherfucker on the planet. (this happens) PRIEST BITCHES!

This movie opens full throttle and never really lets up. We start out with a woman in search of cock. (Just like every movie should) She finds it. And eats it. Then kills everyone. It’s the greatest vampire opening scene ever. This also leads into a very unique and interesting premise that off of the top of my head, I’ve never heard of: The blood of humans is so full of shit (drugs/STDs/toxins) that it’s undrinkable to vampires. It’s just like trying to drink Soy Blood. Can’t fucking do it. BUT the only TRULY drinkable blood is: Babies. God damn Vampire Babies!!

Oh yeah. That happens too.

And there isn’t just ONE type of vampire. There’s THREE! You got the regular vampires that torch up when the sun touches them. You got the non-shiny twilight vamps that can go out in the sun. And you’ve got vampires that have fangs on their FUCKING HANDS! Wow. My happiness is at maximum.

Jay REALLY steps it up in the director’s chair. The movie was for the most part shot very well. The pacing was damn near perfect and the shots were captured very well. He does a fantastic job of keeping some mystery towards the Priest in the beginning. What I was most impressed with is the car chase scenes. They aren’t all that impressive in reality but HOLY SHIT do they make them feel epic. That really blew me away.

So long story short: just buy this shit. I guarantee if you’re a fan of Trancers and/or a fan of Tim Thomerson: You’ll LOVE this movie. It’s for Tim fans from a Tim fan. How can you argue with that?

(Also it’s got Ken Foree. Fucking BLACK SANTA! YES!)

Nefarious Films review: By Matt
The Catholic Church would be one hell of a lot cooler if more of its clergy were like Tim Thomerson's Priest character in Jay Woelfel's decidedly kooky low-budget vampire flick, Live Evil. Sporting a black cowboy hat. driving like an extra from Mad Max and wielding a samurai-sword, the Priest is on a mission of revenge, tracking down a group of vampires he seems to have a personal grudge with. Now that's surely worth a visit to Sunday Mass.

Playing the role with obvious relish Thomerson simply owns the character, lending the Priest's dialogue and mannerisms just the right balance between bad-ass attitude and knowing camp.

In fact, they are much more keen to chow down on children than blood-suckers we have seen in other films. This is due to the fact that a major theme in Live Evil is the idea that in this decadent modern age we are all polluting ourselves through various means - drugs, food, disease. This makes our blood undrinkable to the vampires in this film. They need the pure stuff to survive and that is in short supply. This neat twist drives the narrative and even allows us to feel some sympathy with these outsiders who are doing their best to simply survive. It's just a shame they have to eat babies in order to do that.

The Priest, cool though his character certainly is, is by no means the only character of interest in Live Evil. The vamps themselves, led by Benedict (Mark Hengst) are much more than your standard Blade-style evil villain and are portrayed pretty sympathetically. This is not however at the expense of their evil nature, make no mistake these are bad to the bone predators with zero compassion or respect for human life wether it be man, woman or child.

This is no Anne Rice style treatise on the existential woe of the modern vampire however, there is plenty of sword swinging, car-wrecking blood spurting action and for the most part it is handled very well. The car stunts are particularly impressive for what is clearly a lower budget film and the gore effects don't disappoint either. The film is full of familiar faces including Thomerson of course but also genre favourites Lee Perkins (Slime City Massacre, Katiebird: Certifiable Crazy Person), Tiffany Shepis (Night of the Demons, It Waits) and the great Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead). This lends the film a sort of oddball seal of approval and it is clear that all involved are doing it for the love of the material.

It still must be said that this sort of material is very much a genre-fan's domain and Live Evil is unfortunately unlikely to receive real mainstream appreciation. Many (including myself) will see this as being to the film’s credit however as its unique blend of references, innovations and offbeat sense of humour will charm the pants off of many of the true genre fans out there.