Movie Review // Night of the Vamp-Friars (2026) // [Theater Experience]
On my way to Southbury CT, which is somewhere in between Waterbury and Danbury, while I was driving on 691, I saw an American flag on the road get run over by a pick up truck in the left lane. This felt rather fitting because I was listening to the song "The Most Americanest" by As Friends Rust and I just couldn't have made a better moment of coincidence if I tried. I also felt like this could be a sign of things to come, with the way that the world seemed to be working, but by the end of the night the world was not working in my favor.
When I saw a post on Instagram that the new film "Night of the Vamp-Friars" would be premiering at a cinema in Connecticut I jumped at the chance to see it. The film is written, directed and a lot else by Kurtis Spieler but it also was shot entirely in Connecticut and with Connecticut cast and crew. I really liked that local sense about it all, which also played part in the film itself. This was also being presented by Vinegar Syndrome, who I have given countless monies to for physical media, so I knew this would eventually likely see a Blu-Ray release, but how cool would it be to get that physical copy to watch after having seen it on the big screen?
Riverview Cinemas is a quaint theater that I feel like if I lived closer I would go to a lot because it seemed like it was smaller but very well kept modern in ways. In a lot of ways, that same thing could be said about Southbury as it just felt like one of these small towns with big dreams. It felt like the type of place where everybody used to know everybody but these days maybe not as much.
One of the things about going to see this movie in the theater was the experience of being in the theater itself. The last three times I went to the movies were to see "Backrooms" / "Obsession" / "Backrooms" and for the most part, people were quiet during those films because there aren't really a lot of outright funny parts in them (Though an older couple in front of us did laugh at one part in "Backrooms" that I also laughed at, but no spoilers I guess).
Kurtis Spieler came out to introduce the film and had those worked on it stand up for applause. He said to laugh, cheer and whatever the movie made you feel. So right away when the credits came on and people recognized either the name of someone they knew or perhaps even their own name there was a lot of cheering. I really enjoyed this aspect of it because it was like the difference between going to a live show and listening to music at home, it felt more interactive.
At one point in time recently I thought about how there should be a night at the movie theater where we break traditional rules and let people blurt out one-liners if they feel like they'll get a laugh. I know the logistics on it might be hell for movie theater employees, but I also kind of feel like this might be the closest we get to that kind of experience. When the film started, it takes place in "Connecticut, 1884". An older couple sat next to me and when that came up on screen the man said, without missing a beat: "That was when I was born".
The thing about this experience that was so special was that the majority of the people who were in the audience other than me (and it was packed, I'd say sold out) were connected to the actors on screen in real life, so even when a character died they felt it in a different way. I understand that it wasn't all cast, crew and family (probably) but a lot of it was, so to have that sort of watch party with them and see the film through their eyes was the type of magical experience I will never have again when watching this same film.
I'm not sure when anyone else will be able to watch this film, so I will give a spoiler-free review of what I thought of it. First off, I enjoyed that the movie very much represented Connecticut because that is where I'm from. Not only that, it is centered around a punk band and the music throughout the film is just right on, so when you combine that local feel with music it just makes for two things I really feel like are a big part of who I am.
In addition to that, this film also dives into the history of Connecticut and how it is one of the most haunted places. I feel like everyone heard those stories growing up, those Urban Legends, if you will, but I feel like out of all of them, Connecticut has perhaps the best Legends and the most accurate ones as well, where a lot of them can even be traced back through history to be true. (Just things like The Mark Twain House being haunted, which I truly believe it is)
The acting in this film is great and overall it just looks like the type of film that would've come out when I was a kid. People long for the days of Blockbuster, but I used to ride my bike to the center of town and rent videos from the local video store. This is the type of film my friends and I would've biked to that store to see on a shelf and rent because of the fact that we thought we might see boobs (spoilers: you will) and just for the gore factor of it all.
Perhaps the biggest thing that separates "Night of the Vamp-Friars" from other films which are made independently and with a low budget is that it actually has a plot. And, yes, I know sometimes those b-movies do have a plot, but often times that plot line is as simple as "Shark eats cocaine somehow, shark kills faster". And so unlike a lot of the films I'm used to watching (which is not a slight at them by any means) this film can feel like it's taking its time getting to the gore.
If you're going into this film looking for a lot of blood and guts, the payoff isn't really until the third act- but that build is well worth it. Sometimes you go into a movie and it just feels like non-stop killing and people being ripped apart by zombies and that's fine, but you just need to know that's not what this is and in some ways that slow burn, that feeling of thinking it will start happening now but then it doesn't quite yet is what makes this film so great as well because so many people today just don't have patience.
My final thoughts about the film (Though I will write about it again and have more to say when it's on Blu-Ray) is that above all else, this film has serious elements to it, but it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's got that campy vibe when you can feel like it's influenced by the 1980's and so it just reflects how those films were goofy in their own ways. At one point one of the characters puts together that the friars were also vampires and says "So they're vamp-friars" and all of the other characters just tell him that's the worst joke he's ever made. This isn't some big, serious film by some boring director, but that's also not why I'm watching it.
When I was coming to Southbury, I turned left into this plaza where the cinema is. I also was directed to turn left to get to the highway to get home. I ended up driving through backroads towards Rte 188, which the on ramp for 84 there was closed. The map on my phone took me in circles three times to try and get me to go on the highway at the same point and I was beginning to feel like the haunted nature of the film had come into real life, where I was now trapped in the town of Southbury. But I finally was able to make it out, after driving around for twenty minutes with no escape, and as it became darker and I was on those winding back roads. And much like the full moon in the film, this all also happened under the light of a full moon that was somewhat orange for some reason.
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